John 20:31 was Re: [B-Greek] Phil 2:11
Iver Larsen
iver_larsen at sil.org
Wed Oct 15 13:38:07 EDT 2003
> >
> >It may be worth mentioning that the emphasis in
> >constructions as this always falls on the predicate,
> >and I think we must go with "Jesus is THE MESSIAH."
I wouldn't agree with this statement. Who has proposed it and what are the
justifications for it?
[Carl:]> I wonder whether the question is really so easily decided; my own
> experience is that the predicate word is normally first in this sort of an
> equative clause with ESTI(N). Perhaps the question of frontal prominence
> may enter in here; I ask the question rather than proffer any answer: (a)
> is IHSOUS the predicate because it has frontal prominence and/or
> because hO CRISTOS has the article?
I would say no to both. IHSOUS is not predicate *because* it has frontal
prominence. These concepts are not connected. Jesus in the subject, but
fronted because the key question is whether Jesus or someone else was the
Messiah.
> or (b) is hO CRISTOS the predicate and emphatic,
> implying in this instance that emphasis is not frontal at all but
> rather on the FINAL word?
I would say that hO CRISTOS is indeed the predicate, but not emphatic. In
English, I would put the stress on Jesus, not Messiah in the sentence: "that
you may believe that JESUS is the Messiah." Or one could make a cleft
sentence for emphasis: "that you may believe that it is JESUS who is the
Messiah." It would even be possible to show the emphasis in English by
placing "Jesus" last as in "that you may believe that the Messiah is Jesus."
In these kinds of identificational sentences, it really doesn't matter very
much what is subject or predicate, since the two are equated. What is of
somewhat greater significance is the pragmatic emphasis.
Iver Larsen
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