[B-Greek] 2 Thess 3:11, TINAS PERIPATOUNTAS
bgreek at ntresources.com
bgreek at ntresources.com
Tue Oct 21 16:16:00 EDT 2003
Carl observed:
> Isn't this simply a clause of indirect discourse? With a verb
> of perception, indirect discourse is commonly with subject
> accusative and participle rather than with subject accusative
> and infinitive...
Hmmm. I'm beginning to wonder if this might not be a deficiency in koine
grammars. I think that most of them, if they discuss indirect discourse at
all, mention only the possibility that an infinitive may take the place of a
finite verb in indirect discourse--rarely a mention of the ptcp. I've been
doing some hunting around on this topic and here's what I've noted. There is
a bit more than I remember, but not, I think, sufficient explanation.
Perhaps that's because the ptcp. formulation is less common in the NT?
(Anyone have any count/approximation as to the frequency of this
construction?) I suspect that koine students would find this baffling--I was
myself, having forgotten this one (which may say more about my memory than
the construction! :)
First year grammars:
Mounce only gives the infinitive option; no mention of the participle (p.
308 in 2d ed.); same with Machen (p. 139) and Goetchius (p. 197)--I didn't
check further.
In intermediate grammars, I found a good discussion of this only in McKay's
*New Syntax* (ch. 12; ptcp. discussed on 105-6--and he is primarily a
classics scholar, though like Carl he has done a lot of good NT work). There
are brief mentions of this (but usually not much discussion or explanation
and rarely more than one example) in Porter's *Idioms* (p. 274), Wallace's
*Grammar* (pp. 645b-646a), Burton's *Moods and Tenses* (p. 176); Young (p.
149), and Dana & Mantey (p. 298).
Robertson does discuss it at some length (1040-42).
Smyth, by contrast, has an extensive discussion (pp. 470-72), though this
work is neither a beginning nor intermediate level grammar.
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Rodney J. Decker, Th.D., Assoc. Professor/NT
Baptist Bible Seminary, Clarks Summit, PA, USA
URL: www.NTResources.com
PURL: purl.oclc.org/NT_Resources/
Email: <rdecker> at <NTResources.com>
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