[B-Greek] TI GAR (Romans 4:3)

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Fri Sep 12 12:25:10 EDT 2003


At 10:50 AM -0500 9/12/03, David Bielby wrote:
>TI GAR hH GRAFH LEGEI....can "TI GAR" simply be translated What (UBS
>lexicon).  So then I would translate this as "What does scripture say?"

In a sense this is a translation question. The function of the GAR is to
indicate a relation between the argument now freshly advanced and what has
preceded. In 4:2 Paul sets forth a proposition; in 4:3 he proceeds to argue
it. There'd be nothing wrong with using the usual gloss, "for" here: "For
what does scripture say?" I've sometimes preferred to represent the force
of the GAR with an "after all": "After all, what does scripture tell us?"
-- 

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/



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