[B-Greek] John 4:39 MARTUROUSHS
Randy Leedy
Rleedy at bju.edu
Thu Sep 18 16:38:57 EDT 2003
A friend asked me earlier today about the use of MARTUROUSHS in John 4:39. It feels in context as though it ought to be attributive to GUNAIKOS, but it is clearly in the predicate position, and, surprisingly to me, the scribes didn't seem to have any trouble with it, because I can't find any evidence that any of the mss supply the article with the ptcp. Here's the text: EK DE THS POLEWS EKEINHS POLLOI EPISTEUSAN EIS AUTON TWN SAMARITWN DIA TON LOGON THS GUNAIKOS MARTUROUSHS OTI EIPEN MOI PANTA hA EPOIHSA.
Following is my answer. Does anyone see any better way to read the passage?
>>>
You're right. That's a tough one. I checked the TR, expecting to see THS inserted before the ptcp. Not. Then I checked the NA text to see if there was a variant. Not. Ditto Ruben Swanson. It looks like the scribes didn't have any trouble with it, but I did. Robertson seems to call it Indirect Discourse (p. 1123), but that seems like a stretch to me.
I think I would look at it something like this. The referent of a circumstantial ptcp is usually the subject of the governing clause, but by no means always. So I would take the predicate position of the ptcp as implying a circumstantial relation that I would try to put into translation something like this: "And many of the Samaritans from that city believed in him through the word of the woman, as she [continued] testifying, 'He told me all things which I did.'" I think I sense a combination of cause and time there.
That's my best stab at it.
<<<
As I continue to think about it, I get more confident about reading it this way, and I'm less surprised that the scribes didn't quibble with it.
If anyone replies, I would appreciate a CC, since I get the list only in digest.
Blessings in Christ! (Acts 3:26)
Randy Leedy
Bob Jones University Seminary
Greenville, SC
RLeedy at bju.edu
More information about the B-Greek
mailing list