[B-Greek] estin in Col 2:17
Steven Lo Vullo
slovullo at mac.com
Fri Aug 20 20:17:32 EDT 2004
On Aug 20, 2004, at 4:56 PM, Fred Day wrote:
> A ESTIN SKIA TWN MELLONTWN TO DE SOMA TOU CHRISTOU.
>
> ESTIN is third person singular, and yet every translation I've checked
> renders it as third person plural. I've not been able to find any
> explanation for why this is. What is governing this?
Hi Fred:
Neuter plural substantives regularly (but not always) take a singular
verb. Most believe the idea of a collective plural is present (a noun
considered as a class or as a collective identity). In Col 2.17 the
pronoun hA is a neuter plural nominative and quite naturally (in Greek)
takes a singular verb (ESTIN).
============
Steven Lo Vullo
Madison, WI
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