[B-Greek] Gal 5:16 OU MH TELESHTE, 5:17 hINA MH hA EAN QELHTE TAUTA POIHTE

Siu Fung Wu siufung.wu at worldvision.com.au
Wed Mar 17 22:14:52 EST 2004


Jonathan Robie wrote:
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In Gal 5:16, TELESHTE is subjunctive, and I assume that OU MH TELESHTE,
in contrast to PERIPATEITE, makes this come out something like "if you
walk in the Spirit then there ain't no way you're gonna fulfil the
desires of the flesh." Strongly emphatic negative, stating that a
possible future state, in the subjunctive, will not arise. Right?

But some translations say "walk in the Spirit, and do not satisfy the
desires of the flesh." Can OU MH TELESHTE have the force of an
imperative in this verse?
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Dear List members,

I am no expert in Greek. But I understand and agree with others that OU MH
+ aorist subjunctive is strongly emphatic negtive, stating the future.
Daniel Wallace's Greek Grammer Beyond the Basics, pp. 468-9, gives a few
examples. Wallace also says that OU MH "rules out even the idea as being a
possibility".

I believe that Gal 5:16-17 should be understood primarily through the
imperative in LEGW DE PNEUMATI PERIPATEITE in v. 16.

Thus, not fulfilling the desires of the flesh is possible only if one walks
by the Spirit. And I think the GAR in v. 17 is crucial to the understanding
of v. 17. But the interpretation of Gal 5:16-18 probably goes beyond the
scope of this List and so I won't labour on it here.

With kind regards,
Siu-Fung Wu
Melbourne
Australia

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