[B-Greek] Revelation 7:10

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Fri Sep 3 12:46:52 EDT 2004


At 10:40 AM -0400 9/3/04, Henry T. Carmichael wrote:
>A question regarding the shout of the innumerable multitude:
>
>H SOTHRIA TWi QEWi HMWN TWi KAQHMENWi EPI TWi QRONWi KAI TWi ARNIWi.
>
>The datives TWi QEWi HMWN ... TWi ARNIWi are generally rendered as "to
>our God ... to the Lamb."  As I was reading today, it occurred to me
>that they could be instrumental datives, and be rendered "by our God ...
>by the Lamb."  The NIV has "belongs to our God ...", and Charles B.
>Williams has "is due to our God ...", which latter has an instrumental
>flavor to it.
>
>What do the list members think of the instrumental possibility?
>
>Thanks in advance for your views.
>
>Henry Carmichael
>
>
>What do the list members think of the instrumental idea for Rev. 7:10?

It seems unlikely to me, although I can how one might conceive it if one
understands the noun hH SWTHRIA as equivalent somehow to SWZOMEQA or
SESWiSMEQA; but even the verbal noun SWTHRIA used with a dative without an
explicit verbs seems best explained as having an implicit ESTI(N) and the
dative should be understood as a dative of the possessor. On the other
hand, what adds a bit of credibility to the notion that the dative is
instrumental is that the author of Revelation is notorious for violation of
grammatical standards normally observed elsewhere in the GNT.
-- 

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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