[B-Greek] Revelation 7:10
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Fri Sep 3 16:21:11 EDT 2004
At 2:59 PM -0500 9/3/04, Harold R. Holmyard III wrote:
>Dear Carl,
>
>>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.
>--
>
>HH: I think your answer is better than my earlier one, but I notice
>that some translations (HCSB, NET, NIV) handle Rev 7:10 is "belongs
>to," but then translate the same basic grammar in 7:12 as "be to." In
>other words, they make 7:10 a declarative statement and 7:12 a wish.
>Do you think that both verses should be translated with something
>like "belongs to," or do you favor varying the translation? If you
>favor the latter, could you please explain why. Thanks. They seem so
>identical in structure.
Harold, it seems to me that there's a bit of difference between the
constructions in 7:10 and in 7:12. It seems to me that in 7:12 the implicit
verb is sometimes the indicative ESTI(N) for characteristics that can be
said to "belong to" God, while on the other hand it's ESTW with hH EULOGIA
and hH DOXA so that in those instances God is the one to whom glory and
praise are rendered, while in the instances of wisdom, etc. God is the one
to whom they belong.
Perhaps this question is an opportunity for noting that some of our
categories and subcategories of the dative seem to have to do more with how
we translate them into a target language than with how the Greek
speaker/writer conceives their function: there's something comparable in
7:10 and 1:12: "God's is ... the glory, the saving power, the strength,
etc." --or "All these attributes at which we marvel and by which we feel
blessed--they all belong to God ..."
--
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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