[B-Greek] Dative agent in 2 Peter 3:14??
Iver Larsen
iver at larsen.dk
Fri Dec 2 03:22:35 EST 2005
>2 Peter 3:14:
>
> DIO, AGAPHTOI, TAUTA PROSDOKWNTES SPOUDASATE ASPILOI KAI AMWMHTOI AUTWi
> hEUREQHNAI EN EIRHNHi.
>
> I'm trying to make sense of the last half of this verse. My rough, and
> admittedly awkward, translation is:
>
> "Therefore, beloved, while you are expecting these things, make haste to be
> found spotless and blameless in him,[and] at peace."
>
> The NRSV, NIV, NASB, and Segond (French) all read AUTWi as the agent of the
> passive verb. But my grammar references indicate that the genetive is used
> to indicate agency.
In semantic terms it is not agency but rather experiencer or possibly sphere, and this is governed by the extended sense
of "find" used here. The experiencer is commonly indicated by EN in the GNT or dative. For hEURISKW, BAGD says:
2. fig., of intellectual discovery based upon reflection, observation, examination, or investigation
and further down:
be found, appear, prove, be shown (to be) (as also quoted by Carl).
So, Peter is urging the readers to be able to present themselves before God on judgment day as spotless and blameless,
and therefore also in peace.
There is a similar thought in 2 Ti 4:9:
SPOUDASON SEAUTON DOKIMON PARASTHNAI TWi QEWi
There are also helpful notes in the NET Bible, (although I don't quite agree with every bit of it):
"strive to be found
(The Greek verb used in the phrase strive to be found is the same as is found in v. 10, translated
"laid bare." In typical Petrine fashion, a conceptual link is made by the same linkage of terms. The point of these two
verses thus becomes clear: when the heavens disappear and the earth and its inhabitants are stripped bare before the
throne of God, they should strive to make sure that their lives are pure and that they have nothing to hide)
at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence
("When you come into" is not in Greek. However, the dative pronoun (autw) does not indicate agency ("by him"), but
presence or sphere. The idea is "strive to [be] found {before him/in his presence}."
Iver Larsen
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