[B-Greek] John 8:58 PPA???
MAKARIOIOIPRAEIS at aol.com
MAKARIOIOIPRAEIS at aol.com
Sun Jan 30 15:09:26 EST 2005
There is a guy named Jason Beduhn currently debating with Rob Bowman on the
issue of John 8:58 right now. His view is that John 8:58 is a PPA. (present of
Past Action still in progress). He also argues that saying Before Abraham
was I AM was bad english.But since this is a greek chat room, does anyone here
think John 8:58 could be a PPA??
-Kelton Graham
I've heard it explained that the EGW EIMI here is a "predicate absolute" and
therefore must always be translated in the present tense I AM,
"The Witnesses may attempt to argue, using the footnote to John 8:58 in the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation (or Appendix 6F in the NWT with References)
that because "before Abraham was" is an aorist infinitive clause (meaning that
the "before" implies an indefinite action, i.e., does not specify that Christ
has always existed), ego eimi should be translated "I have been."
This argument can be refuted by noting that eimi appears in this verse in
what is called a predicate absolute (a sentence structure in which the
copulative verb is used without an object or complement ); this means that eimi must be
translated in the present tense ("I AM") rather than simply referring to the
present statement of a past action ("I have been").
The Watchman Expositor: Vol. 16, No. 3, 1999
Richard Windisch
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