[B-Greek] Matthew 5:14

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at ioa.com
Sun Jun 5 21:11:48 EDT 2005


On Jun 5, 2005, at 9:00 PM, Henry T. Carmichael wrote:

> I am interested in how the referenced verse comes to be understood  
> as two statements (sentences, even) and not as a compound sentence  
> with the second part a second metaphor, elaborating the metaphor of  
> the first. (I hope that doesn't sound too confusing.)
>
> hYMEIS ESTE TO FWS TOU KOSMOU.  OU DUNATAI POLIS KRUBHNAI EPANW  
> OROUS KEIMENH.
>
> As I looked at it, I wondered if it could be "You are the light of  
> the world; a city not hideable, set on a mountain."
>
> Is there something in the Greek that implies two simple statements  
> rather than a more complex single one?
>
> Thanks in advance,

You're misunderstanding KRUBHNAI: it's an infinitive, aorist passive;  
The clause should be understood: "a city situated
on top of a hill cannot be-hidden." The infinitive KRUBHNAI is  
dependent upon DUNATAI "can/is able."

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad2 at mac.com
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/




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