[B-Greek] John 15:9 - Use of Dative

Iver Larsen iver at larsen.dk
Fri Jun 10 05:26:32 EDT 2005


> >> TEXT
> >>
> >> KAQOWS HGAPHSEN ME hO PATHR, KAGW hUMAS HGAPHSA; MEINATE EN
> >> THi AGAPHi THi EMHi
>
> EMOS/EMH/EMON is the pronominal ADJECTIVE for the 1 sg.;
> the pronoun forms are simply EGW(N), EMOU (encl. MOU), EMOI (encl.
> MOI), EME (encl. ME)
>
> I don't think there's a great deal of difference in MEANING between
> EN THi AGAPHi MOU
> and EN THi AGAPHi THi EMHi but I personally think that THi EMHi is
> more emphatic than
> would a simple genitive MOU. But it could as well have been EN THi
> EMHi AGAPHi -- and I think
> that would have been the simpler and closer equivalent of EN THi
> AGAPHi MOU.
>
> Carl W. Conrad

I found it interesting that John is particularly fond of using EMOS in its
various forms. Out of 76 instances in the NT, John's gospel has 41, that is
54%.
His standard order when the adjective modifies a noun is that the adjective
follows the noun as in John 15:9. I take this to mean that there is no
particular emphasis on EMOS in that case. Or said in different words, the
semantic content of "love" is relatively more prominent than the semantic
content of "my" in this sentence.

4 out of the 41 cases in John have EMOS fronted before the noun it modifies.
In these cases, it seems to me that there is relatively more emphasis on the
semantic content of EMOS.

Those 4 instances are:
4:34 EMON BRWMA estin - MY food is (to do the will of the one who sent me)
5:47 PWS TOIS EMOIS RHMASIN PISTEUSETE; (How then can you believe MY words?)
7:8 hO EMOS KAIROS OUPW PEPLHRWTAI (MY time has not yet come)
7:16 hH EMH DIDACH (MY teaching)

The same principle applies to the placement of MOU, although a fronted MOU
is quite rare.

Iver Larsen





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