[B-Greek] Third-person commands

kgraham0938 at comcast.net kgraham0938 at comcast.net
Thu Nov 10 21:33:00 EST 2005


@Don:


Hey Don, you wrote:
I  would suggest instead that he is saying, "If you are one of those 
> unbelieving spouses, then get out!" And since impeding the offender's 
> progress would be in opposition to Paul's command, it is logical to 
> infer "Stay out of his way" as an unspoken directive to the others. 
> This happens to be an important passage with respect to real-world 
> marriage relationships, so it might also help to think in terms of 
> what a pastor or counselor should say to someone whose spouse is 
> threatening to leave. 
Response: I see your point, but I think it is more of a contextual issue than one of grammar.  Because it appears to me that you are focusing the command upon the unbeliever (i.e. if you are one of those...get out!!!), and I think most others are focusing the command on the believer.  So I think a great deal of how one interpretes this is figuring out who Paul is addressing.
But here is something I'd like your opinion on, Matt 9:27.  The third person imperative does not seem like a command to me, but rather a petition.
ELEHSON hMAS hUIOS DAVID = have mercy on us, Son of David.


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