[B-Greek] Eph 2:10

virgil newkirk virgilsalvage1 at msn.com
Thu Oct 20 21:30:30 EDT 2005


 Bert,


You wrote:


AUTOU GAR ESMEN POIHMA, KTISQENTESEN CRISTWi ISOU EPI ERGOIS AGAQOIS, hOIS PROHTOIMASEN hO QEOS hINA EN AUTOIS PERIPATHSWMEN.

hOIS is the object of the relative clause, yet it is in the dative case.  Is that because it is attracted to its antecedent seeing it is so close to it? 
Would attraction be considered poor grammar?
What I mean is, would a Greek teacher 2000 years ago, marking an essay by a Greek boy put a arrow here and write; "Wrong case", or would it have been acceptable?

Bert de Haan.



""


Bert,


The issues you had a question on, led to some interesting information that I hope you find helpful... I learned much that I didn't know before as a result of looking into it.

Spiros Zodhiates in his grammatical notes concerning the relative pronoun:

replaces a substantive mentioned in a previous main clause (known as the antecedent). The relative pronoun agrees with its antecedent in gender and number, but not necessarily in case; the latter depends on the particular function assigned to the relative pronoun.

Bert, as I believe you were suggesting; we would have expected to find the relative pronoun in the accusative...hA, hence your statement:

hOIS is the object of the relative clause, yet it is in the dative case; and then your question...Is that because it is attracted to its antecedent seeing it is so close to it?

In Smyth's grammar he states at #2522:  

A relative pronoun is often attracted from its proper case into the case of its antecedent, especially from the accusative into the genitive or dative. Then under the latter part of #2524 he states:

Attraction is not "necessary", and takes place only (but not always) when the relative clause is essential to complete the meaning of the antecedent. When the relative clause is added merely as a remark, attraction does not take place. An attracted relative clause virtually has the force of an attributive adjective. 

Hence, I would say that the relative clause here in Eph 2:10 tells us something very specific about these good works....they had previous to Paul's writing about them....been prepared and furnished.

So, Bert, I would say the attraction is not out of the need of proximity but of necessity on the part of the writer to make something more clear and exact. And so, this would not then, be poor grammar, rather an example of the flexibility and excellence of the Greek.


Virgil Newkirk
Salt Lake City, Utah


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