[B-Greek] John 4:34
George F Somsel
gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Fri Dec 22 13:39:40 EST 2006
Rich,
If you were to change EMON to ME or to EME, it would then indeed be the accusative of a personal pronoun -- either emphatic or unemphatic. It would no longer be a possessive pronoun qualifying BRWMA. The question then would be regarding how this would functioin in the sentence. Since the verb here is a copulative, there would be no accusative unless it were as the object of a preposition. Do you see one here? I prefer to not get involved in speculating how something might have been said. There are many ways in which anything can be expressed, and we could sit here all day constructing ways in which something might have been said. The fact is that this is the way in which it was expressed by our writer.
A word of caution regarding translation (one's own). We have many good translations of the Biblical writings in English. Generally they will differ slightly in one way or another from other translations. Sometimes this simply depends upon the translation philosophy of the person or committee making the translation. Occassionally one will find a translation which is motivated by a particular viewpoint which requires that one recognize the fact and allow for it if that translation is used. That aside, most of the main translations are good. Pick up your Greek NT and look at that same passage in the English version that you keep underneath it. If your translation differs markely from that, you're probably on the wrong track. Great discoveries regarding the meaning of a text are few and far between. This does not mean that the study of the original language is without value. Sometimes one will note an ambiguity that doesn't translate well or the usage of a particular
word which may also be used in another context. There is much gold to be mined from the study of the original. Beware, however, of thinking that you are going to completely overturn the fundamental way in which it is understood.
george
gfsomsel
_________
----- Original Message ----
From: Richard Lindeman <oblchurch at msn.com>
To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Cc: gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Sent: Friday, December 22, 2006 12:50:49 PM
Subject: RE: [B-Greek] John 4:34
George:
I stand corrected. In order for my questions to make sense it would need to be EME or ME instead of EMON. But with that hypothetical substitution I would like to ask the same questions.
Rich Lindeman
-----Original Message-----
From: "George F Somsel" <gfsomsel at yahoo.com>
To: "Richard Lindeman" <oblchurch at msn.com>; b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: 12/22/2006 9:42 AM
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] John 4:34
EMON is not actually the subject of hINA POIHSW. EMON is a possessive pronoun which qualifies BRWMA. Since BRWMA is a neuter, EMON is likewise neuter. It is therefore not accusative but rather nominative as the subject of the copulative verb ESTIN (remember that the nominative and accusative are the same for neuters). Also, there is no subject for hINA POIHSW. The clause introduced by hINA POIHSW . . . is rather a purpose clause which might be said to function as the predicate of the verb ESTIN.
george
gfsomsel
_________
----- Original Message ----
From: Richard Lindeman <oblchurch at msn.com>
To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Friday, December 22, 2006 12:28:30 PM
Subject: [B-Greek] John 4:34
John 4:34
LEGEI AUTOIS hO IHSOUS EMON BRWMA ESTIN hINA POIHSW TO QELHMA TOU PEMYANTOS ME KAI TELEIWSW AUTOU TO ERGON
"Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.'"
I noticed that EMON is found in accusative masculine singular here and serves as the subject of hINA POIHSW and also as the subject of (hINA) TELEIWSW In this verse, is this an exact equivalent of an accusative subject for an infinitive? In other words, if John had written aorist infinitives here instead of hINA + aorist subjunctives, would that be good Greek? And would that change the function of EMON in any way or the meaning of the sentence?
Blessed Christmas to all!
Rich Lindeman
---
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