[B-Greek] Another example of a qualitative QEOS
Rolf Furuli
furuli at online.no
Mon Jul 10 10:37:56 EDT 2006
Dear Michael,
Even if your observation is correct, that has little bearing on John
1:1. The force of the article or the lack of one can only be seen in a
small, closed context, such as 1:1a, b, and c. This is so, because it is
the syntactic construction of the close context that can teach us the force.
In John 1:1b we find hO QEOS with article, and in 1:1c we find QEOS
without article. It is this relationship that can tell us something, not
how John and others use the article in other instances. "The
Translators's New Testament," published by The British and Foreign Bible
Society in 1973 says: "In the second instance there is no article and it
is difficult to believe that the omission is not significant."
Best regards,
Rolf Furuli
University Of Oslo
Michael Abernathy wrote:
>Barry wrote:
>
>
>>
>>
>>
>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>From: b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>[mailto:b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org]
>>
>>
>>
>>>On Behalf Of alethinon61 at milwpc.com
>>>Sent: Thursday, July 06, 2006 11:58 AM
>>>To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
>>>Subject: Re: [B-Greek] Another example of a qualitative QEOS
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>I would say for the same reason we rearrange sentences in English
>>>from the active to the passive voice: To bring the predicate into
>>>focus giving it a desired and useful emphasis. Wouldn't this fit
>>>with the context? If words in English don't change their meaning
>>>when found in the passive vs. the active voice, then why would they
>>>change meaning in Greek when fronted for emphasis? No one on this
>>>forum has addressed this yet.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>Sean, I just saw this reply while purging old email. Two points:
>>
>>1) The lack of the article in Greek does not in all contexts mean that the
>>word should be translated with the indefinite article in English.
>>
>>2) Meaning is a tricky thing. For example in Latin, you have the verb
>>*video*, which means "see." In the passive, however, it is normally
>>translated "seem." In Greek, you have such verbs as hISTHMI, which may be
>>glossed "cause to stand," but in the second aorist means "stand" in the
>>intransitive sense. So in some languages, form changes actually do mean,
>>from the perspective translation into English, different meanings.
>>
>>N.E. Barry Hofstetter
>>Adjunct Faculty & IT Support
>>The Center for Urban Theological Studies
>>http://www.cuts.edu
>>Classics Instructor, The American Academy
>>http://www.theamericanacademy.net
>>
>>
>>
>>
>If anything, I think you understated yourself on point 1. I took a few
>moments yesterday and looked at the instances of the predicate
>nominative in John. It seems to me that when the predicate nominative
>precedes the verb that it is more common for it to remain definite even
>though it lacks the definite article.
>Sincerely,
>Michael Abernathy
>
>
>
>
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