[B-Greek] Ascensive use of KAI in 2 Timothy 3:16
Harold Holmyard
hholmyard at ont.com
Sun Jul 30 07:36:15 EDT 2006
Leonard Jayawardena wrote:
>The conjunction KAI in PASA GRAPH QEOPNEUSTOS KAI WFELIMOS... (2 Tim. 3:16) is said to be used "ascensively" or "adjunctively" when the verse is translated as in the New English Bible with KAI left out: "All God-breathed Scripture is profitable..."
>
>What exactly is the "ascensive" or "adjunctive" use of KAI and is it so used elsewhere in the NT?
>
>
HH: Here is a note from B-Greek in 1999:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/b-greek/1999-October/007804.html
To: George Goolde,
<< I have chosen to identify three uses:
1. KAI can be connecting. This is what Clayton calls a "clause initial
KAI." It has, I believe, very much the same force as DE.
2. KAI can be adjunctive. In this use the coordinate aspect of the English
"and" is emphasized. It adds one thing to another, things of equal
grammatical weight (two nouns, two verbs, two phrases, two clauses, etc).
3. KAI can be ascensive. In this use it does not introduce an additional
element, but heightens the meaning of the previous element. This is the
use where KAI is often translated "even." >>
It is interesting to note that A.T. Robertson has come up with the same
three main uses for KAI: (a) the adjunctive use ('also'); (b) the ascensive
use ('even') and (c) the mere connective ('and'). Great minds seem to think
alike!
-Steven Craig Miller
HH: BAGD lists for the ascensive use Mt 5:46f; 10:30; Mk 1:27; 4:41; Lk
10:17; Acts 5:39; 22:28; 1 Cor 2:10; 2 Cor 1:8; Gal 2:17; Eph 5:12;
Philemon 21; Heb 7:25; 1 Pet 4:19; Jude 23
Personally, I don't think the NEB translation is very good. The Greek
adjective corresponding to "God-breathed" is in the predicate position,
and NEB has put it in the attributive position. In Greek "God-breathed"
and "profitable" are coordinated, but NEB has broken the coordination. I
believe KAI is simply a coordinating conjunction here and should be
translated as "and."
Yours,
Harold Holmyard
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