[B-Greek] 1Jn 3:12b number mismatch
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Tue Jun 6 13:41:57 EDT 2006
On Jun 6, 2006, at 8:51 AM, George F Somsel wrote:
> It is a well established practice which is frequently violated in
> the NT as Robertson notes in the following that the neut pl subject
> takes a sg verb. This rule, however, was not completely abandoned.
>
> 2. Neuter Plural and Singular Verb. But the êïéíÞ fails to
> respond to the Attic rule that a neuter plural inanimate subject
> takes a singular verb. Homer indeed was not so insistent and the
> “modern Greek has gone back completely and exclusively to the use
> of the plural verb in this instance as in others.”
> The N. T., like the êïéíÞ (KOINH) in general, has broken away from
> the Attic rule and responds more to the sense, and also more often
> regards a neuter plural as really plural. It never was a binding
> rule, though more so in Attic than in Homer. In the vernacular
> êïéíÞ (KOINH) the people treated the neuter plural like other
> plurals. (Radermacher, N. T. Gr., p. 96.) Usually a neuter plural
> in the N. T. that has a personal or collective meaning has a plural
> verb. So ἐðáíáóôÞóïíôáé ôÝêíá (EPANASTHSONTAI
> TEKNA) (Mt. 10:21), [Page 404] ôὰ äáéìüíéá ðéóôåýïõóéí (TA
> DAIMONIA PISTEUOUSIN) (Jas. 2:19), ἔèíç ἐðéæçôïῦóéí
> (EQNH EPIZHTOUSIN) (Mt. 6:32), ôὰ ðíåýìáôá ðñïóÝðéðôïí (TA
> PNEUMATA PROSEPIPTON) (Mk. 3:11). But the only rule on the matter
> that is true for N. T. Greek is the rule of liberty. The papyri
> show the same variety of usage. So does the LXX. In
> the examples given above the MSS. often vary sharply and examples
> of the singular verb occur with all of them, äáéìüíéá (DAIMONIA)
> more frequently with the singular verb, as åἰóῆëèåí
> äáéìüíéá ðïëëÜ (EISHLQEN DAIMONIA POLLA) (Lu. 8:30), but ðáñåêÜëïõí
> (PAREKALOUN) in next verse. So in Lu. 4:41 we have äáéìüíéá
> ἐîÞñ÷åôï (DAIMONIA ECERXETO) and a little further on
> ὅôé ᾔäåéóáí (HiDEISAN). In Jo. 10:4 we see a similar
> change in the same sentence, ôὰ ðñüâáôá áὐôῷ
> ἀêïëïõèåῖ ὅôé ïἴäáóéí (TA PROBATA AUTWi
> AKOLOUQEI hOTI OIDASIN). The same indifference to the Attic rule
> appears about things as about persons. Thus ἵíá
> öáíåñùèῇ ôὰ
> ἔñãá ôïῦ èåïῦ (hINA FANERWQHi TA ERGA TOU QEOU)
> (Jo. 9:3) and ἐöÜíçóáí ôὰ ῥÞìáôá EFANHSAN TA
> hRHMATA) (Lu. 24:11). In Rev. 1:19 we find ἃ
> åἰóὶí êáὶ ἃ ìÝëëåé ãåíÝóèáé (hA EISIN KAI
> hA MELLEI GENESQAI). The predicate adjective will, of course, be
> plural, even if the verb is singular, as öáíåñÜ ἐóôéí
> ôὰ ôÝêíá (FANERA ESTIN TA TEKNA) (1 Jo. 3:10). Cf. Gal. 5:19.
> Winer and (to some extent) Blass
> feel called on to explain in detail these variations, but one has
> to confess that the success is not brilliant. It is better to
> regard this indifference to congruity as chiefly an historical
> movement characteristic of the êïéíÞ (KOINH) as shown above. Even
> the Attic did not insist on a singular verb with a neuter plural of
> animate objects when the number of individuals was in mind. The
> neuter plural was in origin a collective singular. In 1 Cor. 10:11
> the MSS. differ much
> between óõíÝâáéíåí (SUNEBAINEN) and –ïí (-ON).
>
> Robertson, A. (1919; 2006). A Grammar of the Greek New Testament
> in the Light of Historical Research (403). Logos.
>
> I believe this has been discussed previously on the list so you
> will probably find it in the archives.
Most recently discussed June 1, 2006 under subject-header: "Re: [B-
Greek] John 6:9"
>
> Oun Kwon <kwonbbl at gmail.com> wrote:
> 1Jn 3:12b
>
> hOTI TA ERGA AUTOU PONHRA HN TA DE TOU ADELFOU AUTOU DIKAIA
>
> With plural ERGA, PONHRA, and DIKAIA, the verb should be in plural.
> Here HN is singular. Is it a kind of Gk typo?
>
> Oun Kwon
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Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad2 at mac.com
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/
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