[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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