[B-Greek] 2 Peter 1:3 Subject?

Yancy Smith Y.W.Smith at tcu.edu
Wed Mar 8 22:28:40 EST 2006


Mitch wrote:

> CARIS hUMIN KAI EIRHNH PLHQUNQEIH EN EPIGNWSEI TOU
> QEOU KAI IHSOU TOU KURIOU hHMWN
>
> hWS PANTA hHMIN THS QEIAS DUNAMEWS AUTOU TA PROS ZWHN
> KAI EUSEBEIAN DEDWRHMENHS DIA THS EPIGNWSEWS TOU
> KALESANTOS hHMAS IDIAi DOXHi KAI ARETHi
>
> DI' hWN TA TIMIA KAI MEGISTA hHMIN EPAGGELMATA
> DEDWRHTAI,...
>
>
> I hate to ask someone to talk about all of this but
> I'm trying to figure out how these verses fit
> together.
>
> Verse 3 has a Genitive Absolute (apparently). How does
> that fit into this section? What is the subject in
> verse 3? Am I right in trying to locate a finite verb
> and then tie verse 3 to that?
>
> One translation starts off "I pray..." but I think
> they are supplying that, but from where? Any help in
> as much of these 3 verses you can share would be appreciated.

What makes this verse difficult to translate is the fact that it has  
no expressed matrix sentence, i.e. completely composed of  
complementary or subordinate material. So, it has a correlative  
adverbial phrase "even as" with its sub parts ... followed by a  
relative clause "by which things" and its sub parts. Further, the  
sentences before it don't have main verbs either, and greetings  
composed of blessings at the beginning of letters in the NT often  
don't. But the implied agent of the passive participle in verse 2 -- 
either God or Jesus--will do nicely for a "subject" in verses 3 and  
4. The hWS in verse 3 correlates with the action in verse 2 "be  
multiplied." I.e. just as his grace is multiplied to you according to  
the blessing/prayer so also "everything else" is given abundantly.  
The assumed agent, God (or Jesus if you like) would then be the  
subject of the main clause in verse 3 (which is not expressed). So,  
the strategy I would employ would be to supply the subject "God" and  
the verb "has given abundantly" and the object "his grace" then "just  
as [he has given] to us from his divine power  everything necessary  
for life and godliness through the knowledge of the one who called us  
by his own glory and virtue, by which things he has given us precious  
and very great assurances, so that through these assurances you might  
become partakers of God's nature, once you have escaped from the  
corruption that is in the world through lust." This blob of words,  
could be further broken down into less tangled English prose.

Yancy Smith
Y.W.Smith at tcu.edu
Brite Divinity School
Texas Christian University






More information about the B-Greek mailing list