[B-Greek] John 20:29
Iver Larsen
iver at larsen.dk
Tue May 9 03:05:29 EDT 2006
>
> 29 LEGEI AUTWi hO IHSOUS, hOTI hEWRAKAS ME
> PEPISTEUKAS; MAKARIOI hOI MH IDONTES KAI PISTEUSANTES
>
> First question: I fail to see why hOTI hEWRAKAS ME
> PEPISTEUKAS; must be taken as a question. Is it not
> equally likely to have: "because you have seen me you
> have believed."
You are right. This is more likely to be a statement than a question. Don Carson notes in his commentary:
"It is better to understand the first part of Jesus' response as a statement (and to that extent a confirmation of
Thomas's faith)-one that prepares the way for the beatitude that follows: blessed are those who have not seen and yet
have believed."
>
> Second question: Most commentaries seem to take some
> kind of comparative sense from MAKARIOI hOI MH IDONTES
> KAI PISTEUSANTES. The commentaries I have checked seem
> to see MAKARIOI hOI MH IDONTES KAI PISTEUSANTES as
> identifying those who have a 'greater' blessing with
> their lack of seeing faith. Is this a grammatical
> observation or an interpretation?
A questionable interpretation. The fronting of MAKARIOS indicates an emphasis on this theme, but I don't think that is
enough to interpret the statement as having an implied comparison. Only one of the commentaries I have checked suggested
an intended comparison.
Morris says:
"There is possibly significance also in the fact that when Jesus goes on to speak of those who believed without seeing
he says they are "blessed" (cf. 13:17), not "more blessed." This does not look like a comparison, with Thomas worse off
than the others. But Jesus does pronounce a blessing on those who have believed without seeing."
Iver Larsen
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