[B-Greek] 1Jn 5:3 AUTH ... hINA ...
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Tue May 30 13:01:10 EDT 2006
On May 30, 2006, at 12:36 PM, George F Somsel wrote:
> Your question reminds me of what I was reading just yesterday from
> the introduction to Moulton & Milligan. It states
>
> A corresponding caution must be observed in connexion with the
> construction of hINA. Classical Greek has taught us to expect that
> hINA construed with the subjunctive denotes purpose, but in
> Hellenistic Greek this has been extended to include a consecutive
> usage, and sometimes, as in modern Greek, a simple statement of
> fact. When, therefore, in Jn 17.3 the Fourth Evangelist writes—
> AUTH DE ESTIN hH AIWNIOS ZWH hINA GINWSKWSI SE TON MONON ALHQINON
> QEON KAI hON APESTEILAS IHSOUN XRISTON it is of course possible
> that by the latter clause he means us to understand our Lord as
> pointing to the knowledge of God as the aim and end of eternal
> life. But it is equally permissible, and more in accord with
> contemporary usage, to interpret the words as defining the contents
> of the eternal life: this life is a life consisting in, and
> maintained by, the knowledge of God, and of Him whom God had sent.
>
> george
> gfsomsel
> _________
While George's response is a propos and certainly applicable to the
question, I'm not sure that it fully resolves all of the questions
Oun is raising. Let me try to expand on it a bit.
> Oun Kwon <kwonbbl at gmail.com> wrote:
> 1Jn 5:3 AUTH GAR ESTIN hH AGAPH TOU QEOU hINA TAS ENTOLAS AUTOU
> THRWMEN KAI AI ENTOLAI AUTOU BAREIAI OUK EISIN
>
> 1. How I should understand hINA clause? As 'in order that (we may
> observe the commandments)'?
No; it is certainly NOT a purpose clause here, but rather a
substantive clause that could be Englished either as a
correspondingly-formulated (literal) English substantive clause,
"that we should observe his instructions" or as an infinitive, "to
observe his instructions," or even (perhaps preferable) as a gerund:
"observing his instructions"
> 2. What does AUTH refer to? To the idea mentioned in the preceding
> verse? Or 'The love of God is this, that ~'
hAUTH refers forward to the substantive clause beginning with hINA;
you may English the whole structure thus: "THIS is what love of God
is: observing his instructions."
> 3. Does 'ESTIN' copulative have nuance more than 'is'?
>
> Thanks for your help. I hope this is not a beginner's confusion.
The "cautionary note" that George cited from the M&M introduction
(melts in you mind, not on your tongue ;-) ) is really worth taking
closely to heart. Most (if not all) first-year NT Koine Greek
textbooks do not adequately explain the range of hINA clauses in NT
Koine Greek usage. My sense is that it's one of the things a NT Greek
reader probably learns by accident or not at all.
The M&M intro note also constates one of my annoyingly-repeated
claims: one comes to know Biblical Greek better by learning more
about stages of Greek earlier than and later than the NT Koine.
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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