[B-Greek] Jn 7:22 DIA TOUTO
Iver Larsen
iver_larsen at sil.org
Sat Nov 4 12:52:00 EST 2006
>From Iver Larsen
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl W. Conrad" <cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu>
>I confess that I didn't find the conventional usage of DIA TOUTO as "For this reason ... " or
>"That's why ... " works very well at the beginning of of 7:22 -- and in that respect, I agree with
>Iver's concerns. But I find the suggestion that DIA TOUTO belongs at the end of Jn 7:21b
>unconvincing also. The examples cited by Iver (way down below -- I prefer here to respond above
>the cited prior correspondence) all involve DIA and an accusative object -- but NONE OF THEM
>involves TOUTO. What I find most problematic about the suggestion that DIA TOUTO stands at the end
>of 7:21b and means simply "for that reason" is that TOUTO is a demonstrative pronoun, and it
>seems odd to me that a demonstrative pronoun should be the final element in a clause, particularly
>if, as Iver notes in an aside at the end of his discussion below, this DIA TOUTO in final position
>is not at all emphatic.
So (DIA TOUTO no. 3), I understand your main concern to be the demonstrative nature of TOUTO. I
assume you mean TOUTO used substantively since one of the examples did involve hOUTOS. Let me then
add some more examples and delete the old stuff:
John 10:19 SCISMA PALIN EGENETO EN TOIS IOUDAIOIS DIA TOUS LOGOUS TOUTOUS.
John 12:27 DIA TOUTO HLQON EIS THN hWRAN TAUTHN.
1 Cor 10:28 MH ESQIETE DI' EKEINON TON MHNUSANTA
The general principle for the demonstrative is that if it follows the head noun, it is not emphatic,
but indicates a back reference, meaning "the aforementioned". If the demonstrative precedes the head
noun, it is indeed emphatic. If it is used substantively, only the context can tell whether it is
meant to be emphatic or just a back reference. In John 10:19, the focus is on LOGOUS rather than
TOUTOUS (because of what he had said). I cited 12:27 because it has a final TAUTHN. Again the focus
is on hWRA rather than TAUTHN. In 1 Cor 10:28 we have a different demonstrative which is basically a
back reference (because of the one who mentioned it).
When the focus is on the reason, then it is natural that DIA TOUTO should come first in the sentence
as it normally does. It is indeed rare to have DIA TOUTO at the end of a sentence, but it is not
that rare to have a form of hOUTOS at or near the end of a sentence, nor to have a DIA something,
e.g.
Mat 10:22, 13:5, 21, 58; 15:3,6, 19:12, 24:9; 27:29....
John 2:24, 3:29, 4:39, 41, (confer the ones I listed earlier).
In the case of John 7:22, I am not suggesting that DIA TOUTO simply means "for that reason". Let me
repeat the text:
Jn 7:21 hEN ERGON EPOIHSA, KAI PANTES QAUMAZETE DIA TOUTO. MWUSHS DEDWKEN hMIN THN PERITOMEN.
The DIA TOUTO here does not mean "for that reason", but simply "because of it" or rather "because of
what I did", since the neuter pronoun probably refers to the event as such. There is much more
relative focus on PANTES and QAUMAZETE than on DIA TOUTO. Again, I find it easiest to get a feel for
the meaning if I use stress in English: You are ALL SURPRISED because of it. These two elements are
fronted before DIA TOUTO, because Jesus is implying that NONE of them ought to be surprised. He goes
on to tell them why they should not be surprised. It is no big deal to do a healing miracle on a
Sabbath, since they themselves "break" the Sabbath law for a much less important reason, namely to
do the circumcision exactly 7 days after birth. Couldn't that wait one day? No one would get hurt.
But this poor man needed to be healed, the sooner the better. All of this is related to the
accusation that Jesus levelled at the Jewish religious leaders, namely that they were more concerned
with the minutia of the law than with showing mercy. Jesus was the opposite.
Now, the main reason (DIA TOUTO 2) that I prefer this analysis for the other one, is that I cannot
make DIA TOUTO in the beginning of the next sentence make any sense at all.
Iver Larsen
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