[B-Greek] Wallace's "rule" for PAS.-noun-adj. construction in anequative clause

Iver Larsen iver_larsen at sil.org
Tue Oct 10 03:24:05 EDT 2006


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Leonard Jayawardena" <leonardj at sltnet.lk>
To: <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Cc: "Carl W. Conrad" <cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu>
Sent: Monday, October 09, 2006 3:33 AM
Subject: [B-Greek] Wallace's "rule" for PAS.-noun-adj. construction in anequative clause


> In a note on QEOPNEUSTOS in his Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, D. B. Wallace proposes the following "rule" for an 
> equative clause having a PAS-noun-adjective construction: "In [PAS] + noun + adjective constructions in equative 
> clauses the [PAS] being by nature as definite as the article, implies the article, thus making the adjective(s) 
> following the noun outside the implied article-noun group and, therefore, predicate."  I think this "rule" is wrong 
> for the reason I have explained below and would like to know what others think.

Hi, Leonard,

I think you have done a good job of showing how rule hunters like Wallace often shoot themselves in the foot.
There is no such rule, and the reason that QEOPNEUSTOS is predicate in 2 Tim 3:16 is simply that there is no other word 
that could function as the predicate. Taking it as an attribute would not make sense and it would make the clause 
incomplete.
In most cases where you have a PAS + noun + adjective (without intervening material) the adjective is indeed 
attributive.
I could find only two other constructions like this in a truly equative clause in the NT, namely
Jas 1:17 PAN DWRHMA TELEION ANWQEN ESTIN (every perfect gift is from above).
Jas 4:16 PASA KAUCHSIS TOIAUTH PONHRA ESTIN (all such boasting is evil)

And Wallace notes that these are both exceptions to his "rule".

(Actually, I don't like the concept of equative clause, because it is somewhat misleading and apparently based on the 
assumption that EIMI is always equative, when in fact it is usually descriptive as it is in all the cited examples. But 
then, you may have noticed that I am maverick when it comes to much of traditional Greek grammar vocabulary. That may be 
because I come from a background of mathematics, logic and general linguistics.)

To say that PAS by nature is as definite as the article is pretty non-sensical, but that only highlights the serious 
problem with the ill-defined and misleading notion of "definiteness" in discussions on English and Greek grammar.

Iver Larsen 




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