[B-Greek] Nominatives and Genitives

frjsilver at optonline.net frjsilver at optonline.net
Tue Oct 17 08:41:30 EDT 2006


Dear Friends --

This is a Hebraism, sometimes called in English a 'construct' relationship:  the second noun somehow modifies the first.

In Hebrew, when the same noun is repeated in a 'construct', it functions almost exactly as the superlative form of adjectives in Indo-European languages, provided the second form of the same noun is in the plural.

So, eg, it's not quite right to render _malek malkim_ (BASILEUS BASILEWN) as 'king of kings', but rather something like 'highest/greatest king';  _qadosh qadoshim_ (TO hAGION TWN hAGIWN) isn't so much 'holy of holies' as 'holiest place, inner sanctum'.

These constructs are relentlessly calqued into the text of the Greek 70, and KRISIS KRISEWS appears to be the same sort of construction, although the singular number doesn't function as a superlative adjective so much as a form of emphasis;  the same thing happens with verbs in construct with their own participles.

In any event, such constructions aren't Greek, really, but Hebrew in Greek clothing.  Greek doesn't natively express itself in this manner.

I hope this helps a little.

Peace and blessings to all.

Father James Silver

Monk James
Orthodox Church in America

----- Original Message -----
From: David Thiele 
Date: Tuesday, October 17, 2006 1:55 am
Subject: [B-Greek] Nominatives and Genitives
To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org

> A friend has asked me about a particular Greek construction 
> which involves the use of a noun in conjunction with a genitive 
> form of the same noun. Specific questions were:
> 
> 1. Does this construction have a technical name
> 2. Does this structure have any particular exegetical significane.
> 
> The text which led to the question arising was Deut 17:8 and 
> particularly its use of the nominative and genitive of KRISIS 
> together --
> 
> EAN DE ADUNATHSH(i) APO SOU hRHMA EN KRISEI ANA MESON hAIMA 
> hAIMATOS KAI ANA MESON KRISIS KRISEWS KAI ANA MESON AFH (h)AFHS 
> KAI MESON ANTILOGIA ANTILOGIAS, 
> (h)RMATA KRISEWS EN TAIS POLESIN (h)UMWN, ANABHSH(i) EIS TON 
> TOPON (h)ON AN EKLEXHTAI KURIOS (h)O QEOS SOU EPIKLHQHNAITO 
> ONOMA AUTOU EKEI
> 
> Any information that anyone can give me on this would be 
> appreciated. 
> Regards
> 
> David Thiele
> Pacific Adventist University
> 
> 
> 
> 
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