[B-Greek] Genitive Absolute - a fresh look
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Tue Oct 31 05:59:52 EST 2006
A paper by on genitive absolute constructions in NT Koine Greek, "The
'Genitive Absolute' in New Testament/Hellenistic Greek: A Proposal
for Clearer Understanding" has appeared in the newly accessible
Volume 3 of Journal of Greek and Roman Christianity and Judaism at
http://divinity.mcmaster.ca/jgrchj/volume3
Her conclusion: ÒMy study of the use of Genitive Constructions in the
New Testament has demonstrated that being `absoluteÕ is not one of
their essential characteristics. Thus, there is no need to explain
why they are often not absolute. They are adverbial constructions,
and their main uses in narrative are (1) to signal important prior
background information that provides necessary context for the
action, and (2) to provide cohesion. Another relatively common use,
usually in exposition, is (3) to give accompanying conÞrming
circumstances. They have various other adverbial functions as they
combine the work of circumstantial participle and genitive adverbial
phrase. How frequently they are used may in some cases be linked to
regional dialect or writing conventions (for example, in the petition
form). When Genitive Constructions are seen in this way, many
passages that seemed to be grammatical anomalies can be understood as
following understandable principles.Ó
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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