[B-Greek] 2 Peter 3:9

Brian Abasciano bvabasciano at gmail.com
Mon Dec 17 13:53:55 EST 2007


I actually do not think that grammar indicates anything about the extent of TINAS or PANTAS in 2 Pet 3:9. That is more of a contextual and exegetical question. I believe that the grammar indicates that both EIS hUMAS and the participial phrase MH BOULOMENOS TINAS APOLESQAI  ALLA PANTAS EIS METANOIAN CWRHSAI are subordinate to MAKROQUMEI. The two phrases' relation to one another is not indicated grammatically. The paticipial phrase could easily be read as causal, providing the reason for God's patience "toward you", and be taken as a general principle that applies to any and all and governing his patience towards the readers. I think it highly likely that the participial phrase is causal. But the question of whether it is to be considered a general principle grounding God's pateince or a desire limited only to the readers is another question, one which again is not solved by the grammar, but is more of an exegetical question. In either case the participial phrase gives a reason for God's patience toward the readers. Of course, the passage raises some interesting and charged theological issues which are beyond the scope of B-Greek discussion. We could discuss those off list.

God bless,

Brian Abasciano

On Dec 14, 2007, at 7:12 AM, Rod Rogers wrote:

> 2 Peter 3:9
>
> OU BRADUNEI KURIOS THS EPAGGELIAS
>
> hWS TINES BRADUTHTA hHGOUNTAI
>
> ALLA
>
> MAKROQUMEI EIS hUMAS
>
> MH BOULOMENOS TINAS APOLESQAI
>
> ALLA
>
> PANTAS EIS METANOIAN CWRHSAI.
>
>
>
> I understand this verse to have two
> independent clauses and three dependent
> clauses. The subject of the sentence is
> KURIOS and I suppose there are two main
> points of the verse in light of the finite
> verbs, the Lord is not slow and He is
> patient. I see the hWS clause as a
> comparative clause, comparing the ungodly
> which say where is his coming to the Lord
> Himself.
>
> I understand KURIOS to be the understood
> subject of the third clause MAKROQUMEI EIS
> hUMAS. My questions pertain to the last two
> clauses. Are MH BOULOMENOS TINAS APOLESQAI
> and PANTAS EIS METANOIAN CWRHSAI adverbial
> clauses and if so would you diagrammatically
> continue to place them under EIS hUMAS or
> would you place them separately under
> MAKROQUMEI (I would not place them under EIS
> hUMAS)? Point being, does hUMAS govern the
> extent/content of TINAS OR PANTAS in any way
> (I don't think so)? Could MH BOULOMENOS TINAS
> APOLESQAI stand on it's own with KURIOS as
> the implied subject and ESTIN as the implied
> verb? Anything else I'm missing?

From: Elizabeth Kline <kline_dekooning at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] 2 Peter 3:9

See UBS3 and NA27 for the textual var.  EIS hUMAS, DI' hUMAS, EIS hHMAS.

R.Bauckham (2Pet Jude WBC p.313) " ... PANTAS is clearly limited by  
hUMAS. There is no thought here of christian mission ... ".

There is a  tendency to level out the meaning of similar expressions  
in NT so that they all mean more or less the same thing. The referent  
of hUMAS is the recipients of the letter.  Backham takes this as a  
warning to the recipients of the letter not as a general statement  
about divine forbearance. "Here it is for the sake of the repentance  
of 2Peter's christian readers." The people in view are those who have  
been lead astray by false teachers.

Doubtless we could find more general statements about divine  
forbearance which would have a broad scope but the task at hand is to  
determine what 2Peter is saying to the target audience. Bauckham  
mentions a noteworthy rabbinical controversy (R.Eliezer b. Hyrcanus  
vs. R.Joshua b. Hananiah) concerning the delay of redemption that  
might (late 1st cent.??) have formed a background for 2Peter's  
discussion of the delay of the parousia. It might be assumed that  
2Peter target readership might draw a more general inference from a  
statement specifically addressed to them.

This sort of question IS actually a language issue because in the  
cognitive approach to semantics the cognitive framework of the  
recipient plays the major role in assigning meaning to an utterance.

Elizabeth Kline



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