[B-Greek] partitive genitive as subject/object

Elizabeth Kline kline_dekooning at earthlink.net
Fri Feb 9 22:57:59 EST 2007


On Feb 9, 2007, at 6:16 PM, Carl W. Conrad wrote:

> I have no problem with the notion of partitives as subject or  
> object of a verb; we see them in Homer;

Homer OD IX:102
MH PWS TIS LWTOIO FAGWN NOSTOIO LAQHTAI.

Looks like LWTOIO is the partitive object of FAGWN.

> and I don't think there's anything particularly Semitic about it

I am willing the let that issue with the LXX experts. BDF #164.2  
"quite rare in classical ... common in Semitic languages ... often in  
LXX."

>  But it seems to me that the structure of the sentence in John 6:11  
> is highly elliptical.

Yes, highly elliptical and  therefore an object of interest for  
anyone who might have at one time  been under the influence of  
generative grammar.

> I'd formulate it thus
> ELABEN OUN TOUS ARTOUS hO IHSOUS KAI EUCARISTHSAS DIEDWKEN TOIS  
> ANAKEIMENOIS, hOMOIWS KAI EK TWN OYARIWN (ELABEN TOSOUTON) hOSON  
> HQELON (KAI EUCARISTHSAS DIEDWKEN TOIS ANAKEIMENOIS).
> I just think that in this instance there's an implicit quantitative  
> pronoun upon which EK TWN OYARIWN hangs. Certainly it's a partitive  
> phrase in any case.

Yes certainly.

Thank you.

Elizabeth Kline







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