[B-Greek] hO ESTIN? (1 Jn 2:8)
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Sat Feb 10 05:12:34 EST 2007
On Feb 10, 2007, at 4:01 AM, Iver Larsen wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> Webb:
>
>>> I'm going to speculate that John, when he says
>>> PALIN ENTOLHN KAINHN GRAFW hUMIN,
>>> Is then thinking, but not writing, AGAPATE ALLHLOUS (cf. Jn 13:34).
>>> I suspect that it is that unspoken command--not the word "command"--
>>> which is
>>> resumed by the relative clause:
>>> hO ESTIN ALHQES EN AUTW KAI EN hUMIN
>>>
>>> That is to say, John is saying that the command, "love one
>>> another", despite not being a statement in the indicative, is
>>> "True" both in Christ
>>> and in them. And it is shown to be true hOTI (because) the
>>> darkness of
>>> hatred is dissipating and the light of mutual love is already
>>> shining. And, if
>>> somebody says they're in this new light and hates their brother or
>>> sister, they're actually still in the dark (2:9).
>
> Carl:
>> I should have cited his English version of the passage:
>>
>> "(2:7) Dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you, but
>> rather an old command that you have had since the beginning. The old
>> command is the message that you heard. (8) On the other hand, I AM
>> writing a new command to you -- and this claim (that I am writing a
>> new command) is true in and of itself and with respect to you --
>> becaue the darkness is disappearing and the true light is now
>> shining."
>
> In this case I agree with my translator colleague, Webb.
>
> The translation by Culy makes no sense to me, because it focuses on
> the grammar, where the sense
> needs to be derived from pragmatics and context. The hO - which -
> of hO ESTIN sets the reader up to
> think "What does this concept mean? or "How does it apply?" The
> "new and not new" command is the
> great command "Love God with all your heart etc, and your neighbour
> as yourself". This is not a new
> command since it was there in Leviticus. On the other hand there is
> something new about it, namely
> that it "is true" in Jesus. He not only cited the command, he lived
> it. The same applies to his true
> followers, because they are part of the new covenant life where
> darkness is disappearing and the
> true light (Jesus) is now shining. It is not only true in him but
> also in you - ALHQES EN AUTW KAI
> EN hUMIN (or EN hHMIN as many good manuscripts have it.)
I wasn't really so much approving and promoting Culy's interpretation
as trying to state what it is. On the other hand, if we really do
suppose that the neuter relative pronoun hO has hH ENTOLH as its real
antecedent, then it's an additional item pointing toward a
questionable level of competence in Greek on the part of the author
of 1 John. I have thought for some times that there are parts of 1
John that really don't fit together very well syntactically -- at
least in terms of "standard" syntactic patterns, and this is one of
them.
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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