[B-Greek] LABETE in John 20:22
Bert de Haan
b_dehaan at sympatico.ca
Tue Jan 23 21:01:06 EST 2007
John 20:22 reads:
KAI TOUTO EIPWN ENEFUSHSEN KAI LEGEI AUTOIS, LABETE PNEUMA hAION.
I am trying to understand the force of the imperative LABETE.
Jesus breathing on them I would think is a sign of them receiving the Holy
Spirit yet he commands them to receive the Holy Spirit.
Is the imperative âLABETEâ much more than a pronouncement?
Wallace in GGBB on page 492 has a section on pronouncement imperatives.
He says:
âOccasionally an imperative in the passive voice is the equivalent of a
statement that is fulfilled at the moment of speaking. Such usage is
reserved for passives that cannot be fulfilled by the recipient of the
imperative. On the surface, it looks like a command, but its nature is such
that it cannot be obeyed by the recipient and yet it comes true at the
moment it is uttered.â
An example he gives is KAQARISQHTI in Mark 1:41. âBe cleansed.â
The way I understand verse 22, all this seems to fit except the passive
voice of the verb.
LAMBANW in the passive voice does not make sense here but âreceiveâ can
have a bit of a passive sense compared to the active âtake.â
Is it safe to say that this is a pronouncement?
Thank you.
Bert de Haan.
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