[B-Greek] Significance of Pluperfects In John 6:17
Webb
webb at selftest.net
Tue Jul 24 19:57:04 EDT 2007
16 hWS DE OYIA EGENETO KATEBHSAN hOI MAQHTAI AUTOU EPI THN QALASSAN 17 KAI
EMBANTES EIS PLOION HRCONTO PERAN THS QALASSHS EIS KAFARNAOUM KAI SKOTIA HDH
EGEGONEI KAI OUPW ELHLUQEI PROS AUTOUS hO IHSOUS
16 When evening came, Jesus' followers went down to the lake. 17 They got
into a boat, and were going across the lake to Capernaum. It had already
gotten dark, and Jesus hadn't come to them yet.
Dear Doug,
You're always free to make something of light and dark language in John.
Nonetheless, the pluperfects make good sense to me without any surplus
meaning in the context of Jn 6:16-17.
The coming of evening does not mean the same thing as it getting dark. It
probably means around the time the sun goes down. So they went down to the
lake around sunset, and perhaps they waited around for Jesus for a while,
but at some point, when "Jesus hadn't come to them yet", they decided to
start across the lake without him. His meeting with them on the lake was in
the dark, so in fact John had to supply the information that it had gotten
dark because just saying it was evening did NOT imply that it was dark.
Webb Mealy
-----Original Message-----
From: b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Douglas M. Wood
Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 2:57 PM
To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [B-Greek] Significance of Pluperfects In John 6:17
Dear Text Experts:
I am a pastor preaching this coming Sunday.
In chewing on and investigating the meaning of
my text (John 6:15-21; Jesus Walks On The Sea),
I discovered your website. I trust that you are
most interested in discerning the meaning that
the Holy Spirit intended, through His on-purpose
choice of Greek words.
There are 2 pluperfects in John 6:17. Since
there are only 22 pluperfects in the entire NT, I
am thinking that 2 in one spot is very significant.
Most English translations render the verse
as a report on the time and status -- for example,
"And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come
to them" (NKJV). I find such a translation superfluous
given the time report in v. 16.
I am theorizing that the pluperfects in this
verse intone something more significant --
and cosmically so, related to the Light
coming into the Darkness theme in this, the
Gospel of John.
What say you about the pluperfects here ?
Are there any articles in your archives that you
can point me to ? Do you know of any
commentaries that attempt to fathom the significance
of the pluperfects (so far, I have only found the
William Hendriksen volume on John in the New
Testament Commentary by Baker Book House
[1953] that calls any attention at all to the pluperfects;
but, I find his interpretation of the meaning not
fully satisfying) ?
Thank you for any assistance that you can be.
In Christ,
Doug Wood
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