[B-Greek] Luke 2:25 KAI PNEUMA HN hAGION EP AUTON

Elizabeth Kline kline_dekooning at earthlink.net
Sun Jun 3 03:27:34 EDT 2007


On Jun 2, 2007, at 7:49 PM, Jonathan Robie wrote:

> Luke 2:25 καὶ πνεῦμα ἦν ἅγιον ἐπ αὐτόν
> Luke 2:25 KAI PNEUMA HN hAGION EP AUTON
>
> To me, that HN feels like it's in a strange place, I would have  
> expected KAI HN PNEUMA hAGION EP AUTON or KAI PNEUMA hAGION HN EP  
> AUTON or KAI PNEUMA hAGION EP AUTON HN, but there it is dividing up  
> the phrase PNEUMA hAGION. Does this emphasize which spirit it was  
> that was upon him? Or what function does sticking it in that  
> particular place play?


The discontinuous constituent PNEUMA hAGION occurs in three places:

MATT. 1:20 TAUTA DE AUTOU ENQUMHQENTOS IDOU AGGELOS KURIOU KAT' ONAR  
EFANH AUTWi LEGWN: IWSHF hUIOS DAUID, MH FOBHQHiS PARALABEIN MARIAN  
THN GUNAIKA SOU: TO GAR EN AUTHi GENNHQEN EK PNEUMATOS ESTIN hAGIOU.

LUKE 2:25 KAI IDOU ANQRWPOS HN EN IEROUSALHM hWi ONOMA SUMEWN KAI hO  
ANQRWPOS hOUTOS DIKAIOS KAI EULABHS PROSDECOMENOS PARAKLHSIN TOU  
ISRAHL, KAI PNEUMA HN hAGION EP' AUTON:  26 KAI HN AUTWi  
KECRHMATISMENON hUPO TOU PNEUMATOS TOU hAGIOU MH IDEIN QANATON PRIN  
[H] AN IDHi TON CRISTON KURIOU.

ACTS 1:5 hOTI IWANNHS MEN EBAPTISEN hUDATI, hUMEIS DE EN PNEUMATI  
BAPTISQHSESQE hAGIWi OU META POLLAS TAUTAS hHMERAS.

I could find no satisfactory explanation. On LUKE 2:25 I.H.Marshall  
(NIGTC) makes a comment about "emphasis" which is sort of an  
exagtical waste basket for all sorts of things. S.Levinsohn  
(Discourse Features NT GK p.60) mentions both LUKE 2:25 and ACTS 1:5  
as examples of a discontinuous constituent which cannot be eaisly be  
explained by pragmatic analysis. He doesn't even offer a suggestion.  
Plummer (Luke ICC) thinks that PNEUMA ... hAGION in LUKE 2:25 has a  
different referent than TOU PNEUMATOS TOU hAGIOU in verse 26.

I suspect that there is a pragmatic explanation lurking somewhere,  
yet to be discovered (by me anyway).

Elizabeth Kline







More information about the B-Greek mailing list