[B-Greek] Luke 4:7

Jonathan Robie jwrobie at mindspring.com
Thu Jun 14 16:34:09 EDT 2007


Elizabeth Kline wrote:
> On Jun 14, 2007, at 12:33 PM, Iver Larsen wrote:
>
>   
>> I would consider the conditional clause in 4:7 (and in 4:3 and 4:9)  
>> more salient than the main
>> clause. The previous text has introduced the reward, and Satan has  
>> already said that he would give
>> this reward/authority to Jesus. So, the clause "it will be yours"  
>> contains no new information, only
>> a rewriting and recapitulation of SOI DWSW THN EXOUSIAN TAUTHN  
>> hAPASAN with some emphasis on the
>> fulfilment of the promise. The new and crucial information is found  
>> in the condition which is placed
>> before the "apodosis".
>>     
>
> Iver,
>
> Yes, I can see your point. If SOI DWSW THN EXOUSIAN TAUTHN hAPASAN is  
> already a part of the cognitive framework of the addressee then ESTAI  
> SOU PASA isn't new and isn't the most salient. I agree, I think your  
> analysis is preferable.
>   

I don't live in the world of discourse analysis, and I'm not sure I 
follow your methodology here, but ....

If at the end of this exchange, the devil says, "if you bow down and 
worship me, then x", then x had better be plenty interesting enough to 
be salient, or else it would make no sense to say x at this point in the 
dialog. The devil had better offer something rather interesting in exchange!

This may be a summary statement, repeating information from earlier, but 
it has to be a statement with punch or the whole exchange falls flat. It 
would make no sense, for instance, to translate this with something 
decidedly not emphatic:

"If you bow down and worship me, then I'll give you, you know, all that 
stuff we talked about earlier ...."

Jonathan



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