[B-Greek] PNEUMA HO THEOS and similar expressions

Harold Holmyard hholmyard3 at earthlink.net
Tue Jun 26 12:47:03 EDT 2007


Dear Jerry,
> Would it be correct to say that because pneuma is anarthrous it tends toward
> qualitative (adjectival) rather than count or even predicate substantive?
> God is pneumatic. God is spiritual. Seems versions (like NIV) are more on
> the side of predicate noun.
>   
It seems to me that context is decisive. In many NT verses PNEUMA refers 
to an unclean spirit and could be a count noun whether it has an article 
or not. In Acts 23:8 PNEUMA is used as a predicate without the article 
but still implies to me a countable idea:

SADDOUKAIOI MEN GAR LEGOUSIN MH EINAI AVASTASIN MHTE AGGELON MNTE PNEUMA

For Saddoucees indeed say that there is not a resurrection or an angel 
or a spirit.

I am not thinking too clearly, but I don't think Greek has an indefinite 
article. So the presence or absence of the article would not be the 
deciding factor. A noun could be a count noun even with the definite 
article: "the ball." A word without an article could definitely be a 
count noun, as I just discussed with the word "thief." In John 10:1 
there is the phrase:

EKEINOS KLEPTHS ESTIN KAI LHiSTNS = "He is a thief and robber"

The words do not have the definite article, but they are count nouns.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard




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