[B-Greek] PNEUMA HO THEOS and similar expressions
Jerry Reimer
Jerry at lsm.org
Tue Jun 26 13:08:58 EDT 2007
Dear Harold,
Yes, your examples show that the presence or absence of the definite article cannot be decisive here (and in other places as well). Thanks.
You are right that Koine does not have a proper indefinite article as such (though the cardinal numeral for "one" is sometimes used for this). In Modern Greek the cardinal number is all over the place as an indefinite article.
Jerry Reimer
-----Original Message-----
From: Harold Holmyard [mailto:hholmyard3 at earthlink.net]
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 9:47 AM
To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] PNEUMA HO THEOS and similar expressions
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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