[B-Greek] "monon" - I Cor. 15:19
George F Somsel
gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Wed Mar 28 13:45:23 EDT 2007
TAUTHi in this passage is without any marking as to significance as is ZWHi the noun it modifies. I am becoming rather impatient with a practice of assigning significance to a word based solely and artificially upon its position in the sentence. A short survey of the use of hOUTOS, hAUTH, TOUTO will illustrate the inanity of such a practice. These passages are simply chosen in order excluding only those in which the demonstrative pronoun stands by itself as the subject of the sentence, i.e. it must modify a noun.
Mt 5.19 hOS EAN OUN LUSHi MIAN TWN ENTOLWN TOUTWN …
Mt 7.24 PAS OUN hOSTIS AKOUEI MOU TOUS LOGOUS TOUTUS …
Mt 7.26 Same
Mt 9.26 KAI ECHLQEN hH FHMH hAUTH …
Mt 10.23 hOTAN DE DIWKWSIN hUMAS EN THi POLEI TAUTHi …
Mt 10.42 KAI hOS AN POTISHi hENA TWN MIKRWN TOUTWN …
Mt 11.16 TINI DE hOMOIWSW THN GENEAN TAUTHN …
Mt 12.41 EN THi KRISEI META THS GENEAS TAUTHS …
Mt 12.45 hOUTWS ESTAI KAI THi GENEAi TAUTHi …
Mt 13.15 EPAXUNQH GAR hH KARDIA TOU LAOU TOUTOU (quotation from LXX)
Mt 15.8 hO LAOS hOUTOS TOIS XEILESIN ME TIMAi (quotation)
Mt 18.4 hOSTIS OUN TAPEINWSEI hEAUTON hWS TO PAIDION TOUTO …
Mt 18.6 SKANDALISHi hENA TWN MIKRWN TOUTWN TWN PISTEUONTON …
The one seeming exception to this is when hOUTOS modifies PAS, e.g.
Mt 19.20 λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ νεανίσκος· πάντα ταῦτα ἐφύλαξα· LEGEI AUTWi hO NEANISKOS, "PANTA TAUTA EFULACA."
It is time that the repetition of something that has been propagated by certain linguistic views is called into question.
george
gfsomsel
_________
----- Original Message ----
From: Iver Larsen <iver_larsen at sil.org>
To: Dave <jer2329 at preteristcosmos.com>; b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2007 10:50:37 AM
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] "monon" - I Cor. 15:19
Hi, Dave,
It is a very good question.
In the clause EN ZWHi TAUTHi EN CRISTWi HLPIKOTES ESMEN MONON,
MONON has to modify the whole clause as Ken has explained (the same in John 17:20). Therefore,
number 1 and 4 below would be grammatically excluded. The grammar points to number 5, which you
don't have, i.e. it modifies the whole clause. Of your four options, number 2 would be closest, but
semantically there is no significant difference between number 2 and 3 in this context.
If there was no MONON, we could have translated:
In the present life we have put our hope/confidence in Christ.
Because of the position of TAUTHi in EN ZWHi TAUTHi, there is relative prominence on "life" rather
than "this". It is not "in THIS life" as opposed to another life, but rather in this present life of
ours, or "while we live here on earth".
The MONON indicates that the main point is where we have put our hope or confidence. If there were
four places we could have put out hope and we have only put it in one place, then we are in trouble,
if that one place turns out to be an illusion. Therefore, to only put our hope in one place is
equivalent to putting all our hope in one place. If you only put your eggs in one basket, it is the
same as putting all your eggs in one basket. It may therefore be easier to get the sense if we used
all, e.g.
If we in this present life of ours have put all our hope/confidence in Christ, then we are to be
pitied more than all other people (IF Christ had not been raised from the dead). And then v. 20
comes back with "But now, as it is, Christ has indeed been raised from the dead."
Why all(?) English versions seem to have gone somewhat astray here, is a different question that has
a lot to do with translation philosophy and tradition.
Iver Larsen
Translation consultant
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave" <jer2329 at preteristcosmos.com>
> 1. "If in this LIFE ONLY we have hoped in Christ...." (Monon modifies "life.")
> 2. "If in this life we have had ONLY HOPE in Christ...." (Monon modifies "hope.")
> 3. "If in this life we have hoped ONLY in CHRIST...." (Monon modifies "Christ.")
> 4. "If in this life WE ALONE have hoped in Christ...." (Monon modifies "we.")
---
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