[B-Greek] Accusative of retained object
Elizabeth Kline
kline_dekooning at earthlink.net
Mon May 21 16:01:29 EDT 2007
A few observations from the traditional point of view:
A close reading will reveal that Robertson and Wallace are not
talking about or saying the same thing. Wallace appears to be
addressing active verbs that take a double accusative when they are
transformed into a passive construction. Rom. 3:2 is NOT an example.
ROM. 3:1 TI OUN TO PERISSON TOU IOUDAIOU H TIS hH WFELEIA THS
PERITOMHS; 2 POLU KATA PANTA TROPON. PRWTON MEN [GAR] hOTI
EPISTEUQHSAN TA LOGIA TOU QEOU.
PISTEW (BDAG 818 #3) "entrust something to someone" in the active can
take three arguments (Lk 16:11b), a nominative, an accusative and a
dative. The equivalent when found in the passive may have the dative
"transformed" into an accusative. G.Cooper (1.52.4.2,6) doesn't read
this accusative as an object of the passive verb. He suggests that
the accusative here is functioning as an adverbial. Carl will
probably disagree with this analysis.
See also BDF 159.4 and Smyth 1747.
Elizabeth Kline
On May 21, 2007, at 8:59 AM, Bert de Haan wrote:
> I found what maybe an explanation in Wallace's GGBB on page 438.
> I will quote some of it.
> "Although it seems a bit odd to native English speakers, Greek
> sometimes uses an accusative with a true passive verb. The major
> usage for such a structure involves the accusative of retained
> object. In this instance, the accusative of thing in a double
> accusative person-thing construction with an active verb retains
> its case when the verb is put in the passive. The accusative of
> person, in such instances, becomes the subject. This use of the
> accusative occurs most frequently with causative verbs, though it
> is rare in the NT.
On May 21, 2007, at 9:20 AM, George F Somsel wrote:
> It isn't, of course, only Wallace who note this usage. Perhaps you
> might take a look at the examples A.T. Robertson cites
>
> Some verbs which have only one accusative in the active or middle
> yet retain the accusative of the thing in the passive with the
> person in the nominative. This is a freedom not possessed by the
> Latin. The person in the active was generally in the dative. Thus
> Paul a number of times uses πιστεύομαι [PISTEUOMAI]
> (πιστευθῆναι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον [PISTEUQHNAI TO
> EUAGGELION 1 Th. 2:4; ἐπιστεύθη τὸ μαρτύριον
> [EPISTEUQH TO MARTURION] 2 Th. 1:10; cf. also 1 Cor. 9:17; Gal.
> 2:7; Ro. 3:2; 1 Tim. 1:11). Then again περιβάλλομαι
> [PERIBALLOMAI] is frequently so employed, as
> περιβεβλημένος σινδόνα [PERIBEBLHMENOS SINDONA]
> (Mk. 14:51; cf. 16:5; and especially in Rev., as 7:9, 13; 10:1;
> 11:3; 12:1; 17:4; 18:16; 19:13). This is not the middle as Blass
> has it, though the future middle does occur in Rev. 3:5 with ἐν
> [EN], and the aorist middle with the accusative in Rev. 19:8. In
> Rev. 4:4 we have
> περιβεβλημένους ἱματίοις [PERIBEBLHMENOUS
> hIMATIOIS] (loc.), and margin (W. H.) ἐν ἱμ. EN hIM. Once
> more περίκειμαι [PERIKEIMAI] is used as the passive of
> περιτίθημι [PERITIQHMI] with the accusative of the thing,
> though the verb itself means to ‘lie around’ instead of ‘be
> encompassed with.’ So τὴν ἅλυσιν περίκειμαι
> [THN hALLUSIN PERIKEIMAI] (Ac. 28:20). Cf. also Heb. 5:2, but in
> Lu. 17:2 we have περί [PERI] repeated.
>
> Robertson, A. (1919; 2006). A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in
> the Light of Historical Research (p. 485).
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