[B-Greek] KAI TAUTA EIPWN, Acts 19:40

George F Somsel gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Mon Nov 19 00:18:47 EST 2007


The participle in this clause modifies the verb as I think you agree.   
434. The Adverbial Participle logically modifies some other verb of the sentence in which it stands, being equivalent to an adverbial phrase or clause denoting time, condition, concession, cause, purpose, means, manner, or attendant circumstance. HA. 969; G. 1563. Thus we find:

Burton, E. D. W. (1898). Syntax of the moods and tenses in New Testament Greek (3rd ed.) (169). Edinburg: T. & T. Clark.

So the question is "what is it that the participle denotes among those possibilities?" since there is nothing in the participle itself which designates precisely how it is to be used and therefore any of these uses is possible.

You seem to favor means or manner when you say "with these words."  Is it "by means of these words"?  There seems to be nothing in the words themselves which indicates that they serve to dismiss the assembly so I would be inclined to reject that usage.  Purpose seems quite evidently excluded.  It could also be cause "because he said these words", but the words are not the reason for the dismissal of the assembly but the danger of which they warn.  It would seem to me that the temporal usage is more likely "after he spoke these words …"

 
george
gfsomsel
 
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----- Original Message ----
From: Webb Mealy <webb at selftest.net>
To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 10:37:57 PM
Subject: [B-Greek] KAI TAUTA EIPWN, Acts 19:40

KAI TAUTA EIPWN APELUSEN THN EKKLHSIAN (Acts 19:40)



On first reading this said to me,



"And with those words he dismissed the meeting."



But nobody seems to agree with me. People generally render it, 



"After saying these things he dismissed the meeting."



Is there anything in terms of grammar that tells us clearly that the saying
of those words and the dismissing are two different actions that happen in
succession? Or is it just that those words seem like inappropriate words to
use to close a meeting?



Webb Mealy

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