[B-Greek] TETARAKTAI in JOHN 12:27

Elizabeth Kline kline_dekooning at earthlink.net
Tue Mar 4 14:47:20 EST 2008


On Mar 4, 2008, at 8:30 AM, Carl Conrad wrote:

> As I noted in a follow-up, I really think this is stative: "My mind  
> is in turmoil" or "I am distressed." I really don't think that the  
> fact that it's perfect tense has anything to do with spontaneity or  
> lack of it or with some necessarily external cause. I agree that we  
> can understand the factors involved in the distress, but I don't  
> see why the perfect tense as such -- particularly when it's stative  
> -- indicating a current state -- has any bearing on the matter.


Carl and Webb,

Perhaps subject affectedness does not necessarily imply a change of  
state. A verb marked for subject affectedness might be drawing  
attention to a mental state (being troubled) without reference to any  
previous or subsequent state and without an causative or agentive  
arguments within the same clause. The notion of transition between  
states being more or less absent or at least backgrounded.

I note that Matthew follows his habit of setting the stage (cause/ 
agent) with a participle clause before reporting the the mental state  
of being troubled:


MATT. 2:3 AKOUSAS DE hO BASILEUS hHRWiDHS ETARACQH KAI PASA  
hIEROSOLUMA MET' AUTOU,

MATT. 14:26 hOI DE MAQHTAI IDONTES AUTON EPI THS QALASSHS  
PERIPATOUNTA ETARACQHSAN LEGONTES hOTI FANTASMA ESTIN, KAI APO TOU  
FOBOU EKRAXAN.

On the other hand, John is a little more indirect. The cause is  
present by inference from the local discourse segment but it isn't  
formally attached in the manner seen in Matthew.

JOHN 12:27 NUN hH YUCH MOU TETARAKTAI, KAI TI EIPW; PATER, SWSON ME  
EK THS hWRAS TAUTHS; ALLA DIA TOUTO HLQON EIS THN hWRAN TAUTHN.
JOHN 13:21 TAUTA EIPWN [hO] IHSOUS ETARACQH TWi PNEUMATI KAI  
EMARTURHSEN KAI EIPEN: AMHN AMHN LEGW hUMIN hOTI hEIS EX hUMWN  
PARADWSEI ME.

Thank you Carl and Webb,

Elizabeth Kline







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