[B-Greek] Musings over John 1:16

Elizabeth Kline kline_dekooning at earthlink.net
Wed Apr 15 02:02:02 EDT 2009


On Apr 14, 2009, at 10:41 PM, Donald COBB wrote:

> Hello folks,
>
> I've been looking over the Prologue to John's Gospel over the last  
> few days, and keep coming up against the hOTI that opens v. 16 :
>
> hOTI EK TOU PLHRWMATOS AUTOU hHMEIS PANTES ELABOMEN KAI CARIN ANTI  
> CARITOS
>
> The usual meaning of hΟΤΙ would be "for / because". The textual  
> variant (replacing hOTI with KAI) shows that the construction is  
> difficult, and several commentators suggest looking at v. 15 as an  
> intrusive secondary addition, observing that v. 16 flows much more  
> naturally from v. 14. From the point of view of vocabulary and  
> progression of thought, the point is well taken. It seems to me,  
> however, that even if we connect v. 16 directly to v. 14, keeping  
> the meaning as "because", the logical connection still remains  
> problematical.
>
> BDAG, under 5,c, gives "so that (as a result)" as a possible  
> function of hOTI, referring to Jn 7:35 as an example:
>
> POU hOUTOS MELLEI POREUESQAI hOTI hMEIS OUC hEURHSOMEN AUTON; "...so  
> that we will not find him?"
>
> That seems like an interesting option for 1:16, with the result that  
> v. 16 then opens up a new thought, building on v. 15 (or directly on  
> v. 14 or even the two verses together, thus, e.g., Ridderbos). The  
> difficulty, as I see it, is that the only examples given use hHOTI  
> to open an apodosis. My question, then, is twofold: firstly, can  
> hOTI bear this meaning at the beginning of a new clause, and not  
> merely in an apodosis? Secondly, does anyone have examples of such a  
> usage elsewhere in Koine Greek, inside or outide the NT?
>
> Any other suggestions for translation? Thanks in advance for your  
> input.
>
>
> Donald Cobb
> Aix-en-Provence, France

I seem to recall that M. Sim's contention was that hOTI is  
presentational, but I would need to look into it again and don't  
really want to open that argument once more. Iver Larsen could give  
you an answer.


Elizabeth Kline







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