[B-Greek] John 6:40 - PAS - "ALL" or "ALL THOSE WHO" ?
Matthew Dent
dentm42 at yahoo.com
Tue Aug 4 16:45:56 EDT 2009
Gentle scholars -
My apologies if this subject has been treated previously, but I did not see it in the archives (although, I have not read ALL the archives either ;)
I'm having difficulty thinking through John 6:40:
TOUTO GAR ESTIN
TO QELHMA TOU PATROS MOU INA
PAS O QEWRWN TON UION KAI
PISTEUWN EIS AUTON EXH ZWHN AIWNION
Specifically, I'm wondering whether "O QEWRWN ... KAI PISTEUWN EIS AUTON" in the phrase "INA PAS O QEWRWN TON UION KAI PISTEUWN EIS AUTON EXH ZWHN AIWNION" creates a bounded set which limits the scope of the "PAS" or whether it describes the desired state of being of the "PAS".
Some English paraphrases of what I mean might make it more clear.
Is the text saying:
(1) The desire of my father is the result that All (of those who are perceiving the son and belieiving on him) would have eternal life
OR
(2) The desire of my father is the result that All - perceiving the son and believing on him - would have eternal life.
The difference being in (1) it is the desire of the father that those who are in a condition of perceiving and believing would have eternal life. Whereas in (2) it is the desire of the father that all would be in a condition of perceiving and believing and that all would have eternal life.
Gramatically and semantically, I'm leaning toward (2), but I'm not sure whether that is theological bias clouding my judgment. I must admit, my resources for untangling this are thin (I have Goodwin, but not Wallace or anything more recent). Some beginning Greek books I consulted (namely Voelz, Fundamental Greek Grammar) make a distinction between modification of arthrous and anarthrous nouns, but I'm not entirely convinced that encompasses the entirety of what is going on -- especially when there seems to be something going on in regard to whether PAS is singular or plural in conjunction with the adjacent noun (not to mention the difficulty of determining whether it is the substantive aspect of a participle or the verbal aspect that should be in view).
John 3:8 seems to favor (1), however is not a present particple but a perfect participle, thereby focusing on the state which continues to exist having been previously attained. John 3:15&16 are the same as the construction under consideration and is also inconclusive except that 3:17 emphatically states that the Son was sent to save and not judge.
John 5:28 is an interesting case and may have some bearing since the construction is plural rather than singular. Could it possibly be that the difference in the singular versus the plural in the case of PAS may be a marker that the collective whole, in the case of the singular, is the focal point, versus the attributes of those constituting the set is what is to be considered in the case of the plural?
Does John 6:45 resolve the issue by pointing out that the prophets have written: all (plural, i.e. each person) will be taught of God (ESONTAI PANTES DIDAKTOI QEOU) and therefore all (singular, i.e. all people) come to me.
I suppose I could ramble on, but I'm sure I've provided enough info to prove my ignorance. I just hope it's enough for someone to help guide me in the right direction.
Any help is appreciated!
Matthew Dent
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