[B-Greek] Eph 1:9: Going beyond grammar?

Barry H. nebarry at verizon.net
Fri Aug 14 10:00:58 EDT 2009


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Sanders" <john.franklin.sanders at gmail.com>
To: "Carl Conrad" <cwconrad2 at mac.com>
Cc: "Kenneth Litwak" <javajedi2 at yahoo.com>; <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 9:19 AM
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] Eph 1:9: Going beyond grammar?


> When I read Ken's questions, I formulated my own:  Did Paul deliberately
> choose this construction or is it a reflection of habitual usage by Paul. 
> I
> do not think we will have sufficient data to come to any meaningful
> knowledge.

Look at what you have written above.  Your omission of the question mark at 
the end of the sentence -- was that a deliberate choice, a customary usage, 
or an error?  What difference does it make to the intended meaning of the 
text you have written?  What about your use of the simple past tense?  You 
could just as easily have used the progressive when you wrote the 
circumstantial clause, "When I was reading Ken's questions..."

When the author encodes his message, he is thinking about the best way to 
communicate what he wants to say.  The form this takes is a dynamic 
interaction between context, the audience (real or imagined) and the 
speaker.  In Paul's case, I doubt that he was thinking much about any 
striking rhetorical or literary phrasing, unlike someone who is making 
artistic choices, such as a poet or tragedian.  He is simply seeking to 
communicate his point, and much of what he writes, perhaps all, results 
intuitively, much the way we write and communicate.

N.E. Barry Hofstetter
Adjunct Faculty, Classics @ Montclair State University
http://www.montclair.edu/
Classics & Bible Instructor @ The American Academy
http://theamericanacademy.net

http://my.opera.com/barryhofstetter/blog




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