[B-Greek] Syntax of Col 1:22

Elizabeth Kline kline_dekooning at earthlink.net
Mon Aug 17 13:43:41 EDT 2009


A "sentence" in Paul is probably the minimal meaningful context.

Col 1:21-23
21 Καὶ ὑμᾶς ποτε ὄντας  
ἀπηλλοτριωμένους καὶ ἐχθροὺς τῇ  
διανοίᾳ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς  
πονηροῖς,  22 νυνὶ δὲ ἀποκατήλλαξεν  
ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ διὰ  
τοῦ θανάτου παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους  
καὶ ἀμώμους καὶ ἀνεγκλήτους  
κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ,  23 εἴ γε ἐπιμένετε  
τῇ πίστει τεθεμελιωμένοι καὶ  
ἑδραῖοι καὶ μὴ μετακινούμενοι ἀπὸ  
τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ εὐαγγελίου οὗ  
ἠκούσατε, τοῦ κηρυχθέντος ἐν πάσῃ  
κτίσει τῇ ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν, οὗ  
ἐγενόμην ἐγὼ Παῦλος διάκονος.

21 KAI hUMAS POTE ONTAS APHLLOTRIWMENOUS KAI ECQROUS THi DIANOIAi EN  
TOIS ERGOIS TOIS PONHROIS, 22 NUNI DE APOKATHLLAXEN EN TWi SWMATI THS  
SARKOS AUTOU DIA TOU QANATOU PARASTHSAI hUMAS hAGIOUS KAI AMWMOUS KAI  
ANEGKLHTOUS KATENWPION AUTOU, 23 EI GE EPIMENETE THi PISTEI  
TEQEMELIWMENOI KAI hEDRAIOI KAI MH METAKINOUMENOI APO THS ELPIDOS TOU  
EUAGGELIOU hOU HKOUSATE, TOU KHRUCQENTOS EN PASHi KTISEI THi hUPO TON  
OURANON, hOU EGENOMHN EGW PAULOS DIAKONOS.




On Aug 17, 2009, at 1:30 AM, Oun Kwon wrote:

> Can you help me to see the syntax of Col 1:22?
>
> I'm quoting the verse (except the last phrase with is not relevant),  
> putting
> down the way I see it.
>
>
>
> NUNI DE APOKATHLLAXEN
>
> EN TWi SWMATI THS SARKOS
>
> AUTO DIA TOU QANATOU,
>
> PARASTHSAI hUMAS hAGIOS
>
>
>  νυνὶ δὲ ἀποκατήλλαξεν
>
>               ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκὸς
>
>            αὐτοῦ διὰ τοῦ θανάτου,
>
> παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους
>
>
> (1) Here I have disconnected AUTOU from the preceding word SARCOS.  
> By making
> it to go with third line I am trying to show that it can be seen to  
> modify
> QANATOU rather than SARKOS.

That is an interesting idea, it actually occurred to me as an optional  
parsing before I read your question. However, I think word order and  
the flow of thought is against it.  I would prefer to join AUTO with  
the constituent TWi SWMATI THS SARKOS or perhaps with THS SARKOS.

>
> Am I doing much violence to the text, esp. with (1)?

I don't know off hand if Paul ever puts a genitive modifier in front  
of a prepositional phrase containing the head noun. It would be  
unusual, perhaps not impossible.

I may have more to say on this later. I want to take some time and  
read Clinton Arnold's discussion of it.

Elizabeth Kline







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