[B-Greek] syntax in 2 cor 10:12-13

Iver Larsen iver_larsen at sil.org
Fri Dec 11 00:51:55 EST 2009


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Elizabeth Kline" <kline_dekooning at earthlink.net>
To: "greek B-Greek" <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: 10. december 2009 20:34
Subject: [B-Greek] syntax in 2 cor 10:12-13


> 2Cor. 10:12 Οὐ γὰρ τολμῶμεν ἐγκρῖναι ἢ
> συγκρῖναι ἑαυτούς τισιν τῶν
> ἑαυτοὺς συνιστανόντων, ἀλλὰ αὐτοὶ
> ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἑαυτοὺς μετροῦντες καὶ
> συγκρίνοντες ἑαυτοὺς ἑαυτοῖς οὐ
> συνιᾶσιν.  13 ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐκ εἰς τὰ
> ἄμετρα καυχησόμεθα ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ
> μέτρον τοῦ κανόνος οὗ ἐμέρισεν
> ἡμῖν ὁ θεὸς μέτρου, ἐφικέσθαι ἄχρι
> καὶ ὑμῶν.
>
> 2COR. 10:12 OU GAR TOLMWMEN EGKRINAI H SUGKRINAI hEAUTOUS TISIN TWN
> hEAUTOUS SUNISTANONTWN, ALLA AUTOI EN hEAUTOIS hEAUTOUS METROUNTES KAI
> SUGKRINONTES hEAUTOUS hEAUTOIS OU SUNIASIN. 13 hHMEIS DE OUK EIS TA
> AMETRA KAUCHSOMEQA ALLA KATA TO METRON TOU KANONOS hOU EMERISEN hHMIN
> hO QEOS METROU, EFIKESQAI ACRI KAI hUMWN
>
> I find this a difficult passage. For example in 13b some scholars
> suggest that METROU limits TOU KANONOS. That would leave us with what
> looks to me like an improbable construction: TO METRON TOU KANONOS ...
> METROU and how often in the NT do we see a genitive separated from its
> head by a relative clause? On the other hand, reading METROU as part
> of the relative clause is not a particularly attractive option.
>
>
> Elizabeth Kline

I don't think it is unreasonable to treat hOU ...METROU as a unit within the 
relative clause. The relative hOU refers back to a complex noun phrase TO METRON 
TOU KANONOS, and in order to clarify that the reference is METRON rather than 
KANWN, the writer says hOU METROU EMERISEN hHMIN hO QEOS. That METROU is moved 
to the end only signifies that it is not in focus in this clause.

BD has some comments about attraction of the relative, and in §294.5 he mentions 
that when the antecedent is incorporated in the relative clause, it is attracted 
to the case of the relative. He mentions some examples:
Luke 19:37 PERI PASWN hWN EIDON DUNAMEWN
Mat 7:2 EN hWI GAR KRIMATI KRINETE KRIQHSESQE, KAI EN hWi METRWi METREITE
Luk 24:1 HLQON FEROUSAI hA hHTOIMASEN ARWMATA

Concerning 2 Cor 10:13, BD says: "hOU is probably attracted from hO (referring 
to METRON) to KANONOS and then METROU repeated, lest hOU be referred to 
KANONOS."

Iver Larsen 




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