[B-Greek] EKSESTIN + acc + infinitive?
Richard Ghilardi
qodeshlayhvh at juno.com
Tue Jun 2 21:47:27 EDT 2009
Hello Folks,
Recently someone asked about a Machen exercise that went something like
this:
<< It is not lawful for them to take the clothes. >>
Dr. Buth responded that the "them" might be put into the dative or the
accusative as the subject of the infinitive. But Dr. Conrad only
mentioned the dative. Whether his silence about putting "them" into the
acc as subject of the inf was meant to exclude that possibility, I don't
know and I don't care to discuss. Dr. Conrad can clear that up if he
wants to.
After examining all the instances of EKSESTIN in the NT I could not find
one example of EKSESTIN + subj acc + inf. EKSESTIN + dat + inf is found
as well as EKSESTIN + inf, but not EKSESTIN + subj acc + inf. (E/STIN +
subj acc + inf is also not in the NT.) Both of the introductory Greek
textbooks that I learned from, Chase & Phillips and Hansen & Quinn,
clearly teach that EKSESTIN may be followed either by the dative or the
accusative. Like Dr. Conrad, Smyth is nearly silent about this
construction:
<< When the subject of the infinitive is the same as the object (in the
genitive or dative) of the governing verb, it is often omitted, and a
predicate noun is either attracted into the genitive or dative, or stands
in the accusative in agreement with the omitted subject of the
infinitive. See 1060-1062. EKSESTIN hHMIN AGAQOIS EINAI or EKSESTIN hMIN
AGAQOUS EINAI it is in our power to be good (lit. to be good is possible
for us). Thus, DEOMEQ' OUN hYMWN ... AKROASASQAI TWN LEGOMENWN,
ENQYMHQENTAS hOTI KTL. we ask you therefore to listen to what is said,
considering that, etc. 1. 14. 6. Cp. NYN SOI EKSESTIN ANDRI GENESQAI
quoted in 1062 with LAKEDAIMONIOIS EKSESTIN hYMIN FILOUS GENESQAI it is
in your power to become friends to the Lacedaemonians T. 4.29. The
latter construction may be explained as abbreviated for EKSESTIN hYMIN
(hYMAS) FILOUS GENESQAI. >>
And...
<< The construction of the accusative with the infinitive seems to have
originated from the employment of the infinitive to complement the
meaning of transitive verbs; as in KELEYW SE APELQEIN I command you to
depart. Here the accusative was separated from the transitive verb and
felt to be the independent subject of the infinitive (I command that you
depart). Gradually the accusative with the infinitive was used even after
verbs incapable of taking an object-accusative. >>
In that last sentence Smyth seems to hint that in post-classical Greek
one might find EKSESTIN (ESTIN) + subj acc + inf., but not in the NT. Can
anyone tell me if this construction is found in the LXX or the apostolic
fathers or anywhere else?
Yours in His grace,
Richard Ghilardi - qodeshlayhvh at juno.com
West Haven, Connecticut USA
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