[B-Greek] Luke 5:7a: "TOU ELQONTAS"

Randall Buth randallbuth at gmail.com
Thu Mar 12 05:45:52 EDT 2009


Birch egrapse
> "KAI KATENEUSAN TOIS METOCOIS EN TWi hETERWi PLOIWi TOU ELQONTAS
> SULLABESQAI AUTOIS" (Luke 5:7a).

> I take it that "TOU ELQONTAS" is purpose or a sort of indirect
> imperative. Is that correct? Why the accusative after "TOU"? Can
> someone point me to other GNT examples of this?

TOY goes with SYLLABESQAI and accusative
ELQONTAS is the doer of SYLLABESQAI. Infinitives can always have
accusative 'adjuncts'.
In this case, the 'coming'  has been 'demoted' into participle form
so that SYLLABESQAI has a natural prominence
between the two verbal ideas.
In addition, the aorist participle implies a progression
of first ELQEIN then SYLLABESQAI, just like when participles are
used with finite verbs.
for example, if these were finite verbs:
ELQONTES SYNELABON 'having come they joined the project'
could be rewritten as
HLQON KAI SYNELABON.

The same relationship happens with infinitives.
One could have upgraded ELQONTAS into an infinitive and produced
TOY ELQEIN [AYTOYS] KAI SYLLABESQAI AYTOIS
The accusative AYTOYS is optional in this rewrite since the doer is
known from the immediate context. I added it for you to see
another accusative with the infinitive(s).

These structures are basic to Greek and are a model for how you will
want to be writing [or speaking :-) ] yourself. E.g.
John 1:48
PRO TOY SE FILIPON FWNHSAI 'before the calling in reference to you and Phillip'
= 'before Phillip called you'
(it is from context we learn that the accusative SE 'you' is the
patient/undergoer
and accusative Phillip is the doer of the infinitive 'to call'. The
genitive TOY is used
merely to linnk the infinitive with the preposition here. In your
first example Lk 5.7
the TOY was used with the infinitive to express purpose/intention.)

ERRWSO
Randall Buth


-- 
Randall Buth, PhD
www.biblicalulpan.org
randallbuth at gmail.com
Biblical Language Center
Learn Easily - Progress Further - Remember for Life



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