[B-Greek] Rev 4:3, Syntax

Carl Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Tue Mar 24 17:12:56 EDT 2009


On Mar 24, 2009, at 11:54 AM, Donald COBB wrote:

> Rev 4:3 reads:
>
> KAI hO KAQHMENOS hOMOIOS hORASEI LIQWi IASPIDI KAI SARDIWi.
>
> Taking hORASEI as a dative of respect, the first part can be  
> Englished: "And he who was seated was similar, as to his  
> appearence..."
>
> My question is: IASPIDI KAI SARDIWi being datives, they shouldn't be  
> considered as epexegetical (which would imply genitives, i.e., LIQWi  
> IASPIDOS KAI SARDIOU). BDAG does not list them has adjectives  
> ("jasper stones"). Should they be taken, then, as appositional? In  
> that case, the sentence could be Englished in the following way:
>
> "And he who was seated was similar, as to his appearence, to a  
> stone, [i.e.] to Jasper and cornelian"

Yes, I think they mu;st be understood as appositional; hOMOIOS takes a  
dative -- LIQWi "gemstone"; IASPIDI KAI SARDIWi spell out what kind of  
gemstone the one seataed on the throne is similar to.


Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)






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