[B-Greek] The Unattractiveness of Attraction?

Iver Larsen iver_larsen at sil.org
Sat Dec 4 00:13:44 EST 2010


There was a thread on this in January 2002. You can go to the archives or google 
for "Phil 1:28 hHTIS".

Iver Larsen

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen Baldwin" <stbaldwi at hotmail.com>
To: "B- Greek" <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: 4. december 2010 07:19
Subject: [B-Greek] The Unattractiveness of Attraction?


>
> Ladies and Gentlemen:
> I am perplexed and perhaps a little cynical about the concept of "attraction" 
> in Koine Greek.
> One example [among several] occurs in Philippians 1:27-28 where, in Mounce's 
> Graded Reader, he quotes Fee (NICNT) saying that the hHTIS in v28 refers back 
> to the preceding clause refers back to the whole preceding clause (admittedly 
> I do not have Fee's work, I am quoting Mounce quoting Fee) and is in the 
> feminine because it is "attracted" to the gender of ENDEIXIS
> hHTIS ESTIN AUTOIS ENDEIXIS
> Preceding clause:
> 1:27-28: THi PISTEI TOU EUANGGELIOU KAI MH PTUROMENOI EN MEDENI hUPO TWN 
> ANTIKEIMENWN hHTIS...
> [trust the transliteration attains the minimal acceptable standard]
> I have consulted my grammars -- I even hoped, after my recent questions 
> whether A.T. Robertson might rise to the occasion, since there is precious 
> little in any of my other works on this subject. Alas he sits on the table in 
> accordance with Lightman's suggestion, awaiting a job holding down papers in 
> the next tornado.
>
> So is this thing called "attraction" apparent or real? Perhaps I am 
> uncomfortable with the terminology -- it is as if the words have a mind of 
> their own rather than a writer deliberately choosing the appropriate and 
> grammatically correct lexical form? If attraction is real, what purpose does 
> it serve?
> Or is "attraction" a catch-all when all logical, semantic, and grammatical 
> attempts to explain the case of a word have failed?
> "oh it is not a,b,c,d therefore it is 'attraction'"
>
> Any references, comments, clues welcomed!
>
> Rgds
> Steve Baldwin
> stbaldwi at hotmail.com
>




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