[B-Greek] Pragmatic Conditionals (Was 2Cor 3:15-16 hHNIKA ... AN)
yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
Fri Feb 12 20:42:01 EST 2010
I apologize to the list if this is a duplicate. I think there were to may quoted replies and it the exceeded message size limit.
Blue,
A "pragmatic conditional," as I understand it, would be a conditional sentence which signals some other message to the hearer/reader. There is skewing between the grammatical form, the logical meaning and the intended meaning. The reader/hearer understands that the logical/grammatical form of the condition is not strictly intended. This happens often in natural language and I assume that NT Greek is natural language. For example,
"Whenever you are hungry, dinner will be on the table."
The listener/reader of such an utterance ignores the explicit meaning of the conditional sentence, because, strictly there is no possible cause and effect between the two parts, contingency and result. So, some other meaning is sought. Say, an invitation. So, a translator into a language that does not use this type of pragmatic conditional in this way would have to opt for a non-literal translation, say.
"You are welcome eat with us any time you wish." So, what is the likelihood that v. 16 is such a conditional?
v. 16 ἡνίκα δὲ ἐὰν ἐπιστρέψῃ πρὸς κύριον, περιαιρεῖται τὸ κάλυμμα.
hHNIKA DE EAN EPISTRFH PROS KURION, PERIAIREITAI TO KALUMMA.
It is a quotation of Scripture, but is there a skewing between the type of utterance it appears to be and how it functions pragmatically? Quoted utterance is complex, because there is often a difference in application between original and quotation, as in this case. The application might be ironic, quotation + differing attitude. Is it intended to merely to give information? Is it intended to express a wish/command?
My own opinion is that the Scripture is quoted as a sort of wish, like the wishes Paul expresses in Rom. 9-11. Of course the difficulty is that the grammar gives us no clue at all as to the meaning. Only context.
Yancy Smith, PhD
yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
Y.W.Smith at tcu.edu
yancy at wbtc.com
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On Feb 12, 2010, at 4:42 PM, Blue Meeksbay wrote:
> >Yancy wrote: Nevertheless, the term "conditional" can be applied to hHNIKA AN, but in Exodus 34:34 it is a "course-of-event" conditional. In 2 Cor 3:14-15 it is transposed to the present/future time frame and becomes a hypothetical conditional, even though Paul means to say that "if, whenever" to an event that can frequently occur in the present, has frequently ocurred in the past and may frequently occur in the future. What has plagued this whole discussion has been a use of the conditional as if the only conditionals that count are hypotheticals. What about course of event conditionals or pragmatic conditionals?<
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> Thank you, good point, but I think I will let others above my paygrade answer that question. Are you saying the "pragmatic conditional" would apply in verse 15, verse 16 or both?
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> Blue
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