[B-Greek] Pragmatic Conditionals (Was 2Cor 3:15-16 hHNIKA ... AN)

Brian Abasciano bvabasciano at gmail.com
Sat Feb 13 02:00:20 EST 2010


I think this analysis of pragmatic conditionals is incorrect, at least in the specific case we are dealing with and in the example given. Let's look at the example: "Whenever you are hungry, dinner will be on the table." There is indeed a conditional element to this. It could take more than one form, but let's go with the invitation form that Yancy cites. The invitation communicates that it is up to the person invited to initiate getting together. That is why it is stated with "whenever" (=  "if at any time"). So it is not a matter of the explicit conditional not being intended. It is a situation of both/and, this type of use of the conditional indicates contingency ("you can come over whenever you want to; you are welcome; our desire for you to come over and enjoy hospitality stands and we leave it to you initiate when you would like to come over") plus the notion of invitation. (Alternatively, this sort of invitation could mean something like, "whenever you are in need, we are ready to help you out", which again involves some contingency, for the need [being hungry] would evoke the meeting of the need (providning dinner].) One might be able to think up some use of whenever x, (then) y that is not conditional, but it seems that it would be an extremely unusual and rare usage as to be (if one could be found) the exception  that proves the rule. As I have stated a number of times, every use of hHNIKA ... (E)ANplus subjunctive elsewhere in the Bible always presents the associated action as in some way determinative for a subordinate contingent action. This particular grammatical construction really does seem to imply conditionality/contingency of some sort.


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Date: Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:42:01 -0600
From: "yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net" <yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: [B-Greek] Pragmatic Conditionals (Was 2Cor 3:15-16 hHNIKA ...
AN)
To: greek B-Greek <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <49B5E698-20A6-455F-973B-11A1638D7D94 at sbcglobal.net>
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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 ????? ?? ??? ????????? ???? ??????, ???????????? ?? ???????. 
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.



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