[B-Greek] hO KURIOS TO PNEUMA - subject or predicate?

Carl Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Fri Feb 19 04:58:55 EST 2010


On Feb 19, 2010, at 1:33 AM, Iver Larsen wrote:
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Blue Meeksbay" <bluemeeksbay at yahoo.com>
> To: "Stephen Carlson" <stemmatic at gmail.com>
> Cc: <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: 17. februar 2010 22:13
> Subject: Re: [B-Greek] hO KURIOS TO PNEUMA - subject or predicate?
> 
> 
>> 
>> Below is a list of those verses I found that had a similar construction using 
>> ESTIN. What is interesting I could not find one example that had the exact 
>> same construction of subject - predicate – verb. The most common structure 
>> was, subject – verb – predicate, so I do not know if the structure of the 
>> verse itself can help us, unless there are examples from extra-biblical 
>> sources.
>> 
>> 
>> hO LUCNOS TOU SWMATOS ESTIN hO OFQALMOS. EAN OUN Hi hO OFQALMOS SOU hAPLOUS, 
>> hOLON TO SWMA SOU FWTEINON ESTAI·
>> Mt 6:22
>> 
>> Subject verb predicate – Most translations
>> Predicate verb subject – ESV, NIV
> 
> In this discussion I have not seen what I consider to be the crucial question. 
> What does ESTIN mean? It may function as a copula, and it often is equivalent to 
> the English "is", but not always. ESTIN is much broader in meaning which is easy 
> to see if you look up the very long entry for EIMI in a dictionary.
> 
> Sometimes it is neither equivalence nor description, but a loose connection 
> which needs to be understood in context. One of these loose connection meanings 
> are related to "stand for, bring about, lead to", and that is where I think we 
> need to go with some of these verses:
> 
> Mat 6:22  hO LUCNOS TOU SWMATOS ESTIN hO OFQALMOS. EAN OUN Hi hO OFQALMOS SOU 
> hAPLOUS, hOLON TO SWMA SOU FWTEINON ESTAI.
> 
> With some implicit information from the metaphor explicated, I think the 
> intended meaning is something like:
> 
> The eye is like a lamp that brings light to your inner being. So, if your eye is 
> good/sincere, your whole inner being will be illuminated.
> (See also NLT)
> Or you could say: The light-supplier of the body is the eye.
> 
> What is important to me is not which is subject and which is complement, but 
> what does the text mean.
>> __________________
>> 
>> O DE AGROS ESTIN hO KOSMOS, TO DE KALON SPERMA hOUTOI EISIN hOI hUIOI THS 
>> BASILEIAS· TA DE ZIZANIA EISIN hOI hUIOI TOU PONHROU
>> Mt 13:38
> 
> The field stands for the world. The good seed stands for the sons of the 
> kingdom.
> 
>> ________________
>> 
>> ESTIN DE AUTH hH PARABOLH· hO SPOROS ESTIN hO LOGOS TOU QEOU
>> Lu 8:11
>> 
> 
> The seed stands for the word of God
> 
>> ____________________________
>> KAI EPESA EMPROSQEN TWN PODWN AUTOU PROSKUNHSAI AUTWi KAI LEGEI MOI, hORA MH· 
>> SUNDOULOS SOU EIMI KAI TWN ADELFWN SOU TWN ECONTWN THN MARTURIAN IHSOU· TWi 
>> QEWi PROSKUNHSON. hH GAR MARTURIA IHSOU ESTIN TO PNEUMA THS PROFHTEIAS Re 
>> 19:10
>> 
>> Subject – verb – predicate – Most translations
>> Predicate – verb – subject - Darby, NLT
> 
> The spirit of prohecy brings about (stands for) the testimony of/to Jesus
> -----------------
> hO DE KURIOS TO PNEUMA ESTIN· OU DE TO PNEUMA KURIOU, ELEUQERIA
> II Cor. 3:17
> 
> The Lord (Jesus) brings about (stands for) the Spirit. Where the Spirit is, 
> there is freedom.
> 
> When someone turns to Jesus the veil is removed, and that new understanding is 
> closely connected to the Spirit which a person receives when he turns to the 
> Lord. It is Jesus who sent the Spirit.
> 
> Any discussion about whether Jesus is the Spirit or the Spirit is Jesus is in my 
> view besides the point and caused by a too narrow understanding of ESTIN.

I haven't checked the Wallace subcategories, but it seems to me that this is a common enough
usage that it could well be called and "epexegetic" or "periphrastic"  ESTIN, where an equivalent
is offered to explain what is meant by the first term, as in "that is to say ... " or "i.e." or
TOUT' ESTIN or "scil." etc., etc.

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






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