[B-Greek] John 11:24

Carl Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Fri Oct 29 17:45:54 EDT 2010


On Oct 29, 2010, at 5:20 PM, James Ernest wrote:
>> I make no pretense of explaining what the KJV translators intended
> 
> Same phrase (though he were dead) in Geneva Bible and Bishop's Bible,
> if the online texts are reliable, and similar in Wycliffe (though he
> be dead). Makes me wonder whether whoever first Englished the verse in
> this way was looking at the Greek (KAN APOQANHi) or the Latin (si
> mortuus fuerit).

Well, in fact the Latin is ambiguous, since mortuus fuerit could be 
either perfect subjunctive or future perfect indicative. As a future
perfect indicative, mortuus fuerit would be a proper Latin equivalent
of APOQANHi in a future more vivid protasis, but the perfect 
subjunctive might be conveyed as "if he has died." The problem is:
that protasis really doesn't fit with the apodosis "he will live."
On the other hand, "si mortuus fuerit vivet" can rightly mean
"if he ever dies (will have died), he will live."


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






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