Re: EKEINOS in 1 Jn 2:6

From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Tue Sep 23 1997 - 06:13:03 EDT


At 11:02 AM -0500 9/22/97, Paul Zellmer wrote:
>Since the discussion on 1 John continues, let me ask the list for their
>feelings who is being referred to by EKEINOS in 1 John 2:6. Some
>English translations very clearly take this as referring to Jesus,
>possibly because the EN AUTW holds the nearest substantive (?). Yet I
>can see a strong case for this referring back to the hOS in verse 5.
>What do you all think, and why?

I think it's Jesus, because (in 25 words or less?) (1) the aorist verb in
2:6 PERIEPATHSEN is NOT gnomic but in this instance, I think, really
temporal, definite, and past, while the verb with hOS in 1:5 is
generalizing (hOS D' AN THRHi ...); (2) the idiomatic use of EKEINOS where
there is no clear antecedent is with reference to a figure clearly known to
both the writer and his/her audience--not quite like our upper-case-H "He,"
but somewhat like it--Greek will sometimes intensify this reference to a
commonly known figure by adding the name with the article, as EKEINOS hO
ALEXANDROS, meaning: not just any Alexander but that one we all know about.

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cconrad@yancey.main.nc.us
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/



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