Re: present indicative in Rom 6:14-24

From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Tue Apr 13 1999 - 06:42:02 EDT


At 9:30 PM -0400 4/12/99, Bryan Rocine wrote:
I had written previously:
>> (1) I think this is another question like Clay's yesterday about Lk
>7:29-30
>> that requires examination that doesn't have much to do with the Greek text
>> as Greek text, although I think there must be quite a bit of ancient
>> literary and rhetorical models that could illuminate the question.
>
>Here is about where my question comes in. If the passage does indeed
>utilize a "rhetorical" present, I assume Paul anticipates his readers won't
>have nearly so much trouble understanding the rhetorical usage as all those
>commentators! Your suggestion that this passage may amount to an example of
>the "historical present" is helpful. Is that my answer? Or can the list
>point to other Greek literature in which a distinctly rhetorical use of the
>present is found, not of the historical present per se, i.e., some of that
>"quite a bit of ancient literary and rhetorical models that could illuminate
>the question."

One other Pauline example of rhetorical usage of the present tense in the
first person comes immediately to mind: 1 Cor 13: EAN TAIS GLWSSAIS TWN
ANQRWPWN LALW KAI TWN AGGELWN ...

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
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/

---
B-Greek home page: http://sunsite.unc.edu/bgreek
You are currently subscribed to b-greek as: [cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu]
To unsubscribe, forward this message to leave-b-greek-329W@franklin.oit.unc.edu
To subscribe, send a message to subscribe-b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu


This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat Apr 20 2002 - 15:40:24 EDT