[b-greek] Re: Romans 1:16

From: Clwinbery@aol.com
Date: Sat Apr 06 2002 - 22:37:17 EST



In a message dated 4/6/02 5:31:34 PM, glennblank@earthlink.net writes:

>Glen Naftaniel wrote,
>
>>> 1) How do we know that the power (DUNAMIS) is the predicate
>>>nominative and 2) that ESTIN refers back to EUAGGELION?
>
>Mark Wilson wrote,
>
>>I think you are attempting to understand
>>this in the following manner:
>>
>>"I am not ashamed of the gospel. For God's power is...."
>>
>>As you can see, this doesn't work since there is no complete
>>predicate. More specifically:
>>
>>For God's power is ___________ resulting in salvation...
>
>Would it not be possible that the prepositional phrase itself is functioning
>as the predicate? Giving this sense:
>
>"For God's power is unto salvation."
>
>compare John 1.18; 1 Cor 14.22; Jam 5.3; Mat 19.5, for a few examples of
>where the predicate following a form of EIMI is a prepositional phrase
>rather than a substantive.
>
>Thus, Glen's parsing would be
>
>{<DUNAMIS QEOU> (subject)} {ESTIN (copula)} {<EIS SWTHRIAN> (predicate)}
>
>versus Mark's parsing, where the predicate is the noun phrase
>
>DUNAMIS QEOU EIS SWTHRIAN
>
>and the copula inserted into the noun phrase.
>
>So how do we know which it is?
>
Rom 1:16: "OU GAR EPAISCHUNOMAI TO EUANGELION DUNAMIS GAR THEOU
ESTIN EIS SOTERIAN PANTI TO PISTEUONTAI IUDAIO TE PROTON KAI
hELLENI."

First, ESTIN is a verb and does not have an antecendent. If we understand the
subject as "it" then it can have an antecedent. As to the question of what
the antecedent of "it" is, I would say TO EUAGGELION because even though it
is accusative as it appears as the dir. obj. of EPAISCHUNOMAI, it can be the
antecedent of the understood subject of ESTIN for pronouns agree with their
antecedents in gender and number but their case is determined by their
function within the clause. If DUNAMIS were the subject of ESTIN, I think it
would likely have the article hH in front of it especially when followed by
the genitive QEOU.

Carlton Winbery
Louisiana College

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