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by Scott Lawson
August 3rd, 2021, 10:41 pm
Forum: New Testament
Topic: John 8:58
Replies: 209
Views: 36673

Re: John 8:58

Here’s where Robertson speaks of εγω ειμι as Jesus using “the absolute phrase used of God. So it looks like he isn’t using absolute as a technical term for no syntactic connection between the temporal clause and εγω ειμι. Before Abraham was (πριν Αβρααμ γενεσθα). Usual idiom with πριν in positive se...
by Scott Lawson
August 3rd, 2021, 9:51 pm
Forum: New Testament
Topic: John 8:58
Replies: 209
Views: 36673

Re: John 8:58

To be as clear as I can, Stephen, I’m not claiming that εγω ειμι is not syntactically connected to the adverbial dependent clause but you are by viewing εγω ειμι as a personal name. I’m saying that the adverbial dependent clause has to be modifying a verb and the most likely candidate is ειμι. This ...
by Scott Lawson
August 3rd, 2021, 9:27 pm
Forum: New Testament
Topic: John 8:58
Replies: 209
Views: 36673

Re: John 8:58

Stephen, Perhaps you can explain your 2012 comments below: (As Robertson does not have an "absolute" category in his explanation of the present tense, I don't find this comment helpful.) Wallace cites McKay's New Syntax, p.42, for this proposal but dismisses it for lack of parallels.” ‪Sco...
by Scott Lawson
August 3rd, 2021, 8:29 pm
Forum: New Testament
Topic: John 8:58
Replies: 209
Views: 36673

Re: John 8:58

Also, Stephen has pointed to the English need for a word like “since” for πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι to properly be understood as a PPA. But I wonder what word the writer of the fourth gospel could have chosen? Is this possibly reading an English convention into the Greek? Jason Hare wondered the same thi...
by Scott Lawson
August 3rd, 2021, 8:19 pm
Forum: New Testament
Topic: John 8:58
Replies: 209
Views: 36673

Re: John 8:58

Eeli, Carl Conrad picked up on the Parmenidian “dynamic” back in 2012: https://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7163#p7163 My own take on the present tense of εἷναι in both Jn 8:58 and in LXX Ps 89:2 is that it is the Parmenidean "dynamic" being -- of which Parmenides says that...
by Scott Lawson
August 3rd, 2021, 8:01 pm
Forum: New Testament
Topic: John 8:58
Replies: 209
Views: 36673

Re: John 8:58

I should add that I see πριν Αβρααμ γενεσθαι functioning as an adverbial dependent clause (I’ve been saying subordinate clause which is older terminology…maybe that caused some confusion). Here’s Wallace’s comments: . Adverbial Clause In this usage the dependent clause functions like an adverb in th...
by Scott Lawson
August 3rd, 2021, 7:44 pm
Forum: New Testament
Topic: John 8:58
Replies: 209
Views: 36673

Re: John 8:58

Stephen, Perhaps it will be helpful to quote Wallace on the controlling verb of an infinitive: 596] 3. Subsequent (πρὸ τοῦ, πρίν, or πρὶν ἤ + infinitive) [before . . .] The action of the infinitive of subsequent time occurs after the action of the controlling verb. Its structure is πρὸ τοῦ, πρίν, or...
by Scott Lawson
August 3rd, 2021, 7:40 pm
Forum: New Testament
Topic: John 8:58
Replies: 209
Views: 36673

Re: John 8:58

Stephen, Here’s a fine definition of what the absolute construction is: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_construction In linguistics, an absolute construction is a grammatical construction standing apart from a normal or usual syntactical relation with other words or sentence elements. It ca...
by Scott Lawson
August 3rd, 2021, 7:32 pm
Forum: New Testament
Topic: John 8:58
Replies: 209
Views: 36673

Re: John 8:58

Stephen here are Robertson’s comments on infinitives with verbs: f) The Infinitive with Verbs. This usage came to be, of course, the most frequent of all. It started as a dative or locative, then a sort of accusative of reference,2 then the object of verbs with whatever case the verb used. It is bot...
by Scott Lawson
August 3rd, 2021, 7:30 pm
Forum: New Testament
Topic: John 8:58
Replies: 209
Views: 36673

Re: John 8:58

Stephen here are Robertson’s points of basic grammar on absolute infinitives for your perusal: k) The Absolute Infinitive. This idiom is very common in Homer, especially as an imperative and in the midst of imperatives.1 R. Wagner2 notes that in Homer this use of the inf. occurs with the nom. The pa...

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