Use of vocative (pater) in the Nicene Creed
Posted: October 30th, 2011, 5:03 pm
From the first line of the Nicene Creed:
pisteuomen en hena theon, pater pantokratora
Πιστεύομεν εἰς ἕνα θεὸν, πατέρ παντοκράτορα
I would have expected accusative patera (πατέρα) here, but find a vocative instead.
I scoured my available grammars for some clue as to what might be happening here, but to no avail, so I was hoping somebody might please explain why this does not translate as a vocative, viz: "Oh, Father!"?
Thanks and regards,
Murray Hogg
Melbourne, Australia
pisteuomen en hena theon, pater pantokratora
Πιστεύομεν εἰς ἕνα θεὸν, πατέρ παντοκράτορα
I would have expected accusative patera (πατέρα) here, but find a vocative instead.
I scoured my available grammars for some clue as to what might be happening here, but to no avail, so I was hoping somebody might please explain why this does not translate as a vocative, viz: "Oh, Father!"?
Thanks and regards,
Murray Hogg
Melbourne, Australia