The antecedent of this personal pronoun in John 7:17?
Posted: March 17th, 2018, 4:56 am
John 7:17 ἐάν τις θέλῃ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ ποιεῖν, γνώσεται περὶ τῆς διδαχῆς πότερον ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν ἢ ἐγὼ ἀπ’ ἐμαυτοῦ λαλῶ.
So, I know already what the response to this question would be. It would be something along the lines of "the context suggests αὐτοῦ refers to τοῦ πέμψαντός με (previous verse) or to God."
I agree in that it seems like that. But it looks like αὐτοῦ could also be referring to τις mentioned earlier in the same verse...
My question is, even though it is more likely referring to τοῦ πέμψαντός με, or God, do we know for certain that this is what it is referring to? It is subjective? Is there a chance that αὐτοῦ is referring to τις? Or if not τις, than something else?
If it isn't subjective, how can we be 100% certain that αὐτοῦ is referring to τοῦ πέμψαντός με, or God? Is there any objective way of arguing for it?
So, I know already what the response to this question would be. It would be something along the lines of "the context suggests αὐτοῦ refers to τοῦ πέμψαντός με (previous verse) or to God."
I agree in that it seems like that. But it looks like αὐτοῦ could also be referring to τις mentioned earlier in the same verse...
My question is, even though it is more likely referring to τοῦ πέμψαντός με, or God, do we know for certain that this is what it is referring to? It is subjective? Is there a chance that αὐτοῦ is referring to τις? Or if not τις, than something else?
If it isn't subjective, how can we be 100% certain that αὐτοῦ is referring to τοῦ πέμψαντός με, or God? Is there any objective way of arguing for it?