[B-Greek] B-Greek: Thread closed: PNEUMA hAGION as a proper name ?

Carl Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Fri May 14 08:54:33 EDT 2010


I am now closing this thread and ask all list-members please not to continue it. In my judgment it has been driven from the outset with a view to demonstrating the doctrine of the personhood of the Holy Spirit on the basis of grammatical considerations in the Greek text. Much of the discussion has focused closely on the grammatical issues of gender and whether or not the article used with PNEUMA hAGION implies that the phrase constitutes a proper name. The underlying focus of the thread has been indicated overtly at least once and Wali van Lohuizen in the message below also points to that focus in the grammatical discussion. I do feel that I should share this twice mis-directed post with the list because it seems to me helpful to those who have participated in the thread -- but I ask list-members who want to continue this discussion to take it OFF THE LIST, please.

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From: "vanlohuizens at xs4all.nl" <vanlohuizens at xs4all.nl>
Date: May 14, 2010 7:51:57 AM EDT
To: b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: PNEUMA hAGION as a proper name ?
Reply-To: vanlohuizens at xs4all.nl


Dear discussants of PNEUMA aGION!
I have tried to enter the discussion already at the first posting but I misaddressed. Here it is. 

On 12th May, 11.30 I wrote:
Yes, I do think the (an)arthrous use is intentional. 
I have met the same problem in the Synoptics. It has led me to suppose Luke and the other Synoptics do differentiate between the Holy Spirit as definite and holy spirit as indefinite. 
The same occurs with spirit without the adjective holy. 
It is particularly intriguing when looking at the expression EN PNEUMATI in the Gospels. 
Another hot item is BAPTIZEIN EN PNEUMAT hAGIOi: Mt 3.11, Mk 1.8, Lk 3.16.
Can someone shed more light?
Wali van Lohuizen, Netherlands

In the meantime some 20 postings have been out. Does the difference anarthrous/arthrous make sense, and if so does it apply to PNEUMA hAGION?  When consulting BlassDebrunner (German original) §257 gives a specified rule for PNEUMA. TO PNEUMA refers to an entity 'gewissermassen als Person'. Without the article 'als gottlicher in den Mensch einziehenden Geist (as divine spirit entering into the human being), a clear difference, relevant to our discussion. Another grammar, G. Steyer's German Handbuch fuer das Studium des ntl. Griechisch, vol. 2, Satzlehre, Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 1992, section 37G says that the article is left out `bei manchen Abstrakta, die als besonders bedeutsam empfunden`. But who decides which terms are important? Wasn't it theology? That is what Middleton (thanks for resurfacing it!) is saying (quote from Furuli's posting of May 13th, 09:00:47) in his section IV: "for there being but one Holy Spirit , he could not be spoken of indefinitely". What about when one does not take that 'theory' for granted? After all, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as Person is of later date, although time and again it has been retroprojected to the 1st c. And let us not fight indeed whether PNEUMA is masculine or neutral. My plea is for a linguistic argument whatever the outcome for theology.
In Mt 3.11 par Jesus is announced to immerse (rather than baptize) EN PNEUMATI hAGIWI. Most translations make it arthrous and he need to render EN as with. (Personally I should suggest theology to rethink what immersing in holy spirit could imply. A liguistic contribution not yet mentioned is by Steve Schwarz, "The Holy Spirit: Person and Power: the Greek Article and Pneuma", Bibnle Translator 44,1 (1993) 124-38. He consistently demonstrates that that invariably the anarthrous usage indicate a holy spirit as God-given power (137, passim).
Wali van Lohuizen, Netherlands

Carl W. Conrad
Co-Chair, B-Greek List
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)






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