From: Richard Ghilardi (qodeshlayhvh@juno.com)
Date: Sat Dec 23 2000 - 11:33:11 EST
Dear b-greekers,
Clayton wrote:
>Doing a little Christmas reading and ran into a grammatical issue in
>Matthew 1:25.
>L. Morris cites A.H. McNeil (Matthew, London 1915) in a footnote saying
that
>in the New Testament the negative particle followed by hEWS, hEWS hOU,
>or hEWS hOTOU "always implies that the negatived (sic) action did, or
will,
>take place after the point of time indicated by the particle."
>Whenever I hear someone use the word "always" in a statement like this I
>figure it is time to fire up Accordance and prove them wrong. If you
apply
>McNeil's rule to Matt 12:20 you end up with a very humorous result. The
>Messiah ends up breaking bruised reeds and quenching smoldering wicks.
>Matt 5:18 is a little more questionable, perhaps the rule works here or
>perhaps it doesn't. Rom. 11:8 also looks like a possible counter
example.
>There are undoubtedly more that I did not find.
>Perhaps these are the exceptions that prove the rule. Or perhaps these
>exceptions prove that there is no such rule. Here are some texts to look
>over:
>Matt. 1:25 Matt. 5:18 Matt. 5:26 Matt. 12:20 Matt. 16:28 Matt.
>23:39 Matt. 24:21 Matt. 24:34 Matt. 24:39 Mark 9:1 Luke 9:27 Luke 12:59
>Luke
>13:35 Luke 21:32 Luke 22:16 Luke 22:34 John 13:38 Rom. 11:8
Richard's reply:
I agree that the rule is somewhat overstated. But if we restrict it to
hEWS hOU and hEWS hOTOU the rule becomes iron-clad. There are no
exceptions. In fact, even those cases where the main clause is positive
follow the rule. Of couse, those cases where hEWS hOU, hEWS hOTOU or even
hEWS mean "while" rather than "until" are not within the purview of the
rule.
So now I am ready to restate the rule in its more restricted form:
<< A temporal clause introduced by the conjunctive particles hEWS hOU or
hEWS hOTOU, meaning "until", always implies that the action of the main
clause was or will be discontinued or reversed after the point of time
indicated by these particles. >>
The fact is that this rule works even for the vast majority of cases
where hEWS alone is found, especially where the main clause is negative.
Of the referrences you cited, only Mt 12:20 seems to break the rule. Mt
5:18 is doubtful, as you say. Rm 11:8 doesn't count because hEWS is not a
conjunctive particle introducing a temporal clause in this verse but an
improper preposition. All the other verses you mention follow the rule
quite nicely.
I have not had the chance to check the LXX. I would be interested to know
if this rule can be applied there.
Richard Ghilardi -- qodeshlayhvh@juno.com
New Haven, CT USA
Nibai kaurno hwaiteis gadriusando in airtha gaswiltith,
silbo ainata aflifnith: ith jabai gaswiltith, manag akran bairith.
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