Re: Ephesians 4:10

From: David Moore (dvdmoore@dcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us)
Date: Wed Feb 14 1996 - 14:27:29 EST


On Wed, 14 Feb 1996, Northland Bible College wrote:
>
> I've got another question, this time on Ephesians 4:10. We find
> Nominatives separated by ESTIN: HO KATABAS AUTOS and HO ANABAS.
>
> HO KATABAS as I understand it should be taken as the subject. AUTOS (in
> relation to HO KATABAS) is predicate, but the whole clause HO KATABAS
> AUTOS stands together as the subject of ESTIN. No?
>
> Would not then HO ANABAS following, be predicate in relation to the first
> clause? Problem: Both nominatives have the article. How to tell which
> is Subjective and which is Predicate?
>
> Even worse, I'd followed the rule (first yr Grk) that the Nominative with
> the article is "always" the subject when two nominatives are found with a
> stative verb. But just this morning, re-reading Dana and Mantey, they
> said this is only "usually" true, and that "sometimes" the subject
> nominative will LACK the article whereas the predicate can HAVE the article.
>
> Can anybody clarify this seeming impasse?

        AUTOS functions as an auxilary pronoun here, giving emphasis to hO
KATABAS and emphasizing its identity with hO ANABAS. hO ANABAS is a
predicate nominative, joined to the subject and its auxilary by the
verb ESTIN. The meaning of the sentence is something like, "He who
descended: this same one is he who also ascended far above all the heavens
that He might fill all things."

        Since both the subject and the predicate nominative have the
article, the one that is before the verb (ESTIN) functions as the subject.

David L. Moore Southeastern Spanish District
Miami, Florida of the Assemblies of God
dvdmoore@dcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us Department of Education
http://members.aol.com/dvdmoore



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