From: Carl William Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Wed Dec 03 1997 - 10:53:46 EST
On Wed, 3 Dec 1997, Kevin and Sandi Anderson wrote:
> I have read that Phil 3:15a ought to be translated, "Therefore, as many as
> _will be_ [instead of _are_] perfect...." I am not so much interested in the
> interpretive vagaries elicited by this suggestion (although if anybody wants
> to pursue them I would be happy to sit back and watch the fireworks) as I am
> interested in knowing whether anyone can recall other instances where a
> predicate nominative may be reasonably translated in something other than
> the present tense.
>
> Cheers,
> Kevin L. Anderson
I would guess that the only reason anybody suggests assuming a future
perfect (a rare enough tense in the first place; I think I've only noted
three or four in over 35 years of reading Greek--and there is no future
perfect for EIMI--perhaps GENHSOMEQA is assumed?)--to begin again, the
only reason anybody would suggest a future or future perfect would be
because they understand TELEIOI to mean "perfect." While there are
contexts where the word can carry that meaning, it probably has the sense
"mature" here--"grown-up" as opposed to 'still childish in one's
thinking." So I think the point of Paul's statement is rather that, if we
are mature, or those of us who are mature, ought to take this attitude ...
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, USA 63130
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwc@oui.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
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