From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Mon Oct 30 2000 - 08:08:16 EST
At 11:17 AM +1000 10/30/00, Rick S wrote:
>It looks like Acts has some exceptions to the genitive absolute rule
>regarding the grammatical relation between the main clause and the GA. For
>example, 21:34 and 28:6 appear not to be strictly GAs. What about 3:11,
>which is normally understood as a GA construction? Could not KRATOUNTOS DE
>AUTOU refer to the hO LAOS and not to the cripple? The crowd is the
>subject of vv 9-10 and of the main clause of v 11. In terms of sense, the
>crowd would logically seize Peter and John and run with them into the
>stoa. That 'makes more sense' than the healed man clinging to them.
>
>Or have I misunderstood GAs?
First, a couple remarks on format and text: (a) we've asked that people use
plain-text formatting only for messages to B-Greek as the characters,
particularly some of the punctuation marks, don't show up clearly on
systems that don't operate on the same system or with the same font; the
original message came to the list in formatted text, but my reply will
reformat the whole thing in plain text; (b) It always helps readers to
understand the question when the poster cites the full text about which the
question is posed.
Acts 21:34 ALLOI DE ALLO TI EPEFWNOUN EN TWi OCLWi. MH DUNAMENOU DE AUTOU
GNWNAI TO ASFALES DIA TON QORUBON EKELEUSEN AUTON AGESQAI EIS THN
PAREMBOLHN.
Acts 28:6 hOI DE PROSEDOKWN AUTON MELLEIN PIMPRASQAI H KATAPIPTEIN AFNW
NEKRON. EPI POLU DE AUTWN PROSDOKWNTWN KAI QEWROUNTWN MHDEN ATOPON EIS
AUTON GINOMENON METABALOMENOI ELEGON AUTON EINAI QEON.
It is true that both these are instances where it is evident that the
subjects of the main clause are identical with the subjects of the genitive
absolute, the singular subject in 21:34 and the plural subject in 28:6. I
think what we must say about these (and I haven't checked any grammars as
yet) is that the genitive absolute, which in standard usage does have a
subject different from that of the main clause on which it depends, a
circumstantial (adverbial) genitive absolute is occasionally being used
simply to characterize the setting exactly as would an adverbial clause or
a circumstantial participle in agreement with the subject of the main
clause. Certainly in 21:34 the author could have written MH DUNAMENOS DE
GNWNAI TO ASFALES ... EKELEUSEN AUTON AGESQAI ... and similarly in 28:6 the
second clause might have been written EPI POLU DE PROSDOKWNTES KAI
QEWROUNTES MHDEN ATOPON EIS AUTON GINOMENON, METABALOMENOI ELEGON AUTON
EINAI QEON. So I would agree with you on these, Rick, and I suspect that
there are probably others that could be found where the participial
genitive construction with a subject serves no other purpose than to
indicate circumstances governing the main clause, even if the subject is
the same--and that would have to constitute a Koine deviation from
"standard" usage.
Acts 3:10 EPEGINWSKON DE AUTON hOTI AUTOS HN PROS THN ELEHMOSUNHN KAQHMENOS
EPI THi hWRAIAi PULHi TOU hIEROU KAI EPLHSQHSAN QAMBOUS KAI EKSTASEWS EPI
TWi SUMBEBHKOTI AUTWi. 11 KRATOUNTOS DE AUTOU TON PETRON KAI TON IWANNHN
SUNEDRAMEN PAS hO LAOS PROS AUTOUS EPI THi STOAi THi KALOUMENHi SOLOMWNTOS
EKQAMBOI.
This one is, I think, different; the AUTOU of 11 must refer to the cripple
and not to PAS hO OCLOS; but there is something curious in the last part of
this verse: it begins with a singular subject and verb OCLOS ... SUNEDRAMEN
but concludes with a predicate adjective that is plural (EKQAMBOI) but must
surely refer to the OCLOS, so that they plural adjective is used with a
view to the implicit number of the OCLOS.
--
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu
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