John 17:3 ινα + subjunctive = to an infinitive?

Biblical Greek morphology and syntax, aspect, linguistics, discourse analysis, and related topics
Robert Crowe
Posts: 108
Joined: January 8th, 2016, 11:06 am
Location: Northern Ireland

Re: John 17:3 ινα + subjunctive = to an infinitive?

Post by Robert Crowe »

Robert Crowe wrote:I think the main force of the subjunctive here is to emphasise stative aspect.
Stative aspect? Perhaps more accurately implicature.

I quote the following from Constantine Campbell, [Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek (2008)]

p.69 'Some common implicatures of imperfective aspect within present subjunctives are activities that are conceptually unfolding, temporally ongoing, stative, or personally characteristic. . . . its imperfective aspect makes the present subjunctive especially suited to proverbial, general, and generic statements.'
Tús maith leath na hoibre.
Arsenios (George) Blaisdell
Posts: 16
Joined: September 12th, 2011, 10:08 am

Re: John 17:3 ινα + subjunctive = to an infinitive?

Post by Arsenios (George) Blaisdell »

17:2-3 is a continuous sentence structure, and the two "ina"s are linked in parallel, such that the second further explicates the first and refers the second to the first, I should think...

In order that He should give them Life Eternal,
[which is]
in order that they should KNOW the One True etc...

A tuppence, no doubt,
but
perhaps a widow's tuppence...

Arsenios
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