NathanSmith wrote:Perhaps I am the victim of not being widely read outside of the NT and LXX, but I had never come across this concept before. Does it ring true for others? Are there citations in grammars?
I'd say its pretty bogus. Greek does make formally marked distinctions between descriptive and restrictive adjectives, but that distinction generally involves word order patterns--descriptive adjectives are invariably post-nominal, which restrictive ones may appear before the noun or after the noun. I've also never seen the participle used that way in general. Maybe its a Classical thing, but it isn't Koine.
timothy_p_mcmahon wrote:And the translation offered for ὁ δοῦλος μῶρος ὢν ἒκλεψε τὸν οἶνον is inadequate. There's a nuance in the use of the participle that isn't reflected in that rendering. "Because he was stupid the slave stole the wine" or something to that effect is needed.
No...their translation is perfectly adequate (aside from the fact that its an odd use of the participle). You're reading more into the participle than necessary--for example, τοῖς ἁγίοις τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Ἐφέσῳ in Ephesians 1:1. The more useful generalization about εἰμὶ as a participle in NPs is that is used for referring entities and participants that are located (or possessed) in some manner:
τοὺς ὄντας τῶν Ἰουδαίων πρώτους
'the leaders of the Jews' Acts 28:17
πᾶσιν τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Ῥώμῃ
'to all those in Rome' Rom 1:7
τῷ νόμῳ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τῷ ὄντι ἐν τοῖς μέλεσίν μου
'the law of sin [that] is in my members' Rom 7:23
ἀσπάσασθε τοὺς ἐκ τῶν Ναρκίσσου τοὺς ὄντας ἐν κυρίῳ
'Greek those from [the family of] Narcissus who are in the Lord' Rom 16:11
τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν οὐσῶν ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ
'the churches of God in Judea in Christ Jesus' 1 Thess 2:14