ινα clauses Result or Purpose

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Victor George
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Joined: March 22nd, 2016, 11:55 pm

ινα clauses Result or Purpose

Post by Victor George »

Hi,

I learnt that the difference between an ινα of purpose and an ινα of result is intentionality.

So does it follow that:
1. an ινα followed by a passive subjunctive is usually an ινα of result?
2, an ινα followed by an active subjunctive is usually an ινα of purpose?

Can anyone confirm this hypothesis?

Thanks,
cwconrad
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Location: Burnsville, NC 28714
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Re: ινα clauses Result or Purpose

Post by cwconrad »

Victor George wrote:Hi,

I learnt that the difference between an ινα of purpose and an ινα of result is intentionality.

So does it follow that:
1. an ινα followed by a passive subjunctive is usually an ινα of result?
2, an ινα followed by an active subjunctive is usually an ινα of purpose?

Can anyone confirm this hypothesis?

Thanks,
Ι don't know where you read this, but it's much too simplistic. Consider this verse:
Mt 4:14 ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος·
This is a typical "fulfillment of prophecy" formula in Matthew's gospel, ordinarily following upon a statement that such-and-such event occurred. These are generally understood as purpose clauses. You'll note that the subjunctive verb in these clauses is passive: πληρωθῇ. In earlier Greek ἵνα clauses tended to indicate purpose more generally, but in NT Koine we find more or less equivalence in the usage of ἵνα + subjunctive, εἰς + articular infinitive phrase, and ὥστε + infinitive phrase as alternative ways of indicating either purpose or result. It's better to examine each construction individually rather than try to generalize with the kind of rule you've cited.
οὔτοι ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς πάντα θεοὶ θνητοῖς ὑπέδειξαν,
ἀλλὰ χρόνῳ ζητέοντες ἐφευρίσκουσιν ἄμεινον. (Xenophanes, Fragment 16)

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
Barry Hofstetter
Posts: 2159
Joined: May 6th, 2011, 1:48 pm

Re: ινα clauses Result or Purpose

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

To follow up on Carl's excellent response, that's not a rule at all -- it's simply wrong. Purpose or result has nothing to do with the active or passive nature of the verb, everything to do with context.
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
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