Sabbath genitive or accusative

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Jacob Rhoden
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Sabbath genitive or accusative

Post by Jacob Rhoden »

While doing some translation practice, I wasn't sure if Sabbath should be considered in this sentence as genitive or accusative.
Do you (s) keep the Sabbath because of the law?
τηρεις το σαββατον δια τον νομον;
I know it doesn't matter in this case because nominative and accusative of sabbath have the same form.
Is it correct to say that σαββατον is the subject? (I guess it feels like "you" us the subject, not "sabbath")
Stephen Carlson
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Re: Sabbath genitive or accusative

Post by Stephen Carlson »

Did you mean "nominative" instead of "genitive"? Otherwise, that would have the article τοῦ.
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
Melbourne, Australia
Jacob Rhoden
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Re: Sabbath genitive or accusative

Post by Jacob Rhoden »

Thanks, your right, in an attempt to go back and edit for clarity, I've mixed it up. I'd fix the original post, but I can't find the edit button, it looks like it might disappear after a while, I am sure there was an edit button there before.
Jonathan Robie
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Re: Sabbath genitive or accusative

Post by Jonathan Robie »

Jacob Rhoden wrote:Thanks, your right, in an attempt to go back and edit for clarity, I've mixed it up. I'd fix the original post, but I can't find the edit button, it looks like it might disappear after a while, I am sure there was an edit button there before.
You can edit for a certain period of time, then a post is no longer editable.
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
http://jonathanrobie.biblicalhumanities.org/
Brent Elkins
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Re: Sabbath genitive or accusative

Post by Brent Elkins »

Jacob,

It is my understanding that since "the law" is in the accusative form, that "the Sabbath" would be understood to be nominative.

-Brent
Stephen Hughes
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Re: Sabbath genitive or accusative

Post by Stephen Hughes »

Hi Brent and Jacob,
I think that nominatives are the subjects of third person verbs and vocatives refer to the same person that a second person verb does. This is a second person verb, so it is either vocative or accusative. Is it more usual to talk to (vocative) a sabbath, or about it (accusative)?

A preposition cuts part of the sentence off and we deal the preposition and the few words immediately following it separately.
Γελᾷ δ' ὁ μωρός, κἄν τι μὴ γέλοιον ᾖ
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
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