The Viability of Granville Sharp's Rules 5 & 6?

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R. Perkins
Posts: 91
Joined: January 18th, 2013, 9:55 pm

The Viability of Granville Sharp's Rules 5 & 6?

Post by R. Perkins »

I just heard an apologists throwing around Greek appeal to these rules tonight & wanted to get your angle. It seems like I recall reading a stinging refutation to these rules on this forum years ago by someone from Athens named Vasileios Tsialas (?).

Regardless, was just curious what your take on these often-touted rules would be? I think the gentleman from Athens stated that there was almost more exceptions to these rules than the actual rules themselves :o!

I am aware of the exceptions to rule VI in John 20.28, Rev. 1.8, etc. A friend of mine has an email from Wallace essentially stating that these rules are not as fool-proof as many make them out to be. But, like a light bulb, I thought of this forum when I heard this again tonight (becoming addicted to this forum :oops:!).

Rule V.
And as also when there is no article before the first noun, the insertion of the copulative kai before the next noun, or name, of the same case, denotes a different person or thing from the first.

Rule VI.
And as the insertion of the copulative kai between nouns of the same case, without articles, (according to the fifth rule,) denotes that the second noun expresses a different person, thing, or quality, from the preceding noun, so, likewise, the same effect attends the copulative when each of the nouns are preceded by articles.

Except distinct and different actions are intended to be attributed to one and the same person; in which case, if the sentence is not expressed agreeably to the three first rules, but appears to be an exception to this sixth rule, or even to the fifth, (for, this exception relates to both rules,) the context must explain or point out plainly the person to whom the two nouns relate.

http://www.pfrs.org/sharp.html
Stirling Bartholomew
Posts: 1141
Joined: August 9th, 2012, 4:19 pm

Re: The Viability of Granville Sharp's Rules 5 & 6?

Post by Stirling Bartholomew »

There is extensive discussion concerning the misuse of Granville Sharp in conversation with D.A. Carson Exegetical fallacies 1984 and S.E. Porter found in:

Richard A. Hoyle, Scenarios, discourse and translation. SIL 2008

http://www.sil.org/silepubs/Pubs/50670/ ... lation.pdf

8.2.1. Lexical doublets with “thing” words p232 ff.

See also: 6.1. The meaning of the article in Greek p141ff.
C. Stirling Bartholomew
R. Perkins
Posts: 91
Joined: January 18th, 2013, 9:55 pm

Re: The Viability of Granville Sharp's Rules 5 & 6?

Post by R. Perkins »

Stirling Bartholomew wrote: February 24th, 2018, 12:03 pm There is extensive discussion concerning the misuse of Granville Sharp in conversation with D.A. Carson Exegetical fallacies 1984 and S.E. Porter found in:

Richard A. Hoyle, Scenarios, discourse and translation. SIL 2008

http://www.sil.org/silepubs/Pubs/50670/ ... lation.pdf

8.2.1. Lexical doublets with “thing” words p232 ff.

See also: 6.1. The meaning of the article in Greek p141ff.
Got it. Excellent read.

I forgot about Carson's work on the GS Rules. I do have his Exegetical Fallacies work. Tremendous resource IMO.

Thank you for the link!
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