neuter series of nouns

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Jonathan Robie
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Re: neuter series of nouns

Post by Jonathan Robie »

Steven Avery wrote:Are you asserting a gender shift involving πνεῦμα or anything like a constructio ad sensum?

Greek Grammar and the Personality of the Holy Spirit (2003)
Daniel Wallace
https://www.ibr-bbr.org/files/bbr/BBR_2 ... Spirit.pdf

"the noun πνεῦμα is appositional to a masculine noun, rather than the subject of the verb. The gender of ἐκεῖνος thus has nothing to do with the natural gender of πνεῦμα. The antecedent of ἐκεῖνος , in each case, is παράκλητος [a masculine noun], not πνεῦμα” - p. 104
I agree with Wallace, ἐκεῖνος agrees with παράκλητος, but it's quite clear that τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον is the same thing as ὁ παράκλητος and corresponds to it in this sentence. Let me really pare down the two sentences ...
John 14:26 wrote:ὁ παράκλητος, τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον
1 John 5:7-8 wrote:οἱ μαρτυροῦντες, τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ τὸ αἷμα
These constituents are in essentially the same relation to each other in these two sentences. Wallace's article gives several other similar examples, including these:
John 15:26 wrote:Ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὁ παράκλητος ὃν ἐγὼ πέμψω ὑμῖν παρὰ τοῦ πατρός, τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας ὃ παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκπορεύεται, ἐκεῖνος μαρτυρήσει περὶ ἐμοῦ·
John 16:13-14 wrote:ὅταν δὲ ἔλθῃ ἐκεῖνος, τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας, ὁδηγήσει ὑμᾶς ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ πάσῃ, οὐ γὰρ λαλήσει ἀφ’ ἑαυτοῦ, ἀλλ’ ὅσα ἀκούσει λαλήσει, καὶ τὰ ἐρχόμενα ἀναγγελεῖ ὑμῖν. ἐκεῖνος ἐμὲ δοξάσει, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ ἐμοῦ λήμψεται καὶ ἀναγγελεῖ ὑμῖν.
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
http://jonathanrobie.biblicalhumanities.org/
Barry Hofstetter
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Joined: May 6th, 2011, 1:48 pm

Re: neuter series of nouns

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

One doesn't have to read Greek too terribly long before one realizes that there are a whole lot of exceptions to the formal rules of gender agreement. Here, I think a constructio ad sensum is the best explanation. The three are thought of as witnesses in an active sense, and so are personified with a masculine reference. It's not absolutely necessary, but it is a matter of emphasis.
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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