Galatians 4:19 - Constructio ad sensum?

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Jason Hare
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Galatians 4:19 - Constructio ad sensum?

Post by Jason Hare »

Galatians 4:18-20
καλὸν δὲ ζηλοῦσθαι ἐν καλῷ πάντοτε, καὶ μὴ μόνον ἐν τῷ παρεῖναί με πρὸς ὑμᾶς, τέκνα μου, οὓς πάλιν ὠδίνω μέχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν· ἤθελον δὲ παρεῖναι πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἄρτι, καὶ ἀλλάξαι τὴν φωνήν μου, ὅτι ἀποροῦμαι ἐν ὑμῖν.

Wallace lists this in his paper here as an instance of constructio ad sensum. Would you agree with this? Is it not more sensible that οὕς here is referring to ὑμᾶς rather than τέκνα μου?

Thanks for your feedback.
Jason A. Hare
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Stephen Carlson
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Re: Galatians 4:19 - Constructio ad sensum?

Post by Stephen Carlson »

I would agree with you Jason. A constructio ad sensum is not necessary here.
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
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Jason Hare
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Re: Galatians 4:19 - Constructio ad sensum?

Post by Jason Hare »

Stephen Carlson wrote:I would agree with you Jason. A constructio ad sensum is not necessary here.
Thanks, Stephen. Hoping more will respond. Appreciate the feedback.
Jason A. Hare
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Jason Hare
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Re: Galatians 4:19 - Constructio ad sensum?

Post by Jason Hare »

Here is what Wallace says about it:
In Gal 4:19, Paul speaks of "my children, whom" (τέκνα μου οὕς), using the masculine relative pronoun to refer to the "children."
I also notice that in footnote 3 he gives some other examples:
See also, regarding τέκνον, Phlm 10 (παρακαλῶ σε περὶ τοῦ ἐμοῦ τέκνου, ὃν ἐγέννησα); 2 John 1 (τοῖς τέκνοις αὐτῆς, οὕς [in which the antecedent of the masculine οὕς is both a feminine singular and a neuter plural]). The word παιδίον is similar: cf. Mark 5:41 (κτρατήσας τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ παιδίου λέγει αὐτῇ), in which the feminine pronoun is bracketed by παιδίον and τὸ κοράσιον; Mark 9:24-26 (παιδίου... αὐτόν... νεκρός).
With Philemon 10, I would wonder if this isn't an issue of attraction to Ὀνήσιμον.

2 John 1 is covered by Smyth §1055, where it says that "[w]hen the persons are of different gender, the masculine prevails." Would this be subsumed under ad sensum?

Mark 5:41 is certainly an instance, with the switch from τὸ παιδίον to αὐτῆς.

Mark 9:24-26 also offers an true example.

Does anyone else have anything to offer regarding the original verse that he referenced (Galatians 4:19)?
Jason A. Hare
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Re: Galatians 4:19 - Constructio ad sensum?

Post by timothy_p_mcmahon »

I think your proposal that οὕς refers to ὑμᾶς is plausible, especially with τέκνα being a vocative, but I wonder if the Wortfeld relationship of ὠδίνω with τέκνα makes τέκνα the likelier antecedent.
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Re: Galatians 4:19 - Constructio ad sensum?

Post by Jason Hare »

timothy_p_mcmahon wrote:I think your proposal that οὕς refers to ὑμᾶς is plausible, especially with τέκνα being a vocative, but I wonder if the Wortfeld relationship of ὠδίνω with τέκνα makes τέκνα the likelier antecedent.
Could you explain what a Wortfeld relationship is?
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Re: Galatians 4:19 - Constructio ad sensum?

Post by Stephen Carlson »

Jason Hare wrote:Could you explain what a Wortfeld relationship is?
Wortfeld = Semantic field
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
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