[B-Greek] Matt 16:18 EPI + dative?

newsgroupstuff newsgroupstuff at gmail.com
Mon Jun 16 15:54:03 EDT 2008


Hi.

Matt. 16:18 κἀγὼ δέ σοι λέγω ὅτι σὺ εἶ  Πέτρος, καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ  οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ...
= KAGW DE SOI LEGW hOTI SU EI PETROS, KAI EPI TAUTHi THi PETRAi  OIKODOMHSW MOU THN EKKLHSIAN

Regarding Matt 16:18, I have heard some people argue that because it is EPI+Dative, it doesn't mean "upon" but "at" or "in front of". I am not convinced, because Eph 2:20 also uses EPI+Dative and seems to be of related sense, and clearly means "upon". However, in Matt 7:24-26 it is EPI+Accusative, and one might have thought it would be the same form in Matt 7 as Matt 16.

Can someone please explain what difference there is, if any, as to why a Dative is used in 16:18 and an accusative in 7:24-26? Is there any particular reason why one is used and not the other in each case?

Thanks!

--
Craig Johnson
Brisbane, Australia
Blog: http://bloggledegook.blogspot.com/ 




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