Re: John 20:30-31

From: Carl W Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Mon Aug 21 1995 - 20:38:01 EDT


On Mon, 21 Aug 1995 WINBROW@aol.com wrote:

> Carl Conrad translated John 20:31,
> "But this has been written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the
> Christ, the Son of God, and so that, as you continue to believe, you may
> continue to possess life everlasting in his name."
>
> I agree with his understanding of the meaning of the brackets and with his
> understanding of the tense of the purpose clauses. I think that he is right
> that they are related in the sentence as he has translated. I would modify
> the translation only by leaving out the implied condition. "But this has
> been written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
> Son of God, and so that you may possess life everlasting in his name."
>
> John's use of ZWHN or ZWHN AIWNIOS assumes a continuity beginning in this
> life and extending beyond it. That is further emphasized by the use of the
> present tense. I do think that John sees possessing life as resulting from
> coming to faith, but I would not necessarily see a conditional relationship
> there, maybe sequential. Maybe I'm getting too much theology in my exegesis.

Carlton et al.: I should make clear that I didn't see the participle
(PISTEUONTES) as conditional in force. If anything, I would view it as
causal. But I really think it more likely that both subjunctives were in
the present tense.

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, USA 63130
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwc@oui.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/



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