Re: Incidence of article with NT names

From: N & RJ Hanscamp (nar.hanscamp@clear.net.nz)
Date: Sun Jun 20 1999 - 03:33:29 EDT


Following Steven's original message I have been doing some work on the
occurance of PNEUMA with the article in GJohn. The evangelist does not seem
to have any partuicular way of using the article with PNEUMA. One
interesting qu raised by the grammars is "is PNEUMA or PNEUMA hAGIOS ( and
cognates) considered to be a proper name or not?"

PNEW and PNEUMA (and cognates) are used 26 times in the FG.

PNEW (to blow, of wind) 2 times 3.8; 6.18
PNEUMA (without the article) 7 times 3.5, 6; 4.23, 24a, 24b; 6.63; 7.39
TON PNEUMA11 times 1.32, 33; 3.6, 8a, 8b, 34; 6.63; 7.39; 11.33; 13.21;
19.30
PNEUMA hAGION 2 times 1.33; 20.22 (7.39? p66 etc)
TON PNEUMA TON hAGION1 time 14.26
TON PNEUMA TH ALHTHEIA 3 times 14.17; 15.26; 16.13

Zerwick notes that "The omission of the article shows that the speaker
regards the person or thing not so much as this or that person or thing, but
rather as such a person or thing, i. e. regards not the individual but
rather its nature or quality." Using Jn 1.33 as an example, I think he
means that the subject of the sentence (in this case the one who baptises -
hO BAPTIDZWN) takes the article, while the predicate PNEUMATI hAGION does
not. While the anarthrous use of PNEUMATI hAGION may be strange in the
light of the use of the proper noun i.e. it may equally take the article,
in this case it would seem that the original rule may be applicable: that
reference is being made to the activity of the baptism with the Holy Spirit
rather than the person of the Holy Spirit.

Is there a precedent for seeing the use of the article in this way? Or does
it all depend on the individual usage of the word.

Nigel

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