Re: imperative moods?

From: Steven R. Lo Vullo (sundoulos1@netzero.net)
Date: Wed Apr 26 2000 - 01:18:34 EDT


<x-charset iso-8859-1>Carlton,

Thank you for your reply. I'm open to what you are saying, but have several
reservations.

1. The references in LSJ are, for the most part, much earlier than the NT,
and the lexicon itself states that this usage is "rare in later Greek." And
we should keep in mind in this regard that some later Greek writers
consciously imitated earlier Greek style. Do you think we may run the risk
here of committing the word-study fallacy that D.A. Carson calls "semantic
obsolescence?" For this reason I think the adverbial use of hINA is perhaps
of more interest diachronically than synchronically. The examples given from
the older lexicons may reflect an earlier insensitivity to the issue of
diachronic vs. synchronic word study.

2. I don't have the time right now to check the references, but do you know
if any of the examples in LSJ of the adverb of place or relative adverb of
place have a metaphorical sense, or do the examples denote literal place?
This is important because the two examples in the NT would require a
metaphorical rather than literal sense.

3. In light of the fact that hINA in Gal 4:17 and 1 Cor 4:6 makes perfectly
good sense (and in my opinion better sense) when taken as introducing a
final clause of purpose (or result, in the case of 1 Cor 4:6), it seems that
we would need unambiguous examples from Hellenistic Greek to establish the
adverbial usage. These two examples seem to be far from unambiguous.

4. I can see how hINA could be mentally tweaked to make sense in Gal 4:17 as
an adverb of place, but only because of its association with the verb
EKKLEIW in the previous clause. To "shut someone out" could logically imply
being shut out "in a place" (figuratively speaking in this case). But this
seems forced even here, since a final clause seems to flow more simply and
naturally from what precedes. And it seems even more forced to take the
second occurrence of hINA in 1 Cor 4:6 as an adverb of place. The
translation would yield something like, "Now these things, brethren, I have
figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you
may learn not to exceed what is written, in the place where no one of you
will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other." This seems to be
forced when compared with the final clause option which yields, "Now these
things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your
sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no
one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other." In this
translation the last two clauses would be complementary, with the one
purpose perhaps flowing from the other, or both explaining distinct but
complementary purposes for Paul's preceding words. Even taken as a result
clause this last clause seems to make better sense than when hINA is taken
adverbially. Plus the presence of MH seems to indicate that the verb
(PLHROUSQE) is being used as a subjunctive rather than an indicative, which,
if I am not mistaken, would not be the case if hINA were merely an adverb
and PLHROUSQE taken as an indicative.

5. I mentioned that both of these verbs are contract verbs because as such
the diphthongs that result from contraction are long. My (admittedly highly
speculative) thought here is that perhaps in certain instances writers of
Koine Greek may not have lengthened the short vowel of a contract verb to
its corresponding long vowel to form the subjunctive because the existing
diphthong was already long. I could never prove this in a million years, it
is just a thought a was playing around with. I realize that there are
variants bearing on this issue that did not make it into the text of
NA27/UBS4 that are not contract verbs, I just found it interesting that the
two that did were both omicron contracts.

Again, thanks for your response. And please correct me if any of my thinking
is off here.

Steve LoVullo

----- Original Message -----
From: "Carlton Winbery" <winberyc@speedgate.net>
To: "Biblical Greek" <b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Sent: Monday, April 24, 2000 9:22 PM
Subject: Re: imperative moods?

>Carlton,
>
>There is another case of hINA with the present indicative (FUSIOUSQE) by
>Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:6 (interestingly enough, another omicron contract),
>which seems to be a clear example of a purpose clause (cf. also GINWSKOMEN
>in Aleph A B* L P 049. 33. 81. 614 al of 1 John 5:20). Paul's purpose in
>saying what he did about himself and Apollos was "so that none of you will
>be puffed up in favor of one against another" (NRSV). It seems to be more
>coherent in the context of Gal 4:17 to take hINA ZHLOUTE in the same way,
>i.e., as a purpose clause. The sense would be that the teachers troubling
>the Galatians were zealous to win them over, but with the improper purpose
>(cf. v. 18) of having the Galatians be zealous for them, i.e., follow them
>and submit to their teachings. This is consistent with other statements of
>Paul in the letter as to the motivating factors underlying the false
>teachers' efforts. He ascribes the motive of selfish pride to their work
>when he says of them in 6:12, "Those who want to make a good impression
>outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised" (NIV) and in 6:13
>where he claims "they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast
>about your flesh" (NRSV). So, according to Paul, the purpose of the false
>teachers was not to build up the Galatians spiritually, but to build up
>their own reputations by winning over the Galatians as trophies to their
>teaching efforts and doctrine. Their purpose was to gain a following (hINA
>AUTOUS ZHLOUTE) with the purpose of building up their own prestige.
>
Liddell, Scott, Jones has the following entry under hINA.
I. of Place,
   1. in that place, there, once in Hom.,hi. gar sphin
      epephradon Ígerethesthai Hom. Il. 10.127 (acc.to
      Eust.).
   2. elsewh. relat., in which place, where, au=Eust.
      2.558, Hom. Od. 9.136, Hdt. 2.133,au=Hdt. 9.27,au=Hdt.
      9.54=lr, Pind. O. 1.95, Bacchyl. 10.79, Aesch. PB 21,
      al., Soph. El. 22,au=Soph. El. 855, Aristoph. Frogs
      1231, etc.: rarely in Att. Prose, Lys. 13.72 (v. infr.),
      Plat. Apol. 17c, ti=Plat. Phileb. 61b; hi. hÍ NikÍ (sc.
      estin) IG22.1407.13: rare in later Greek, Arr.An.1.3.2, Luc.Cont.22,
      ti=Luc. Ind.3: with particles, hi. te Hom. Il. 20.478; hi. per
au=Hom. Il.
      24.382, Hom. Od. 13.364, Lys. l.c.; hin' an c. subj. wherever, Soph.
OC 405, Eur. Ion 315; as indirect interrog., Hdt. 1.179, au=Hdt. 2.150,
Eur. Hec. 1008. Hom., like other Advs. of Place, c. gen., hi. tÍs chÙrÍs
Hdt. 1.98; emathe hi. Ín kakou in what a calamity, IDEM=Hdt. 1.213; oud'
horan hin' e kakou Soph. OT 367; hin' hestamen chreias IBID=au=Soph. OT
1442; hin' Ímen atÍs IDEM=Soph. El. 936; horais hin' esmen autou peri tÍs
aporias Plat. Soph. 243b.

The old Grimm-Wilke and the (old) revision by Thayer (unabridged) applies
this to both 1 Cor. 4:6 and Gal. 4:17. I don't think that the omicron
contract makes any difference. You can also find this situation in variant
readings at Jn 5:20 (good evidence for), Gal 6:12; Tit. 2:4; Rev. 12:6;
13:17. Zerwick/Smith and E.D. Burton both see these as solecisms that
should be treated as subjunctives. However, I do not think that is
necessary since there is a history of the adverbial use back to Homer.

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