[b-greek] Re: Gal 3:8 ( the dangling subject)

From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Mon Feb 12 2001 - 09:51:29 EST


At 7:50 AM -0500 2/12/01, Moon-Ryul Jung wrote:
>> > At 8:20 AM -0500 2/11/01, Moon-Ryul Jung wrote:
>> > >[Moon]
>> > >> >In Gal 3:8 we have:
>> > >> >
>> > >> >PROIDOUSA hH GRAFH hOTI EK PISTEWS DIKAIOI TA EQNH hO QEOS,
>> > >> >PROEUANGGELISATO TWi ABRAHAM hOTI ENEULOGHQHSONTAI EN SOI
>> > >> >PANTA TA EQNH.
>> > >> >
>> > >
>> > >[Carl]
>> > >> Is the distance between PROEUAGGELISATO from hH GRAFH the real
>>problem? I
>> > >> think the only thing distancing that verb from the subject is the
>>need to
>> > >> complete the object of PROIDOUSA by giving the entire hOTI clause.
>> > >
>> > >[Moon]
>> > >Is there any reason why Paul did not write as follows?
>> > >
>> > > PROIDOUSA hOTI EK PISTEWS DIKAIOI TA EQNH hO QEOS,
>> > >> >PROEUANGGELISATO hH GRAFH TWi ABRAHAM hOTI ENEULOGHQHSONTAI EN SOI
>> > >> >PANTA TA EQNH.
>> >
>> >
>[Iver]
>> It seems to me that Moon' suggestion is more complex to process mentally
>>than
>> what Paul said, because then the subject GRAFH is missing from where it is
>> needed most. Carl has a good point that Paul did not write the text down and
>> then went back over it to push it into shape. He had to formulate his
>>thoughts
>> in his mind before saying/dictating them. Similarly, the letter was
>>intended to
>> be understood by people who heard it read.
>>
>> In this example, hH GRAFH is the semantic agent (subject) for both the
>>finite
>> clause and the fronted participial, dependent clause. Once the participle
>> PROIDOUSA has been heard, the hearer is waiting for a feminine noun as
>>subject.
>> It is easier to connect PROIDOUSA with GRAFH if GRAFH occurs as soon as
>>posible
>> after PROIDOUSA, rather than having to keep a lot of other stuff in the mind
>> until finally in the finite clause, you hear the subject GRAFH.
>>
>
>[Moon]
>I agree with you. The best way to convey the idea is to translate it as
>follows:
>
>The scripture foreseeing that God will justify the Gentiles by faith,
>it fore-evangelized to Abraham that all the gentiles will be blessed in
>you.
>
>I do not think it violates the grammar of English.

On the contrary, this DOES violate the grammar of English, although it is
intelligible: it (your new version) brings an unnecessary pronoun in to be
the subject of "fore-evangelized" when "the scripture" already serves that
purpose.
I'd re-write your sentence thus:

"The scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith,
fore-evangelized to Abraham: "All the Gentiles wil be blessed in you."

> In this case,
>the participial clause is what is called "nominative absolute".
>It is used when the subject of the participial clause is
>different from the subject of the main clause. But I think this
>construction
>can be used even when both subjects are the same, if
>it is not so easy to infer the subject of the participial clause for some
>reasons.

On the contrary, an "absolute" construction consisting of participle with
subject is called "absolute" precisely BECAUSE it functions independently
from the syntax of the main clause and modifies the whole main clause
rather than a part of it.

>Anyway, the hidden reason for my original question was whether this
>sentence can be considered an instance of "nominative absolute" in
>Greek. In this case hH GRAFH is surely the subject of the participial
>clause. You said that it is the "semantic" subject, meaning that it is
>not the subject of the participial clause grammatically speaking.
>Grammatically it is the subject of the main clause. Now, what is the
>reason
>for denying hH GRAFH the status of the subject of the participial
>clause? If we consider hH GRAFH the subject of the participial clause,
>then this participial clause can be called "nominative absolute".
>What do you think?

Well, I'd say we don't HAVE a participial clause here; rather we have a
subject, hH GRAFH and a circumstantial participle explaining WHY "scripture
fore-evangelized to Abraham."
--

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu
cwconrad@ioa.com
http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/

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