“Testimonium Flavianum” (Jewish Antiquities 18.63-64) Genitive Usage

Biblical Greek morphology and syntax, aspect, linguistics, discourse analysis, and related topics
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zpkenney
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Joined: November 23rd, 2015, 10:27 am

“Testimonium Flavianum” (Jewish Antiquities 18.63-64) Genitive Usage

Post by zpkenney »

Hello all,

I was reading the “Testimonium Flavianum”, and most of it seems straightforward, but I'm not quite sure of the genitive usage τῶν θείων προφητῶν ... εἰρηκότων

Perseus link here
https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/te ... ection%3D3
Γίνεται δὲ κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον Ἰησοῦς σοφὸς ἀνήρ, εἴγε ἄνδρα αὐτὸν λέγειν χρή: ἦν γὰρ παραδόξων ἔργων ποιητής, διδάσκαλος ἀνθρώπων τῶν ἡδονῇ τἀληθῆ δεχομένων, καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν Ἰουδαίους, πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ τοῦ Ἑλληνικοῦ ἐπηγάγετο: ὁ χριστὸς οὗτος ἦν. [64] καὶ αὐτὸν ἐνδείξει τῶν πρώτων ἀνδρῶν παρ᾽ ἡμῖν σταυρῷ ἐπιτετιμηκότος Πιλάτου οὐκ ἐπαύσαντο οἱ τὸ πρῶτον ἀγαπήσαντες: ἐφάνη γὰρ αὐτοῖς τρίτην ἔχων ἡμέραν πάλιν ζῶν τῶν θείων προφητῶν ταῦτά τε καὶ ἄλλα μυρία περὶ αὐτοῦ θαυμάσια εἰρηκότων. εἰς ἔτι τε νῦν τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἀπὸ τοῦδε ὠνομασμένον οὐκ ἐπέλιπε τὸ φῦλον.
τῶν θείων προφητῶν ... εἰρηκότων
The English translation is "as the divine prophets had foretold" (William Whiston, A.M., 1895). This seems to be a genitive clause modifying the previous phrase ("ἐφάνη γὰρ αὐτοῖς τρίτην ἔχων ἡμέραν πάλιν ζῶν"). This "as the prophets foretold" feels like there is something missing here. Perhaps I would have expected a relative pronoun or something, i.e., "of which the prophets foretold ..." etc or some clause beginning with an adverb like καθὼς in place of the genitive construction.

Any thoughts on syntactical usage of the genitive here? Possible parallels in the NT to this that I have missed?

Thanks.
Jason Hare
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Re: “Testimonium Flavianum” (Jewish Antiquities 18.63-64) Genitive Usage

Post by Jason Hare »

Genitive absolute?
Jason A. Hare
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Tel Aviv, Israel
zpkenney
Posts: 6
Joined: November 23rd, 2015, 10:27 am

Re: “Testimonium Flavianum” (Jewish Antiquities 18.63-64) Genitive Usage

Post by zpkenney »

Jason Hare wrote: April 12th, 2022, 3:34 am Genitive absolute?
Thank you for the reply. Yes, I considered a genitive absolute, but there were a few things that made me doubt whether that was what was going on. I think you’re probably right that given the options, that fits best.
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