In summary, Jesus began what? To do and to teach. He did and taught
what? The things represented by hWN. It seems quite obvious that the
pronoun is the object of the infinitives, attracted from the
accusative to agree with the genitive antecedent. Why jump through
grammatical hoops when there is such a straightforward explanation?
This verse points out the value of an exercise I have been having my
Acts students do this semester. I call it "kernal accounting." I use
"kernal" here in the sense of a sentence component consisting of a
verb form, its subject, and any complement. Having students pick out
the verbs and identify their subjects and objects (which are
sometimes whole clauses themselves, as is the case here with the
complement of HRXATO) reveals some interesting weaknesses in their
understanding of grammar; hopefully it leads to strengthening the
students at those points!
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In Love to God and Neighbor,
Randy Leedy
Bob Jones University
Greenville, SC
RLeedy@wpo.bju.edu
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