Re: Heb 11:16b...

Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Fri, 3 Jan 1997 08:13:46 -0600

At 3:39 AM -0600 1/3/97, Tom Launder wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>I have a question about Heb 11:16b....
>
>DIO OUK EPAISXUNETAI AUTOUS O QEOS QEOS EPIKALEISQAI AUTWN
>
>I have not been able to understand how the autous works in this
>sentence. Is the autous the subject of the complimentary infinitive
>epikaeisQai? Or is the autous the direct object with nothing to do with
>the comp. inf?
>
>Also...
>
>What about the second Qeos? Is this indirect discourse? Why the
>nominative case?

This is relatively straightforward; I suspect it's the word order you find
confusing: (1) AUTOUS is the object of the complEmentary infinitive
EPIKALEISQAI; (2) the first QEOS is, of course, the subject of OUK
EPAISXUNETAI; the second construes with AUTWN ("god of them, their god")
and the phrase QEOS AUTWN functions as the predicate nominative with the
passive infinitive APIKALEISQAI--verbs like "call," "elect," "appoint,"
etc. take predicate accusative when the verb is active, predicate
nominative when the verb is passive.

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, USA 63130
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwc@oui.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/