Re: 1 John and epistolary aorists

Jonathan Robie (jwrobie@mindspring.com)
Fri, 25 Apr 1997 06:26:46 -0400

I woke up this morning with 1 John 2.12-.14 on my mind - I think I've
finally grasped something that has puzzled me: a simple explanation for the
shift from GRAFW to EGRAPSA in 1 John 2:12-14. In a passage like this, which
is highly stylized and carefully constructed, it felt like there should be
some explanation, especially since John seems to use tense very carefully -
for instance, Carl Conrad once pointed out that John uses the perfect much
more carefully than other New Testament writers.

I think that the reason for the shift from GRAFW to EGRAPSA is simply that
the focus is shifting from the writer to the recipient. This is reinforced
by the shift in verse .14 from perfect to present. We start out in verse .12
with GRAFW(present) + hOTI + Verb(perfect):

GRAFW hUMIN...hOTI AFEWNTAI
GRAFW hUMIN...hOTI EGNWKATE
GRAFW hUMIN...hOTI NENIKHKATE

The focus is on John as he writes this passage (or this letter); the focus
shifts to the reader with EGRAPSA, used as an epistolary aorist in verses
.13-14:

EGRAYA hUMIN...hOTI EGNWKATE
EGRAYA hUMIN...hOTI EGNWKATE
EGRAYA hUMIN...hOTI ISCUROI ESTE KAI O LOGOS TOU QEOU EN hUMIN MENEI KAI
NENIKHKATE TON PONHRON.

This ISCUROI ESTE shifts to present tense, which feels to me like an even
stronger shift to the recipient: you are strong, and the word of God abides
in you. Then comes NENIKHKATE in perfect: and you have overcome the evil
one. Read this passage once leaving out the present tense phrase ISCUROI
ESTE KAI O LOGOS TOU QEOU EN hUMIN MENEI KAI - to my ear, it is much duller
and less emphatic, and the final NENIKHKATE TON PONHRON has much less punch.
The present tense phrase changes the focus and sets it up so that the final
NENIKHKATE is very strong.

One other thing bothers me about this passage: look at what John says to
each group:

Children:
GRAFW hUMIN, TEKNIA, hOTI AFEWNTAI hUMIN hAI hAMARTIAI DIA TO ONOMA AUTOU.
EGRAYA hUMIN, PAIDIA, hOTI EGNWKATE TON PATERA.

Fathers:
GRAFW hUMIN, PATERES, hOTI EGNWKATE TON AP ARCHS.
EGRAYA hUMIN, PATERES, hOTI EGNWKATE TON AP ARCHS.

Young men:
GRAFW hUMIN, NEANISKOI, hOTI NENIKHKATE TON PONHRON.
EGRAYA hUMIN, NEANISKOI, hOTI ISCUROI ESTE KAI O LOGOS TOU QEOU EN hUMIN
MENEI KAI NENIKHKATE TON PONHRON.

The statements addressed to fathers are identical except for the shift from
GRAFW to EGRAYA. The statements addressed to young men are highly parallel -
in fact, the second may be seen as a more dramatic restatement of the first.
But the statements addressed to children don't seem parallel to me. Also,
this is the one case where he changes the word used to address the group
(TEKNIA/PAIDIA). I'm not sure how to interpret this, or how much I should
read into it, but it is a clear discrepancy in the organization of the
passage, and it might well mean something.

I also find the three groups intriguing. Does TEKNIA refer to all of us, as
in TEKNIA MOU in verse 2.1, or to spiritual children, or to physical
children? Do PATERES and NEANISKOI refer to those who are physically fathers
and young men, or are these three groups to refer to a progression in
maturity - e.g. from spiritual children, to strong young spiritual warriors,
to spiritual fathers who have attained wisdom?

I don't know the answers to these questions, but I would sure like to hear
what the rest of y'all think!

Jonathan

***************************************************************************
Jonathan Robie jwrobie@mindspring.com http://www.mindspring.com/~jwrobie
POET Software, 3207 Gibson Road, Durham, N.C., 27703 http://www.poet.com
***************************************************************************