I don't think this is really so very extraordinary; it is one of the ways
of attaching an attributive string to a noun: by repeating the article and
then following that with the attributive elements. This very same string
could be written (EK) TOU ENESTWTOS PONHROU AIWNOS, "out of the present
evil world-age." Is there a nuance of difference? Yes, although it's more a
matter of emphasis; in the construction as written in Gal 1:4 the appended
genitive string is like an appositive: "out of the world/time, the present
evil one"--and one could argue that TOU ENESTWTOS PONHROU is very much like
if not equivalent to an appositional substantive, which is why I translated
it as "the present evil one."
As for the phrase itself, it seems to be very much the same as that
expressed in the Jesus-saying in Mt 12:45 hOUTWS ESTAI KAI THi GENEAi
TAUTHi THi PONHRAi. The construction too is similar: "So will it be even
for this generation, the evil one (= for this evil generation)."
As for the participle ENESTWSTOS, I wouldn't really make much of its being
a participle: it's more or less an adjective equivalent to "current," and
in fact it really is just like that demonstrative hAUTH in the equivalent
phrase hAUTH hH GENEA hH PONHRA = hH GENEA hH PONHRA hAUTH = hH GENEA hAUTH
hH PONHRA.
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 OR cconrad@yancey.main.nc.us
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/