Re: vocative

Daniel Riaħo (danielrr@mad.servicom.es)
Tue, 18 Nov 1997 20:08:48 +0100

Rick Strelan wrote:
>On the few occasions that God is addressed in the NT, the vocative QEE is
>used only once - at Mth 27:46 which is really a LXX quote. Other times, the
>nominative hO QEOS is used (Lk 18:11; Mk 15:34);sometimes with KURIE (Rev
>11:17; 15:3; 16:7). I realise that this is not unusual and that nominatives
>hUIOS and PATHR are often used instead of the vocative.
>
>But I'm curious that A.D.Nock says QEE as a form "is clearly contrary to
>Greek linguistic feeling". I willingly bow to his superior knowledge - but
>I'd like to know why it is really so contrary.
>
>Interested in any general comments on the vocative/nominative relation.
>Received with thanks.

Carl W. Conrad wrote:
>In older Greek, my impression is that a deity is addressed sometimes by a
>personal name in the vocative, perhaps more often by an epithet in the
>vocative (e.g. hEKHBOLE for Apollo, NEFELHGERETA for Zeus, ENNOSIGAIE for
>Poseidon), but hO QEOS is an impersonal designation and is less likely to
>be used by polytheists in a vocative; one does see the plural invocation W
>QEOI, but that is more understandable,

It was J. Wackernagel the first one who pointed out the fact that Classical
Greek does not use the sg. vocative of qeo/s: I think it was on the first
vol. of his Vorlesungen ’ber Syntax, where he deals with vocative largely
(but it could be the Kleine Schriften). The reasons are explained by C.W.
Conrad.

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Daniel Rian~o Rufilanchas
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e-mail: danielrr@mad.servicom.es