From: Paul Dixon - Ladd Hill Bible Church (pauld@iclnet93.iclnet.org)
Date: Wed Aug 09 1995 - 11:20:56 EDT
This is being sent upon request. It was sent earlier this year,
but some have asked it be sent again.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 19 May 1995 23:51:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: Paul Dixon - Ladd Hill Bible Church <pauld@iclnet93.iclnet.org>
To: Kenneth Litwak <kenneth@sybase.com>
Cc: B-GREEK@virginia.edu
Subject: Re: Colwell rule
This is in response to the many who requested an elaboration of my thesis
on the abuse of Colwell's rule. It is entitled, "The Significance of the
Anarthrous Predicate Nominative in John," and can be obtained at Dallas
Theological Seminary, Dallas, TX. Here is the conclusion of the thesis
taken verbatim from my own copy.
"The use of the anarthrous predicate nominative in John is
significant. It is qualitative in 65 out of 74 occurrences, or 88%
probability. When the anarthrous predicate nominative precedes the verb
it is qualitative in 50 of 53 occurrences, or 94% probability. When it
follows the verb the anarthrous predicate nominative is qualitative 13 of
19 occurrences, or 68%.
"The implications of this are equally significant. No longer
should Colwell's rule mislead us into thinking that an anarthrous
predicate nominative preceding the verb is just as definite as the
articular predicate nominative following the verb and that "there need be
no doctrinal significance in the dropping of the article, for it is
simply a matter of word-order." (footnoted quoting from Colwell, Journal
of Biblical Literature 52 (1933):13) Our conclusions show that when John
wished to express a definite predicate nominative, he usually wrote it
after the verb with the article, 66 of 77 occurrences or 86%
probability. When he wished to express a qualitative predicate
nominative with the verb, he usually wrote it before the verb without the
article, 50 of 63 occurrences or 80% probability.
"Finally, we may conclude three things about John 1:1. First,
Colwell's rule cannot be applied to the verse as an argument for
definiteness. Colwell's rule says that definite predicate nominatives
preceding the verb usually are anarthrous. The rule asserts nothing
about definiteness. It does not say that anarthrous predicate
nominatives preceding the verb usually are definite. This is the
converse of the rule, and as such is not
cessarily valid. Indeed, our thesis demonstrates just the opposite, that
anarthrous predicate nominatives preceding the verb usually are
qualitative, 94% of occurrences. Second, on the basis of the contrast
with 1:14 (where the humanity of Christ is stressed), and on the basis of
the comparison with the first two clauses in 1:1 (where two eternal
qualities of the Logos are laid out), we conclude that theos is 1:1c
stresses quality. Third, this thesis demonstrates that the statistical
probability of theos being qualitative, rather than definite or
indefinite, is quite high, 94%.
Paul Dixon, pastor Ladd Hill Bible Church, Wilsonville, OR
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