From: Carlton Winbery (winberyc@popalex1.linknet.net)
Date: Thu Dec 07 1995 - 11:22:46 EST
Carl W. Conrad wrote:
>I've been thinking some more about the weird construction in Mk 2:20 and
>Mt's parallel 9:15): ELEUSONTAI DE hHMERAI hOTAN APARQHi AP' AUTWN hO
>NUMFIOS, KAI TOTE NHSTEUSOUSIN EN EKEINHi THi hHMERAi. It's pretty clear
>that the way Mark phrases this, the last clause is independent
>grammatically, while ELEUSONTAI hHMERAI and hOTAN APARQHi NUMFIOS are
>intimately linked. Yet it cannot be said that the latter clause is the
>protasis of a condition, nor the former clause an apodosis. We cannot
>really translate hOTAN here as "whenever," despite the fact that it is used
>with an aorist subjunctive.
>
>BAGD say, "... where hHMERAI hOTAN, 'days when,' belong together and TOTE
>is connected with KAI)," admitting that this cannot be construed as an
>instance of the common hOTAN w/ subjunctive constructions (what I have
>called in my earlier post, in accordance with one common terminology,
>"future more vivid" and "present general" conditional constructions.
>
>So what is it? The comment by BAGD is correct, that hHMERAI hOTAN belong
>together here and the hOTAN + subj. clause is not linked in a conditional
>construction with ELEUSONTAI hHMERAI. I'm not a linguist, but as a
>grammarian I'd say that the hOTAN APARQHi clauses can only be understood as
>a relative clause--and an adjectival clause wherein hOTAN really is
>equivalent to EN hAIS. Is there a better way to understand the function of
>this clause?
Carl,
Jim Brooks and I dealt with this kind of clause (hOTAN APARQHi AP' AUTWN hO
NUMFIOS) as a "temporal clause." Usually there is uncertainty as to
realization, but the main function is to signify time. I have done a quick
search for another instance using hOTAN, EPAN, or hHNIKA, but I have not
found one where there seems to be no contingency at all. I think that I
would say that the writer used the subjunctive because the time was
indefinite not because the outcome was in doubt.
Calton L. Winbery
Prof. Religion
LA College, Pineville, La
winberyc@popalex1.linknet.net
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