From: Jonathan Robie (jwrobie@mindspring.com)
Date: Wed Jun 18 1997 - 07:35:51 EDT
>At 6:16 PM +0100 6/16/97, J.D.F.van Halsema wrote:
>>Of course this has exegetical implications. If it is "a sower" we are dealing
>>with a "Gleichnis" (Bultmann): something that can be repeated several times.
>>If we translate "the sower", we are dealing with a parable (Bultmann): a
>>unique event occurring only once.
Michael Palmer replied:
>I would be very cautious about basing this kind of exegetical conclusion on
>the presence or absence of the article in the English translation. I DON'T
>think "a sower" implies that the event portrayed in the parable can be
>repeated while "the sower" implies that it can't. Why couldn't "*the*
>sower" sow again on other occasions?
In fact, the presence of "the" even in English doesn't always imply "a
unique event occurring only once", e.g.:
1Pet 1:24 (GNT) EXHRANQH hO CORTOS KAI TO ANQOS EXEPESEN: TO DE hRHMA KURIOU
MENEI EIS TON AIWNA.
Literally, this means:
"The grass withered; the flower fell off; but the word of God endures forever."
The context makes it clear that this is a general truth:
1Pet 1:24 (RSV)
"All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers, and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord abides for ever."
So even though the definite article is retained in the translation, this
does not imply "a unique event occurring only once". Of course, retaining
the article in translation may imply this sometimes in English where it
would not in the Greek.
Jonathan
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Jonathan Robie jwrobie@mindspring.com http://www.mindspring.com/~jwrobie
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