Re: Anarthrous DIKAION in 1 Jn 2:1

From: Paul Zellmer (zellmer@isabela.faith.edu.ph)
Date: Tue Sep 16 1997 - 11:59:32 EDT


You wrote:

>My own inclination would be to
>understand DIKAION as a predicate adjective construed most directly
with
>PARAKLHTON, and to understand IHSOUN CRISTON as in opposition to
>PARAKLHTON, although I think an argument could also be made for
>understanding IHSOUN CRISTON as the direct object of ECOMEN and
PARAKLHTON
>PROS TON PATERA as the predicative accusative, in which case I would
still
>be inclined to take DIKAION as an additional predicate accusative with
>PARAKLHTON. Meanings in terms of the two approaches:
>
> (1) We have an advocate before the Father, (an advocate who is)
>righteous, (namely) Jesus Christ.
> (2) We have Jesus Christ as (our) advocate before the Father, (an
>advocate who is) righteous.
>
>
>In my judgment, classical Attic word-order favors (2), but I'm not that
>confident that classical word-order would necessarily prevail here,
and it
>really doesn't make that much difference, in a copulative structure
>involving two substantives, which one is considered to be the predicate
>word.
>

It makes sense. I hadn't thought of "righteous" as being so closely
tied to the noun phrase itself. Thanks.

>>Oh, and while we're in the area, would you think of the KAI at the
>>beginning of verse 2 to be a conjunction, or would it be translated as
>>"also" or "even" and hence continue on with the adjectival idea?
>
>Here I'd opt for the adverb, "also"--but I don't think I'd say it
continues
>on with an adjectival idea. Rather I'd say it makes an additional
>predication about Jesus Christ, so that KAI AUTOS = Latin IS QUOQUE or
IDEM
>QUOQUE, depending on whether one understands AUTOS as a simple
nominative
>pronoun or an intensive pronoun; the KAI would really govern not just
AUTOS
>but AUTOS ESTIN: "This very one is ALSO a propitiation for our sins
... I
>really don't think that it (the KAI AUTOS) links up so much with the
>immediately preceding DIKAION as it does logically with the
identification
>of Jesus Christ as our advocate before the Father.

I agree, since my treatment of "righteous" changed with your comment
above. Thanks again.

Paul

                   Paul and Dee Zellmer, Jimmy Guingab
                               Ibanag Translation Project
                                    Cabagan, Philippines

                                    zellmer@faith.edu.ph



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