From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Wed Dec 22 1999 - 12:50:17 EST
<x-rich>At 11:19 AM -0600 12/22/99, Grant wrote:
<excerpt>The reason I decided to learn Greek (i think there was a topic
a while back about this) is to learn all the legitimate interpretations
of passages such as Philippians 2:6 (very much aware of this scripture
now! ) and others. I would just like to say that B-Greek has helped me
understand and look at scriptures in a way I never did before. I would
just like to give a warm thanks to all who have corresponed with me. I
know at time I can be a little stubborn though.
<bigger>John 8:58 "EIPEN AUTOIS IHSOUS AMHN AMHN LEGW hYMIN PRIN ABRAAM
GENESQAI EGW EIMI"
I have read many variations in which some translate as "I am" while
other seem to try to show an age rather than identity such as "I have
been" or "I was."
From a scrictly grammatical standpoint, is "I have been" a correct
rendering? Which English tense is <underline>closer to the Greek
tense</underline>: the <underline>"I am" tense </underline>or the
<underline>"I have been" tense</underline>?
Sincerely,
Grant POlle
</bigger></excerpt><bigger>
</bigger>One could say, "I was," but I think that "I am" captures the
paradoxical sense that the statement presents. If one is willing to
sacrifice the structure of the Greek and reformulate the content, I
think one might write, "My existence antedates the birth of Abraham."
Come to think of it, that reformulation fits the old observation (which
is at least partly true, as anyone who has had to memorize Greek verb
paradigms is well aware) that English tends to express major notions
with nouns while Greek tends to express major ideas with verbs.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
</x-rich>
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