From: JFantin@aol.com
Date: Sat Apr 15 2000 - 01:01:30 EDT
Please forgive my respose if this has already been covered. I receive the
digest and all posts are received once a day.
gfsomsel states:
<<Frankly, regardless of how esteemed he may be, I think Wallace is simply
wrong here. I don't think there is any such think as a "permissive"
imperative. To paraphrase Gertrude Stein, "An imperative is an imperative,
is an imperative." He doesn't say "You may let him go." He says, "Let him
go!" The command has nothing to do with whether it is proper for him to go,
but with the reaction of the believer. I think he's allowing his theology
(and I would agree with upholding the sanctity of marriage) interfere with
his Greek studies.>>
I would like to respond to this briefly and use this to further develop this
tread in a more general direction.
1. Please note that Wallace does not deny the imperative force of the mood in
the permissive usage. Your quote of Wallace can be repeated here:
"There are many exceptions to this twofold 'flavor' of the imperative in
actual usage, although in almost every instance the rhetorical power of the
imperative is still felt. Thus, when Paul says, "If the unbeliever departs,
let him depart (XWRIZESQW_" (1 Cor 7:15), the permissive imperative is more
strongly addressed to the heart than if he had said, "If the unbeliever
departs, that is OK! . . ." (p. 485 CD ed.).
Thus concerning the issue at hand, I read Wallace to be saying that
permission is a possible nuance of the imperative. It is not embody the
entire meaning of the mood in such occurrences. This leads to my second
point.
2. On the surface I agree with the Stein quote mentioned: "An imperative is
an imperative, is an imperative." However, it is easy to confuse
"imperative" with "command." Some of the problem with imperative analysis is
the terminology. I share gfsomsel's frustration with the term "permission" as
a label for a usage of the imperative. My research of the imperative has
caused me to conclude that the essence of the mood is volitional (and to some
extent 'directive' using a term from speech act theory--using the term with
its primary meaning within the theory without full acceptance of the theory).
For lack of a better term, "permission" within traditional Greek grammar has
been used to label a specific usage. Wallace seems to use the term with some
hesitation: "The connotations of 'permission' are usually too positive to
convey adequately the nuances involved in this type of imperative." (p. 489
CD ed.). Nevertheless, the term is used for lack of a better label (though
other terms such as 'toleration' are mentioned).
It seems clear that the imperative mood can be used in instances which cannot
be forceful commands (e.g., 1 Cor 7:15 and see the various examples given in
grammars for usages not listed as "command" or prohibition"). I prefer a
system of classification which is based on relative strength of the usage in
context. Various factors such as 'rank' of participants, politeness, and
rhetorical considerations (e.g., where does the imperative fit into the
larger discourse: is it early when building an argument, later when
exhorting, etc.) may contribute to the force of the mood in context. In such
a system a permissive imperative would be classified as an imperative with
weak force (certain factors would be considered to classify the imperative).
Such an approach would help clarify why the imperative mood is used in a
specific instance. The simple imperative = command notion cannot be
sustained. Also, the imperative is not the only mood which can realize a
command. The study of imperatives is a morphologically driven study. The
study of commands is semantic. In other words, imperative has structural
coding but commands are not so limited (for lack of a better term). These
are related but not identical.
Finally, to get back to the original issue, for a more complete discussion of
Wallace's view on Eph 4:26 (if it has not already been mentioned), see his
article in The Criswell Theological Review 3 (1989): 353-72.
Joe Fantin
Sheffield
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