From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Sat Sep 23 2000 - 11:22:07 EDT
At 9:04 AM +0000 9/23/00, Jon D. Boyd wrote:
>I was reading GGBB by Wallace in regards to Gal. 5:16. The verse in
>Greek reads:
>
>PNEUMATI PERIPATEITE KAI EPIQUMIAN SARKOS OU MH TELESHTE
>
>He argues against taking PNEUMATI as dat. of agency for two reasons:
>
>"(1) This usage is quite rare in the NT (unless, of course, we assume
>that PNEUMATI on many occasions belongs here!); (2) PNEUMATI does not
>occur with a passive verb, let along a perfect passive; yet every clear
>example of dat. of agency in the NT occurs with a perfect passive verb"
>(GGBB, 165-6).
>
>What do you make of this discussion? I made a cursory check of PNEUMATI
>in the NT and found it with several passive verbs (e.g. Rom. 8:14; Gal.
>5:18; Eph. 1:13), which seems to disagree with Wallace's statement.
You really need (if you haven't already) to read the whole of Wallace's
discussion, which is rather lengthy; on this matter I think he's quite
right.
In the first place, PNEUMATI in Gal 5;16 isn't even being used with what
could be argued to be a passive verb (here PERIPAATEITE); it is clearly an
instrumental usage--and in fact Wallace argues that just about every
instance of what's called by some a dative of agent is really instrumental
dative or dative of means--even if the means indicated can be understood as
a person.
Further, of the texts you cite, not one is a perfect passive, although the
verb in Eph 1:13 may readily enough be understood as an aorist passive. For
reasons that I've stated many times on b-greek, I would really insist that
the verbs in Rom 8:14 and Gal 5:18 are middle/reflexive and also that the
datives here are instrumental:
Rom 8:14 hOSOI GAR PNEUMATI QEOU AGONTAI, hOUTOI hUIOI QEOU EISIN. ("For
all that let themselves be led by means of Spirit, are sons of God.")
Gal 5:18 EI DE PNEUMATI AGESQE, OUK ESTE hUPO NOMON. ("for if you let
yourselves be led by means of Spirit, you aren't subject to Torah.")
Your last example, Eph 1:13, does involve a passive verb ESFRAGISQHTE used
with a dative, but here too I would argue that this dative is instrumental
rather than dative of agent:
Eph 1:13 ... EN hWi KAI PISTEUSANTES ESFRAGISQHTE TWi PNEUMATI THS
EPAGGELIAS TWi hAGIWi. ("in whom you too believed and were sealed with the
promised Spirit."
--
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
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
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