From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Sun Dec 03 2000 - 20:58:33 EST
At 8:07 PM -0500 12/3/00, RHutchin@aol.com wrote:
>Recently, I was presented with the following argument. The person cited A
>Primer of Biblical Greek by N. Clayton Croy (Eerdmans, 1999) as stating,
>"Biblical Greek, like English, had a 'near' demonstrative, hOUTOS, for
>something relatively close in time, space or thought, and a 'far'
>demonstrative, EKEINOS, for something relatively distant."
>
>Based on this, the person argues that Jesus, by using the 'near'
>demonstrative, hOUTOS, in Matt 24:34 could only have been referring to those
>to whom he was physically speaking. Had Jesus wanted to refer to a future
>generation, he would have had to use the word EKEINOS.
>
>Is his argument valid?
Text: 34 AMHN LEGW hUMIN hOTI OU MH PARELQHi hH GENEA hAUTH hEWS AN PANTA
TAUTA GENHTAI.
It is true that the two demonstratives are used thus to refer to things
nearer and to things farther away in time or space. On the other hand, I
don't think that we would have EKEINH hH GENEA in Matt 24:34 without some
preceding identification of such a future generation; that is, I think that
if EKEINH hH GENEA were substituted for hAUTH hH GENEA in this verse, one
would have to wonder WHICH generation the speaker had in mind. I think
there would need to be some indication of the time or situation to which
EKEINH hH GENEA must refer.
An example of what I mean is provided by the account in Mark 2 of Jesus'
response to a question about the non-fasting of Jesus' disciples when
disciples of Pharisees and disciples of John the Baptist fast. Jesus says
in 2:19, "The groomsmen cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can
they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast." But
then he adds, 2:20 ELEUSONTAI DE hHMERAI hOTAN APARQHi AP' AUTWN hO
NUMFIOS, KAI TOTE NHSTEUSOUSIN EN EKEINHi THi hHMERAi. Here Jesus first
says that a time will come when it is appropriate for the "groomsmen" to
fast and then refers to that more distant time with the expression EN
EKEINHi THi hHMERAi.
--
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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