From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Fri Dec 15 2000 - 15:03:09 EST
At 4:14 PM +0000 12/15/00, Mark Wilson wrote:
>In the midst of reading about Dependent Clauses (Purpose and Result), I came
>across this text:
>
>John 10:38
>
>TOIS ERGOIS PISTEUETE hINA GNWTE KAI GINWSKHTE
>
>"believe the works, so that you might know and you might know" (Porter).
>
>Porter's translation seemed a bit awkward, so I looked at the other
>dependent
>clauses for clues. I realize that Purpose and Result Clauses are often
>difficult to distinguish, but I observed the following in the passages that
>contained a concatenation of dependent clauses.
>[ We might call this Mark Wilson's Observation :o ) ]
>
>Here are some of those passages first:
>
>1 Cor. 7:5; Eph. 6:21,21; 2 Cor. 13:7; 1 Cor. 1:27-29; John 3:16; Rom 5:20,
>21
>
>Observation:
>
>There seems to be a tendency for the last clause in a series to be a Result
>Clause (not a Purpose Clause).
>(I wonder if there might be a "linguistic" rationale for this.)
>
>I guess distinguishing Purpose from Result Clauses, when syntactically
>either
>is an option, is a somewhat subjective task; perhaps one's "theology" plays
>a
>decisive role in how they are ultimately and subjectively distinguished.
>
>However, if my observation above holds, then I wonder if I might
>understand and translate John 10: 38 in this manner:
>
>TOIS ERGOIS PISTEUETE hINA GNWTE KAI [hINA] GINWSKHTE
>
>"believe the works, so that (purpose) you might know
>and that (result) you might know"
The problem with this is the different aspect of the two forms here; I'm
inclined to think thatyou really need to see the whole verse-sequence, or
at least: 37 EI OU POIW TA ERGA TOU PATROS MOU, MH PISTEUETE MOI; 38 EI DE
POIW, K'AN EMOI MH PISTEUHTE, TOIS ERGOIS PISTEUETE, hINA GNWTE KAI
GINWSKHTE hOTI EN EMOI hO PATHR KA'GW EN TWi PATRI.
It's not knowing in the abstract but direct cognizance of a relationship:
I'd make it, "... so you may grasp and be continually aware that the Father
is with me and I with the Father."
As for the relationship between result clause and purpose clause, it may
just be that the distinction is one we make in English but that Greek does
not make: hWSTE + infinitive, EIS + articular infinitive, and hINA +
subjunctive ALL THREE may convey either sense--and it may be that the
distinction between purpose and result is greater in the English-speaker's
mind than it was in the Koine Greek-speaker's. What all these constructions
mean is "to the end of ..." or "heading toward the end of ..." Do you study
IN ORDER TO LEARN? or is LEARNING the end-result of your study? It may be
that sometimes we're emphasizing the achievement and at other times the
intention, but UNLESS we feel the need to emphasize the NON-FULFILMENT of
an intention, maybe it's quite satisfactory to lump together constructions
that are "telic" or "goal-oriented."
--
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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