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XIII
§ 15. Order of the Words The Apocalypse is notable for the clearness, simplicity, and uniformity of its phrasing. When once our author has adopted a certain combination of words he holds fast to oit as a general rule. This is an essential characteristic of his style. There is rarely any variation in the words or in their arrangement. How profoundly J differs from our author in this respect the reader will see by consulting Abbott's Gr. 401-436, where it is proved by hundreds of examples that J shows a subtle discrimintation in availing himself of the manifold variations of order which are possible in Greek expressing various subtle shades of meaning. So far as the outward form goes our author's style is essentially monotonous when compared with that of J. And yet notwithstanding this absolute simplicity and apparent montony, there is no sublimer work in the whole Bible. J works like a minature painter, but our author like an impressionist on an heroic scale. (i.) The Article. -- (a) A noun
in the genitive never stands between the article and its noun, but always
follows it. This rule is without exception. In J, on the other hand, we
find 1810 to.n tou/ avrciere,wj
dou/lon. If, however, the article is omitted in the case
of both nouns, then the noun in the genitive case can precede the noun
that governs it: cf. 717 zwh/j
phga.j u`da,twn.
(b) Nor can participial or prepositional phrases stand between the art. and its noun.(1) If these stand in an attributive relation, {clvii} they must follow the noun with the art. repeated: cf. 1119 o` nao.j tou/ qeou/ o` evn tw/| ouvranw/|) But when the noun is anarthrous, such a prepositional phrase can precede the noun, just as an anarthrous noun can precede the noun that governs it, as in 717. This occurs only in the titles of the letters to the Churches. Thus in 21 we must read with AC Pr tw/| avgge,lw| tw|/ evn VEfe,sw| evkklhsi,aj( and similarly throughout the seven letters, although in the case of three all the MSS have been corrected and normalized. Lachmann and WH recognized that this alone was what our author wrote, though neither they nor later editors were aware of the rule universally observed by him throughout Jap, that a prepositional phrase is never inserted between the article and its noun. Hence the reading adopted by Tischendorf, Alford, Weiss, Von Soden, etc., th/j evn VEfe,sw| evkkl)( is without justification. Our author could not write so. Besides, since it is his rule to repeat the art. before a prepositional phrase following an articular noun in an attributive relation, it follows that we should read tw/+ avgge,llw| tw/|) From the combination of these two usages emerges the strange piece of Greek, yet one that is essentially our author's -- tw/| evn VEfe,sw| evkklhsi,aj)(2)
(b) Again the genitive of the possessive pronouns (mou( h`mw/n( sou( u`mw/n( auvtou/( auvtw/n) is never separated from its noun.(3) It occurs roughly over 300 times or more. Hence 128 ouvde. to,poj {clviii} eu`re,qh auvtw/n e;ti is against our author's style,(4) also 1814 sou th/j evpiqumi,aj th/j yuch/j (on other grounds we have found that 18 is a source): and also 2212 w`j to. e;rgon evsti.n auvtou/, where the wrong order is probably due to the editor.(iii.) The Adjective. -- The adjective as a r ule follows after the noun it depends on. But there are certain exceptions. In 110 we have evn th/| kuriakh/| h`me,ra|, 38 mikra.n du,namin( 203 mikro.n cro,non (yet cro,non mikron in 611), 133 (source) o[lh h` gh/ (elsewhere always post-positive -- 310 612 1614). me,gaj is always post-positive except in 161 mega,lhj fwnh/j (always elsewhere in our author the adj. is post-positive in this phrase -- i.e. 18 times). 1821 (source) h` mega,lh po,lij. i`scuro,j is once pre-positive in 182 (source) evn i`scura/+ fwnh/|) Elsewhere post-positive (5 times, including 1810). Thus, save in four passages of our author (110 38 161 203), the adjective always follows the noun. The other instances (133 182.21) are in sources. (iv.) The Numerals. -- The usage
of our author in regard to {clix}
the order of the numerals and the words they depend on, which is on the
whole definite and peculiar to himself, is given in vol. i. 224, and especially
in the footnote. In the footnote in 1. 15 ab imo, for "exception,
xvi. 19," read "the clause kai.
evge,neto ) ) ) eivj tri,a me,rh is an interpolation": and
for the last five lines read: "In the case of e`pta,,
179 (in 120 the second e`pta,
is an interpolation; 82b is recast and in part interpolated,
and 133b belongs to a source), de,ka(
1712 (in 131 kai.
evpi. t) kera,twn auvtou/ de,ka diadh,mata is interpolated),
dw,deka,
2121, when the subject contains any of these numerals preceded
by the article and is followed by a noun and the same numeral in the predicate,
the latter numeral without the article precedes the noun, unless the subject
and predicate are coextensive."
(v.) The Verb. -- (a) The verb generally precedes its subject and almost always its object except in sources such as 111-3 (see vol. i. 272 sq.) and 18. In other sources -- translations from Hebrew such as 12. 17 -- the order is Semitic. (b) Again the verb and its object are rarely separated by prepositional or other phrases. This holds absolutely in the case of akou,ein fwnh,n $fwnh/j%. Hence A, h;kousa fwnh.n mega,lhn o;pisqe,n mou, is right in 110, and not aC 025, h;k) ovpi,sw mou f) m) Our author always writes avstrapai.
kai. fwnai. kai. brontai,) Cf. 45 1119
1618. He observed that the avstrapai,
precede the brontai, and
wrote accordingly. But the editor who interpolated 87-12 and
made many changes in the adjoining context to adapt it to his interpolation,
was apparently unaware of the order of these natural phenomena or the usage
of his author: see 85 brontai.
kai. fwnai. kai. avstrapai,)(6)
NOTES
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