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I, II, III John: A Handbook on the Greek Text
Author(s): Martin M. Culy (Author)
- Publisher: Baylor University Press
- Publication Date: 12 Oct. 2004
- Language: English
- Print length: 200 pages
- ISBN-10: 1932792082
- ISBN-13: 9781932792089
Book Description
In this volume Culy provides a basic lexical, analytical and syntactical analysis of the Greek text of 1, 2, and 3 John--information often presumed by technical commentaries and omitted by popular ones. But more than just an analytic key, I, II, III John reflects the latest advances in scholarship on Greek grammar and linguistics. The volume also contains recommendations for further reading and an up-to-date bibliography. A perfect supplement to any commentary, I, II, and III John is as equally helpful to language students, of any level, as it is to busy clergy who use the Greek text in preparation for proclamation.
Editorial Reviews
Review
This handbook is an excellent study tool, providing depth in analysis of the Greek text not often provided even in technical commentaries. In it, Culy shows his familiarity with the current state of linguistic analysis of New Testament Greek, and where appropriate, points readers to relevant secondary literature. All in all, this book is highly recommended.
--Kenneth Litwak "The Covenant Quarterly"
About the Author
Martin Culy is Director of Cypress Hills Ministries and former Professor of New Testament and Greek at Briercrest Seminary.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
1, 2, 3 John
A Handbook on the Greek TextBy Martin M. Culy
Baylor University Press
Copyright © 2004 Baylor University Press
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-932792-08-9
Contents
Preface...................................viiList of Abbreviations.....................ixIntroduction..............................xi1 John 1:1-4..............................11 John 1:5-2:2............................101 John 2:3-6..............................241 John 2:7-11.............................311 John 2:12-17............................381 John 2:18-29............................461 John 3:1-6..............................661 John 3:7-12.............................741 John 3:13-18............................821 John 3:19-24............................911 John 4:1-6..............................991 John 4:7-10.............................1061 John 4:11-21............................1091 John 5:1-12.............................1191 John 5:13-21............................1312 John 1-3................................1412 John 4-7................................1432 John 8-11...............................1482 John 12-13..............................1523 John 1-4................................1553 John 5-8................................1603 John 9-12...............................1623 John 13-15..............................167Bibliography..............................169
Chapter One
A HANDBOOK ON THE GREEK TEXT OF 1, 2, 3 JOHN
1 John
1 John 1:1-4
1 (Here is what we announce to you) concerning the word of life: that which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our own eyes, that which we have scrutinized and our own hands have handled. 2 Now, Life was revealed and we have seen it and testify and announce to you the [pi]pternal Life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. 3 Yes, that which we have seen and heard we announce to you also in order that you too might have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 So then, we are writing these things to you in order that your joy might be complete.
1:1 [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]
The Prologue of John's first letter (vv. 1-4) functions as the epistolary counterpart of the Prologue of the Fourth Gospel. As in the Fourth Gospel, the writer of 1 John does not immediately identify Jesus as the topic. The structure here does not imply a lack of stylistic concern on the part of the author (cf. Strecker, 8), nor does it "lapse into grammatical impossibilities" (Houlden, 45). On the contrary, the structure serves as a powerful literary device. In the Fourth Gospel, the fact that "Jesus is not actually named until the end of the Prologue (1:17), he does not come onto the stage until 1:29, and he does not speak until 1:38.... helps build both interest and tension" (Culy 2002, 138). The same is true here. The writer's coyness in not directly naming the incarnate Jesus as the topic draws the reader into his discourse that follows.
In order to untangle the seemingly tortured syntax of the first three verses, the reader must recognize that the writer has used a topic (or "cleft") construction as a literary strategy. The series of appositional relative clauses in verse 1 introduces the topic, though in a referentially oblique manner. In a topic construction, the referent that is in focus is placed at the beginning of the sentence. If the topic has a syntactic relationship to a clause that follows, it is generally placed in the case it would bear in that clause, even though it is typically picked up with a demonstrative pronoun within that clause (see, e.g., [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] in Acts 2:22). At times, however, it appears in the nominative case (as a "hanging," or pendent nominative). Here, the relative clauses function as direct objects of the main verb [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], which does not appear until verse 3.
[TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]. The neuter relative pronouns introduce a series of "headless" relative clauses (relative clauses with no expressed antecedent: "that which ...") that stand in apposition to each other. The first relative pronoun is the nominative subject of [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], while the subsequent ones are accusative direct objects of [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], and [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] ... [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]. The neuter gender may be explained by the fact that the writer is talking about his and other eyewitnesses' broad experience of the incarnate Jesus (cf. Harris 2003, 49).
[TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]. Impf ind 3rd sg [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]. On the significance of the verb tense, see below on [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII].
[TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]. Given the thematic and linguistic links to the Fourth Gospel's Prologue, [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] could be understood here as a pre-creation "beginning" (so Strecker, 9; cf. Smalley, 7), particularly given the expression [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] in verse 2. The later use of the expression [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] in 2:13 as a title for Jesus supports this view. The immediate context, however, and the use of the preposition [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] rather than [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] may point to the beginning of Jesus' ministry (see esp. Brown, 155-58). It is probably best to affirm intertextual links between the two passages (see below on [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]) without positing a referential link between [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] and [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (John 1:1).
[TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]. Prf act ind 1st pl [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]. The first person plural verbs in verses 1-4 probably both (1) highlight the writer's status as one of a limited group of eyewitnesses, and (2) bolster the authority of the letter by linking it to that group. There is movement between present, imperfect, aorist, and perfect tenses in verses 1-4. Although verbal aspect is certainly not the sole indicator of prominence, there does appear to be some correlation between a verb's tense and the role or status of the information in this section and the rest of the letter (see also "Tense, Aspect, and Mood" in the Introduction). In verses 1-4, the foundational actions of God, which serve as the basis for what follows, are placed in the aorist tense, or perfective aspect ([TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], 1:2a; [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], 1:2b), which in narrative genre typically helps identify background information (see Porter 1989, 1994). The main hortatory line of thought is carried forward with present tense (imperfective aspect) verbs of communication ([TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], 1:2; [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], 1:2; [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], 1:3; [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], 1:4). The perfect tense (stative aspect) is used with [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] and [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] to help highlight the author's status as an eyewitness authority ([TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], 1:1; [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], 1:1; [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], 1:2; [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], 1:3; [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], 1:3). We are then left with two finite aorist verbs ([TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], 1:1; and [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], 1:1) that must be accounted for ([TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] is "aspectually vague," since the writer only had present...
