I’ve got a commentary telling me that the participles in the last clause of Luke 8:10 are concessive in usage (although hearing they do not hear). It seems to me like they fit better into the category of substantives (hearing ones may not hear) because they are plurals. Are there specific indicators to look for with concessives?
buchs
You said:
[quote**]I’ve got a commentary telling me that the participles in the last clause of Luke 8:10 are concessive in usage (although hearing they do not hear). It seems to me like they fit better into the category of substantives (hearing ones may not hear) because they are plurals. Are there specific indicators to look for with concessives?**[/quote]
While I am still learning Greek it seems to me that concessive participle is the best fit here.
A concesive participle suggests that the state or the action of the main verb is true in spite of the action of the participle. To test whether it is concessive or not one should apply the use of the term although to the text.
Here is the verse in the NASB
And He said, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest {it is} in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND.
If we were to apply this term to the text it would be stated something like this.
Although they may see and they may hear, they may not understand.
This may not be a full proof test but generally it helps in the defining of the concessive participle.
GTM
Hi. Here I see two reasons not to take them as substantives. First, if it were a general statement about “hearing ones” or “those who hear”, you would regularly have the article. And also, the most natural reading is to take the subject of βλέπωσιν and συνιῶσιν as referring back to τοῖς λοιποῖς, in which case, the participles would have to be circumstancial.
As to deciding what kind of circumstancial participle, that’s determined by the context. There are certain particles that make the meaning more precise, for example καίπερ indicates a concessive meaning, but these aren’t always used, and in the end it comes down to context.
modus.irrealis
Quick question:
Are you talking about particles or participles?
GTM
Both, and now I’ve edited my answer to make it clear. Thanks.
modus.irrealis,
Thank you for sharing your knowledge of the language. I deeply appreciate it and for the clarification. I thought there may have been a typo there but wasn’t sure.
GTM 