50. Nominative for Vocative. a. The use of the nominative for the vocative was a colloquialism in classical Greek. It occurs in Plato, and is common in Aristophanes and Lucian. When so employed, the nominative usually has the article. As in Hebrew the vocative is regularly expressed by the nominative with the article, it is not surprising that the LXX translators should often avail themselves of this turn of speech.

3 K. [2 Kings} 17:18 ti emoi kai soi, ho anthropos tou Theou; 18:26 epakouson hemon, ho Baal. Cp.3 K. [2 Kings} 20:20: Ps.21:1, 42:2.

For an instance of the nominative without the article standing for the vocative take -

Baruch 4:5 tharseite, laos mou.

The nominative, when thus employed, is often put in apposition with a vocative, as -

3 K. [2 Kings} 17:20 Kurie, ho martus tes cheras, 17:21 Kurie, ho Theos mou.

b. In the N.T. also the nominative with the article is often put for the vocative.

Mt.11:26 nai, ho pater. Lk.8:54 he pais, egeirou. Mk.9:25 to pneuma to alalon . . . exelthe. Lk.6:25 ouai humin, hoi empeplesmenoi nun. Col.3:18 hai gunaikes, hupotassesthe. Eph.6:1, Col.3:20 ta tekna, hupakouete.

The use of the nominative without the article for the vocative is rare in the N.T., as it is also in the LXX. In Lk.12:20 and 1 Cor.15:36 we find aphron put for aphron, and in Acts 7:42 oikos Israel does duty as vocative.

As instances of apposition of nominative with vocative we may take --

Rom.2:1 o anthrope pas ho krinon. Rev.15:3 Kure ho Theos, ho pantokrator

In Rev.18:20 we have vocative and nominative conjoined --

ourane, kai hoi hagioi.

51. Nominative Absolute. Occasionally we get a construction in the LXX, which can be described only by this name.

Nb.22:24 kai este ho angelos tou Theou en tais aulaxin ton ampelon, phragmos enteuthen kai phragmos enteuthen.

Nb.24:4 hostis horasin theou eiden, en hupno, apokekalummenoi hoi ophthalmoi autou.

As this construction arises out of a literal following of the Hebrew, it would be superfluous to adduce Greek parallels. Like effects might be found, but the cause would be different.

52. Nominative of Reference. What is meant by this term will be best understood from the examples -

Job 28:7 tribos, ouk egno auten peteinon.

Ps.102:15 anthropos, hosei chortos hai hemerai autou.

To throw out the subject of discourse first, and then proceed to speak about it, is a Hebraism, but at the same time it is a common resource of language generally.

So in N.T. --

Acts.7:40 ho gar Moses houtos . . . ouk oidamen ti egeneto auto.

Rev.3:12 ho nikon, poieso auton stulon en to nao tou Theou mou.

53. Nominativus Pendens. The nominative which is left without a verb owing to a sudden change of construction is a familiar feature in classical Greek, especially if this be at all colloquial. It is not however very common in the LXX.

Dan. O 7:15 kai akediasas ego . . . etarasson me.

Such cases can generally be explained on the principle of construction according to the sense.

It is seldom that we meet with so violent an anacoluthon as the following in the N.T. --

Mk.9:20 kai idon auton, to pneuma euthus sunesparaxen auton.

54. Accusative for Vocative. The accusative for vocative might seem an impossibility, yet here is an instance of it.

Ps.51:6 egapesas panta ta rhemata katapontismou, glossan dolian.

55. Accusative of Time When. In connexion with classical Greek we think of Time When as being expressed by the genitive or dative, rather than by the accusative, though the latter also is used. The employment of the accusative became more frequent after the classical period, and alone survives in the modern language.

Gen.43:16 met' emou gar phagontai hoi anthropoi artous ten mesembrian.

Ex.9:18 idou ego huo tauten ten horan aurion chalazan.

Dan. Th 9:21 hosei horan thusias hesperines (O has en hora).

So also sometimes in N.T. --

Jn.4:52 chthes horan hebdomen apheken auton ho puretos.

Rev.3:3 kai ou me gnos poian horan hexo epi se.

56. Cognate Accusative. a. By a Cognate Accusative is here meant that particular form of the Figura Etymologica in which a verb is followed by an accusative of kindred derivation with itself, irrespective of the question whether it be an accusative of the external or of the internal object. We have both kinds of accusative together in the following verse, where theran = venison.

Gen.27:3 exeste de Isaak ekstasin megalen sphodra kai eipen "Tis oun ho thereusas moi theran;"

b. The great frequency of the cognate accusative in the LXX is due to the fact that here the genius of the Hebrew and of the Greek language coincides. Besides being a legitimate Greek usage, this construction is also one of the means employed for translating a constantly recurring Hebrew formula. Sometimes the appended accusative merely supplies an object to the verb, as in such phrases as danion daneizein, diathesthai diatheken, diegeisthai diegea, enupnion enupniazesthai, epithumein epithumian, thuein thusian, nesteuein nesteian, horismon horizesthai, plemmelein plemmelesin or plemmelin, prophasizesthai prophaseis.

At other times it is accompanied by some specification, as -

Nb.18:6 leitourgein tas leitourgias tes skenes tou marturiou.

Dan.11:2 ploutesei plouton megan.

1 Mac.2:58 en to zelosai zelon nomou.

c. Sometimes the cognate accusative is conveyed in a relative clause, as -

Ex.3:9 ton thlimmon hon hoi Aiguptioi thlibousin autous.

Nb.1:44 he episkepsis hen epeskepsanto.

1 K. [1 Sam.] 2:23 he akoe hen ego akouo.

d. By other changes of construction we have still the figura etymologica, but no longer a cognate accusative. Thus, starting from the common phrase dounai doma, we have dedomenoi doma (Nb.3:9) and doma dedomenon (Nb.18:6).

e. In one instance the cognate accusative is reinforced by a still further application of the etymological figure -

Gen.47:22 en dosei gar edoken doma tois hiereusin.

This is not due to the Hebrew.

f. In a wider sense the term cognate accusative' includes an accusative of kindred meaning, though not of kindred derivation, as -

Jdg.15:8 epataxen . . . plegen megalen.

g. Instances of cognate accusative are common enough in the N.T., e.g. -

1 Jn.5:16 hamartanonta hamartian me pros thanaton.

Mt.2:10 echaresan charan megalen sphodra.

Jn.7:24 ten dikaian krisin krinate.

There also it occurs sometimes in a relative clause -

Mk.10:38 to baptisma ho ego baptizomai.

Jn.17:26 he agape hen egapekas me.

Eph.4:1 tes kleseos hes eklethete.

h. We have a triple use of the etymological figure in -

Lk.8:5 exelthen ho speiron tou speirai ton sporon autou.

i. That the playing with paronymous terms is in accordance with the spirit of the Greek language may be seen from the frequent employment of the device by Plato, e.g. -

Prot.326 D hosper hoi grammatistai tois mepo deinois graphein ton paidon upograpsantes grammas te graphidi houto to grammateion didoasi.

Hip. Maj.296 C Alla mentoi dunamei ge dunantai hoi dunamenoi; ou gar pou adunamia ge.

57. Accusative in Apposition to Indeclinable Noun. In the LXX an indeclinable noun is sometimes followed by an accusative in apposition to it, even though by the rules of grammar it is itself in some other case, e.g.-

Is.37:38 en to oiko Nasarach ton patrarchon autou.

4 K. [2 Kings] 1:2 en to Baal muian theonAkkaron.

Perhaps it would be more satisfactory if this and § 54 were thrown together under a head of Bad Grammar, a category which the reader might be inclined to enlarge.

58. Genitive Absolute. Strictly speaking, a Genitive Absolute is a clause in the genitive which does not affect the general construction. It ought not therefore to refer either to the subject or the object of the sentence. Even in classical authors however the so-called genitive absolute is sometimes not employed with the precision which grammarians might desire, e.g. -

Plat. Rep.547 B biazomenon de kai antiteinonton allelois . . . homologesan.

Xen. Cyrop.1.4.2 kai gar asthenesantos autou oudepote apeleipe ton pappon.

Xen. Anab.1.2.17 thasson proionton . . . dromos egeneto tois stratiotais.

The genitive absolute is often employed in the same loose way in the LXX.

Tob.4:1 hote emen en te chora mou . . . neoteruo mou ontos.

Dt.15:10 ou lupethese te kardia sou didontos sou auto.

Ex.2:10 hadrunthentos de tou paidiou, eisegagen auto.

Ex.5:20 sunentesan de . . . erchomenois . . . ekporeuomenon auton.

So in N.T. --

Mt.1:18 mnesteutheises tes metoos . . . eurethe.

Acts.21:17 genomenon de hemon eis Hierosoluma asmenos apedexanto hemas hoi adelphoi.

2 Cor.4:18 katergazetai hemin, me skopounton hemon.

59. The Genitive Infinitive of Purpose. The genitive of the verbal noun formed by prefixing the article to the infinitive, which we may call for convenience the Genitive Infinitive, is one of the regular ways of expressing purpose in Biblical Greek, corresponding to our use of to.' The construction is not entirely unknown to classical authors (e.g. Plat. Gorg.457 E tou kataphanes genesthai) and is especially favoured by Thucydides. There is nothing in the Hebrew to suggest it. The following will serve as examples -

Jdg.16:5 kai desomen auton tou tapeinosai auton.

Ps.9:30 enedreuei tou harpasai ptochon.

Job 1:19 elthon tou apangeilai soi.

So also frequently in N.T., e.g. -

Mt.13:3 exelthen ho speiron tou speirein.

James 5:17 proseuxato tou me brexai.

60. Other Uses of the Genitive Infinitive. a. The genitive infinitive of purpose is only one use out of many to which this syntactical device is applied. Take for instance -

Ex.14:5 Ti touto epoiesamen tou exaposteilai tous huious Israel tou me douleuein hemin (= hoste me douleuein);

Purpose is not expressed in either of these cases. In the former we have what may be called the Explanatory Use of the Genitive Infinitive; in the latter we have something which represents from serving us' in the orginal, but which we shall nevertheless class as a Genitive Infinitive of Consequence, since it is only thus that the Greek can be explained.

b. The Explanatory Use of the Genitive Infinitive is common in the LXX, e.g. -

Gen.3:22 Adam gegonen hos eis ex hemon, tou gignoskein kalon kai poneron.

Ex.8:29 me prosthes eti, Pharao, exapatesai tou me exaposteilai ton laon.

Ps.26:4 tauten (§ 47) ekzeteso; tou katoikein me ktl.

So in N.T. --

Acts 7:19 ekakose tous pateras hemon, tou poiein ektheta ta brephe auton.

Gal.3:10 ho ouk emmenei en pasi tois gegrammenois . . . tou poiesai auta.

c. As an instance of the Genitive Infinitive of Consequence we may take -

Ex.7:14 bebaretai he kardia Pharao tou me exaposteilai ton laon.

So in N.T. --

Hb.11:5 Enoch metetethe tou me idein thanaton.

d. What is called in Latin Grammar the prolative infinitive' after extensible' verbs, or more simply, the latter of two verbs, is also commonly expressed in the LXX by the genitive infinitive, e.g. -

Ps.39:13 ouk edunasthen tou blepein.

2 Chr.3:1 erxato tou oikodomein.

Gen.18:7 etachunen tou poiesai auto.

So in N.T. --

Acts 3:12 hos . . . pepoiekosi tou peripatein auton, 15:20 episteilai . . . tou apechesthai, 27:1 ekrithe tou apoplein.

61. Cognate Dative. a. Another form of the figura etymologica which abounds in the LXX may be called Cognate Dative. As in the case of the cognate accusative its frequency is in great measure due to the coincidence of idiom in this particular between Greek and Hebrew. Let us first show by a few examples from Plato that this construction is in accordance with the genius of the Greek language.

Crat.385 B logo legein. Phdr.265 C paidia pepaisthai. Symp.195 B pheugon phuge? to geras. Crat.383 A phusei . . . pephukuian. Cp.389 C, D. Phileb.14 C phusei . . . pephukota.

b. But while we have to search for this idiom in classical Greek, it thrusts itself upon us at every turn in the Greek of the LXX, owing to its aptness for rendering a mode of expression familiar in the original.

c. Corresponding to the cognate dative in Greek, we find in Latin also a cognate ablative as a rare phenomenon, e.g. -

curriculo percurre Ter. Heaut.733. Cp. Plaut. Most.349

qui non curro curriculo domum.

occidione occisum Cic. Fam.15.4.7. Cp. Liv.2.51.9.

d. The instances of cognate dative of most frequent occurrence in the LXX are akoe akouein, zoe zen, thanato apothanei, thanato thanatousthai, salpingi salpizein. But besides these there are many others, as -

agapesei agapasthai kakia kakopoiein

alalagmo alalazein kakia kakoun

aloiphe exaleiphein katarais katarasthai

apolia apollunai klauthmo klaiein

aphanismo aphanizein lethe lathein

bdelugmati bdelussein lithois lithobolein

desmo dein lutrois lutroun

dialusei dialuein mneia mnesthenai

diamarturia diamarturein oionismo oionizesthai

diaphtheirein phthora orgizesthai orge

dike ekdikein horko horkizein

ekballein ekbole paradosei paradothenai

ekthlibein ekthlibe peripiptein periptomati

ekleipsei ekleipein plemmelia plemmelein

ektribe ektribenai pronome pronomeuthenai

etripsei ektribenai prosochthismati prosochthizein

exepaunan exeraunesei ptosei piptein

exoudenosei exoudenoun talaiporia taleiporein

epithumia epithumein tarache tarassein

episkope episkeptesthai huperorasei huperidein

thelesei thelein pherne phernizein

kathairesei kathairein phthora phtharenai

katharismo katharizein chairein chara

e. From the foregoing instances it is an easy step to others in which the substantive is of kindred meaning, though not of kindred derivation with the verb.

Gen.1:16 brosei phage, 31:15 katephagen katabrosei.

Ex.19:12, 21:16, 17 thanato teleutan.

Ex.22:20 thanato olethreuthesetai.

Nb.11:15 apokteinon me anairesei, 35:26 exodo exelthe.

Ezk.33:27 thanato apokteno.

f. Instances of the cognate dative are to be found also in the N.T., though not with anything like the frequency with which they occur in the LXX.

Jn.3:29 chara chairei. Lk.22:15 epithumia epethumesa. Acts 4:17 apeile (margin) apeilesometha, 5:28 parangelia parengeilamen, 23:14 anathemati anathematisamen. James 5:17 proseuche proseuxato. Gal.5:1 te eleutheria hemas Christos eleutherose.

g. The expression in 2 Pet.3:3 en empaigmone empaiktai, while not exactly parallel with the foregoing, belongs to the same range of idiom; so also Rev.2:23 apokteno en thanato.