Grace
Theological Journal 11.1 (1991) 71-96.
[Copyright © 1991 Grace
Theological Seminary; cited with permission;
digitally prepared for use at
ADVERBIAL CLAUSES:
STATISTICAL STUDIES
JAMES L. BOYER
This third article in a series of studies dealing with
subordinate
clauses in the Greek NT will be concerned with the adverbial
clauses.
The over-all
classification is functional, based on the kinds of adverbial
modification made by the clauses. Only in the case of the conditional
clauses is it necessary to carry the classification further.
Attention will
be given to the conjunctions or conjunctive relative phrases
used to
introduce the clauses, to the moods used, and to the clause order. A
special feature of this series of studies is the attempt to give
statistical
information at every level, so that the student may begin to appreciate
the relative magnitude of each structure.
*
* *
JUST
as adjectives modify nouns so adverbs modify verbs, limiting
and defining the circumstances under which the
action of the verb
is to be understood. As adjectives answer the
questions "who?" "what?"
"what kind?" so adverbs answer such questions as
"when?" "where?"
"why?" "how?" "under what circumstances?" They may be single words
(as nu?n), or phrases (as dia< tou?to), or full clauses. The
clauses are the
subject of our present study.
They will be taken primarily in the
order of frequency of occur-
rence in the NT, except that
in a couple of instances similarity or
relationship between classes will
bring two together out of the numeri-
cal order.
CAUSAL
CLAUSES
Meaning
As the name adequately indicates,
causal clauses modify the main
verb of a sentence by stating the cause or reason
for that main asser-
tion. Their meaning is
reflected in the way they are translated into
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English. Using the NASB1 as point of
comparison these clauses are
introduced by "for" (473 times),
"because" (224), "since" (26) and a
variety of at least 16 other ways, each
occurring less than six times.
No attempt is made in this study to
refine the classification further,
no sub-classification will be attempted.
One problem of identification needs
to be considered; the distinc-
tion between coordinate
(main clause) and subordinate clauses. For
example, it is not always easy, or even
possible, to decide whether ga<r
or even o!ti is introducing a
subordinate or a main clause. Actually
GRAMCORD
has listed 800 occurrences of ga<r as introducing main
clauses (CX)2 and only 241 with
subordinate clauses (SC). The reverse
is the case with o!ti, 1291 are connected
with subordinate clauses
(SN,SC,SR) and only 10 with main clauses (CG,CX).
Ordinarily one would expect that a
causal clause at the beginning
of a sentence would be either (1) subordinate to a
main clause which
comes later, or (2) the explanation of something that
is present in the
preceding context or to the mind. Unfortunately it
cannot always be
known where a sentence begins. The lack of
punctuation in the original
manuscripts and the tendency to hook long sentences
together with
many subordinate clauses, complicates the problem,
particularly in the
light of our precisely opposite modern preference.
In a few instances in this study
such ambiguous identifications are
called to attention, but usually a choice is made and
that is followed.
Structure
Conjunctions
Used
These may best be shown in table
form.
Causal
Conjunctions, NT Mood Before
or After Main Verb
Conjunctive
Phrases Count Used >
before < after ?
o!ti 439
dio<ti
21
kaqo<ti 4
ga<r 243
e]
e]peidh< 9 Ind.
4 5
e]peidh<per 1
1 Unless otherwise
indicated all formal translations of the Bible text will be given
from the NASB version.
2 These letters in
parenthesis are coded tags used by GRAMCORD to identify the
various functional classifications of
conjunctions. The first letter in the code indicates
whether the clause is coordinate (C) or
subordinate (S). The second letter designates the
function: CG for interroGative,
CX for eXplanatory, SC for Causal, SN for Nominal,
SR for Result. Others will be
identified as they occur.
BOYER: ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
73
Causal
Conjunctions, NT Mood Before
or After Main Verb
Conjunctive
Phrases Count Used >
before < after ?
di
] h!n [ai]ti<an] 7
a]nq ] w$n 5
e]f
] &$ 2
ou$ ei!neken 1
ou$ xa<rin l Ind. 1
!Oti and ga<r account for 93% of all
the subordinate causal clauses.
e]
attention to the relative phrases which by
antecedent or by context
become in effect causal conjunctions.3
Mood
In every instance the mood of the verbs within
the causal clause is
indicative. This is to be expected, since causes
and explanations are
characteristically simple statements.
Clause
Order
The causal clause follows the main verb in 97%
of the instances.
Even
the e]
clause, are still 74% following. Again, it is more
logical that causes and
explanations should follow that which
is being explained.
Ga<r, here as elsewhere, is
post-positive; it never stands as the first
word in its clause. Usually it is second or third in
sequence, in three
instances4 it stands as the fourth
word in its clause.
Other Causal
Constructions
Beside these conjunctive and relative clauses
there are other ways
of expressing what amounts to a causal clause in
the Greek NT.
Adverbial
Participles
The anarthrous
participle very frequently functions as an adverb
in the sentence. While it may not technically be
called a clause (there is
no finite verb in the construction) yet it clearly
functions as one; in
most instances the best way to translate it is by an
English clause. Of
these adverbial or circumstantial participles, 303
are causal in sense,
including 35 genitive absolutes.5
3 See my article, "Relative Clauses
in the Greek New Testament: A Statistical
Study," GTJ
9 (1988) 233-56.
4 Luke
5 See my article, "The Classification
of Participles: A Statistical Study," GTJ
5
(1984) 163-79. At the time that
article was prepared I did not have the computer facilities
now available for tabulating and collecting
information, so the identification of the
adverbial functions expressed by the participles
was not included. Later this inadequacy
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Articular Infinitives with the Preposition Dia<
The articular
infinitive after prepositions, while no finite verb is
involved, is so completely clausal in character
that it is impossible to
translate into English without converting it into
a full clause. Those
which as causal in sense are dia< with the neuter
accusative article and
an infinitive (32 examples); also, e!neken tou?
and e]k tou? + an
infinitive
(one each).6
CONDITIONAL CLAUSES
An extensive and detailed consideration of the
conditional sen-
tences has previously been
published by this writer7 so this section will
be primarily a summary and collection of
statistics. For a fuller dis-
cussion and support for some
statements made here the reader is
referred to these article's.
The conditional sentences proper are composed of
four classes.
First Class Conditions
Significance,
Meaning
Its meaning is very simple: "If this. . . then that . . ." It indicates
nothing as to the actual situation, whether the
condition is true or
false; in fact it is frequently used for both sides
of a true / false
condition. Its use of the indicative does not in
any way indicate that the
protasis is true, or even that
it is "assumed for the sake of argument."
Sometimes
it may be true that the English word since
is a possible
translation, but it is never a "proper"
translation. Since carries an
implication that the condition is true; the Greek
first class condition
does not. If used to translate a statement which is
actually true then the
translation would not be "wrong" or
"untrue," but it would not be a
correct translation in that it would be saying
something more than the
Greek
says.
was met by my Supplementary
Manual of Information: Participles. This is now available
by inter-library loan from the Morgan Library,
Grace Theological Seminary, 200
Seminary Dr.,
6 See my article, "The Classification
of Infinitives: A Statistical Study," GTJ
6 (1985)
29-48.
Complete listings are available in the Supplemental Manual on Infinitives (see
previous footnote).
7 There are four articles in the series:
James L. Boyer, "First Class Conditions: What
Do
They Mean?" GTJ 2 (1981) 74-114;
"Second Class Conditions in NT Greek," GTJ 3
(1982)
81-88; "Third (and Fourth) Class Conditions," GTJ 3 (1982) 163-75; and "Other
Conditional Elements in NT Greek," GTJ 4(1983) 173-88. No supplemental manuals
are
available for these studies.
BOYER: ADVERBIAL CLAUSES 75
Structure
First Class conditions use ei] with an indicative verb in the protasis;
the apodosis may be of any type.
Statistics
*** Protasis
Apodosis ***
Conjunctions
Count Mood Order Sentence Type
ei] 302 ALL S --Statement 138
M --Command 76
ei@ ge
5 I
Prot. RQ --Rhetorical
quest. 52
N before MR
--Request 11
ei] mh< D Apod. PR --Promise 11
I AS --In subordinate cl. 5
ei] mh<ti 1 C
>267 O --Oath
5
A P --Potential 5
ei@ pwj 1 T TH
--Threat 4
I Prot. X --Exclamation
3
ei@per 6 V
after CH --Challenge
2
ei@te 1 S
Q --Question 2
< 43 RC --Rel. Clause equiv. 2
MN --Emphatic negative 1
e]a<n 2 MP --Prohibition 1
( ) --(No apodosis)
1
It will be noted that all except the last are
introduced by the
conjunction ei] or a combination of ei] with another particle. Even e]a<n
is, of course, a combination of ei] + a@n, an indefinite
particle.
The mood in every instance is indicative, even
with e]a<n. The two
instances where e]a<n has the indicative, Rom
to be first class in sense, even though e]a<n normally is used in
third class
conditions, sometimes there with the indicative.
The protasis precedes
the apodosis in 267 out of 310 examples
(86%). There are 13 instances where the apodosis is
missing.
A great variety of sentence types form the
apodosis of first class
conditions.
Second Class Conditions
Significance,
Meaning
Probably the least controversial, its
significance is clear: The
protasis sets forth a condition
which is not true or is thought to be not
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true, and the apodosis states the potential
consequence if it had been
true. "If this were the case (which is not),
then that would be. . . . "
Structure
Second Class conditions use ei] with a secondary (past) tense of the
indicative verb in the protasis;
the apodosis characteristically is some
potential construction such as a secondary tense
indicative, usually but
not always with a@n.
The conjunction used is always ei], sometimes with the negative mh<
added (10 times); once it also has de<, in ei] de> mh<.
Analysis
of Verb Forms: Statistics8
Protasis: Apodosis:
Tense:
Order Tense:
Imperfect 21
Proto before Imperfect 21
Aorist 14
> = 42 Aorist
18
Pluperfect 6 Proto after Pluperfect
3
[. . . ] 7 < = 6 [.
. . ] 5
Total 48
---- 1
The mood of the protasis
is always indicative. The apodosis is
always some potential construction, almost always a
secondary tense
of the indicative, usually with a@n (31 times).
Third Class Conditions
Significance,
Meaning
This is properly labelled
the Future Condition. It always deals
with a future potential, uncertain (subjunctive)
because it hasn't hap-
pened yet.9 The
subjunctive does not indicate the degree of uncertainty,
only the fact of uncertainty by reason of futurity.
8 Some symbols appearing
in this and following charts are codes I have used for
abbreviation and convenience:
[. . . ] = Verb is not present; left
to be supplied
---- = There is no apodosis present
> = Protasis
precedes the apodosis
< = Protasis
follows the apodosis
9 This statement seems to
ignore a large number of condition sentences which use
e]a<n with subjunctive, the
so-called "present general conditions". I have already given
extensive treatment of these elsewhere in my
article on Third Class Conditions, GTJ
3
(1982) 172-75. The "general"
or "whenever" idea always introduces potentiality or fu-
turity, and to the Greek mind
was expressed naturally by this construction.
BOYER: ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
77
Structure
Third Class conditions use e]a<n with a subjunctive verb in the
protasis, the apodosis may be of
any type, usually future in its time-
reference.
Conjunctions
Used
Almost always it is some form or
combination of e]a<n; the simple
e]a<n (213 times), a@n (a contracted form, 3) ka@n (by crasis
for kai>
e]a<n,
14),
e]a<nper
3; it has
the negative added (e]a>n mh< 52); total e]a<n, 286
times. Ei] is used 5 times; simple
ei] once, ei] pwj; once, ei@te (twice, in
correlative
clauses), and e]kto>j
ei] mh< once.
Analysis
of Verb Forms: Statistics
Verb in the Protasis:
Tense: Mood:
Present 105 Indicative
2
Future 2 Subjunctive
284
Aorist 177
Perfect 2
[. . . ] 4 [.
. .] 4
Present. (1?3) 1* Indicative
1*
Perfect (1?3) 1* Indicative
1*
Verb
in the Apodosis:
Tense:
Mood:
Present 129 Indicative
218
Future
97 Subjunctive
21
Aorist 42 Optative 1
Perfect 7 Imperative
33
Infinitive
2
[. . .] 12 [.
. .] 12
---- 3 ---- 3
Present (1?3) 1*
Indicative 1*
Perfect (1?3) 1*
Indicative 1*
[Explanation:
* = Double or doubtful entry; also counted elsewhere
Order
of Clauses:
> = Protasis
precedes Apodosis 241
< = Protasis
follows Apodosis 48
-= No apodosis 3
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Sentence
type of Apodosis:
> AS 8 Within
a subordinate clause
> M 42 Command
> MN 11 Emphatic
Negation
> MP 2 Prohibition
> MR 1 Request
> P 3 Potential
> PR 22 Promise
> RQ 32 Rhetorical
question
> S 158 Statement
> TH 11 Threat
Fourth Class Conditions
Fourth Class conditions use ei] with an optative
verb in the protasis
and supposedly (from the ancient pattern) a@n with an optative verb in
the apodosis. But there are no complete examples in
the NT, only a few
(9)
protases. It has the same
significance as the Third Class, only stated
a bit less dramatically.
Conjunctions
Used
The conjunction is always ei], once with the indefinite particle pw<j
added.
Verb
Forms in the Protasis
The protasis
in all 9 instances is regular, with an optative verb,
six
are present tense, 3 are aorist.
Verb
Forms in the Apodosis
In every instance the apodosis is
either incomplete, irregular, or
missing. In four the apodosis is an infinitive
in the predicate of the
main clause (Acts
effect a single word, a parenthetic expression
adverbially attached to
the verb of the main sentence (1 Cor
turn out so"; translated in NASB by
"perhaps"). In only three in-
stances is there an actual apodosis present. Two
of these leave the verb
unexpressed so it is not possible to tell mood and
tense (1 Pet
Conceivably
an optative (ei@hte v 14, ei@h v 17) might be supplied in
conformity with the normal fourth class pattern,
but the sense is not
right for that. Probably it is better to supply the
indicative, as this
makes good sense. The third does have a complete
apodosis (Acts
24:19).
The verb is imperfect indicative, not the optative expected in
BOYER: ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
79
fourth class conditions, but possibly it may be taken
as a potential
indicative equivalent to an optative.
The absence of a@n is not a problem.
Clause
Order
In the seven examples where an
apodosis can be identified it
stands after the protasis twice,
before it five times.
EXCEPTIVE CLAUSES
Exceptive clauses are a form of
conditional clause. They use the
conditional conjunctions, particularly the
combination ei]
mh<, and in-
volve a special kind of
conditional situation. They are treated separately
here because they represent a sizable group in
themselves and have
several distinctive features.
The name reflects the fact that
these clauses usually are translated
into English by the word "except." They
point to a general situation
which is not true (the apodosis) except for (ei] mh< = "if not")
some
specific case (the protasis).
Usually the exception is a part of the
general, but the parallelism is not always
precise.
The conjunction used is ei] mh<, so in form they are
first or second