CONDITIONAL
SENTENCES IN THE
NEW TESTAMENT
by
William
E. Elliott
Submitted in partial
fulfillment of requirements
for the degree of
Doctor of Theology in
Grace
Theological Seminary
May 1981
Digitized by Ted Hildebrandt, Gordon
College 2006
Title: CONDITIONAL SENTENCES IN THE GREEK NEW
TESTAMENT
Author: William E. Elliott
Degree: Doctor of Theology
Date: May
1981
Committee:
Dr. Charles R. Smith, Dr. John A. Sproule, Dr. Homer A. Kent, Jr.
Increasing interest in the grammar
of the Greek New Testament
has
focused attention upon aspects of the language that have, for the
most
part, been passed over by past grammarians. Among these topics
is
that of conditional sentences. A superficial survey of the lit-
erature
indicates that most writers seem to have the data confidently
in
tow, but closer inspection shows that this is not the case. Modern
grammarians
are, for the most part, content to follow the lead of A.T.
Robertson
and classify these clauses in terms of First, Second, Third,
and
Fourth Class conditions. Others, dissatisfied with Robertson's
system
and the extension of it by his followers, have returned to the
terminology,
if not the principles of Classical Greek. The situation
is
uncoordinated at best, for even in Classical Greek studies there
is
significant disagreement upon the classification of these sentences.
The historical background to the
study of conditional sentences
is
presented from both the Classical and the Koine Greek standpoints.
Suggested
systems of classification include Time, Fulfillment, Form
and
Determination. The latter, championed by B.L. Gildersleeve, is
the
preferred system. Determination is indicated by the mood of the
verbs
employed in the protasis. Gildersleeve's system entered Koine
studies
primarily through the work of A.T. Robertson. He employes
four
classes into which he places these conditional sentences.
The Simple Condition, using the
indicative mood, states the
condition
as an assumed reality. There is no necessary connection
between
actuality and the statement. This condition merely presents
the
conclusion as a necessary corollary of the condition.
The Contrary to Fact Condition also
uses the indicative mood
to
present the condition as one that is assumed not true, i.e., con-
trary
to fact. Again, there is no necessary connection between
actuality
and the conditional statement.
The Probable Condition presents the
condition as one assumed
probable,
i.e., one that could easily be fulfilled. The hypothetical
nature
of this condition requires the use of the subjunctive mood.
The Possible condition states the
condition as one that is
assumed
possible, i.e., little likelihood of fulfillment. This con-
dition
utilizes the optative mood, and there is no complete example
of
it in the New Testament.
Two basic concepts underlie all
conditional sentences. First,
the
determining factor is the mood of the verb, not the particle em-
ployed.
Second, all conditional sentences state their case as an
assumption,
never as a direct statement of reality.
Accepted by the Faculty of Grace
Theological Seminary
in partial fulfillment of
requirements for the degree
Doctor of Theology
Examining
Committee:
Charles R. Smith
Homer A. Kent Jr.
John A. Sproule
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER
I. A HISTORICAL SURVEY 4
Conditional Sentences in General 4
Conditional Sentences in Classical
Greek 8
The Importance of
Classical Greek 10
Suggested Classification
Systems 10
Classification
According to Time 11
Classification
According to Fulfillment 18
Classification
According to Form 20
Classification
According to Determination 23
Conditional Sentences in Koine Greek 33
Early Grammarians 34
George Benedict
Winer 34
Alexander
Buttmann 37
Samuel G.
Green 40
Ernest
DeWitt Burton 42
James Hope
Moulton 46
Modern Grammarians 49
Archibald
Thomas Robertson 49
William
Douglas Chamberlain 55
Charles
Francis Digby Moule 57
Friedrich
Blass - Albert Debrunner 60
Nigel Turner 62
H. E. Dana
and Julius R. Mantey 65
Robert W.
Funk 67
William
Sanford La Sor 65
Summary of Koine
Grammarians 71
II. THE SIMPLE CONDITION 73
Introduction 73
The Conditional Particle ei 75
The Significance of ei 75
The Significance of ei with other Particles 77
The Negative Particles in Simple
Conditions 81
Ean with the Indicative
Mood 84
Significance of Moods and Tenses 88
i
ii
Meaning of the Simple Condition 95
Particular and General
Conditions 95
Degree of Reality 98
Translation of the Simple Condition 105
III. THE CONTRARY TO FACT CONDITION 106
Introduction 106
Significance of Tense 110
Imperfect Tense 110
Aorist Tense 113
Pluperfect Tense 115
The Use of An in Contrary to Fact Conditions
116
The Meaning of the Contrary to Fact
Condition 121
The Translation of the Contrary to
Fact Condition 123
IV. THE PROBABLE CONDITION 129
Introduction 129
Analysis of the Probable Condition 131
The Protasis 131
The Apodosis 141
Meaning of the Probable Condition 148
Review of the
Grammarians 148
Evaluation of the
Grammarians 151
Relationship with the
Simple Condition 156
Summary 163
Translation of the Probable
Condition 165
V. THE POSSIBLE CONDITION 169
Introduction 169
The Optative Mood in General 170
The Optative Mood in Conditional
Sentences 174
The Construction 175
The Significance 178
The Grammarians 178
The Specific Examples 180
Those with
the Protasis Implied 180
Those with
the Protasis Stated 184
Translation of the Possible
Condition 191
VI. CONCLUSION
193
Simple
Conditions 194
Unreal
Conditions 195
Probable Conditions 195
Possible Conditions 196
Summary 196
iii
APPENDICES 198
Appendix I: Occurrences of the
Simple Condition 198
Appendix II: Occurrences of the
Unreal Condition 211
Appendix III: Occurrences of the
Probable Condition 215
BIBLIOGRAPHY
226
INTRODUCTION
God created man with the potential for abstract
reasoning, and
his many languages reflect this
through their use of the subjunctive
mood: the mood of contingency
or possibility. Posing questions,
exploring possibilities and
analyzing logical connections are part of
man's reasoning capabilities,
and his languages reflect these skills.
Among the syntactical tools
which accomplish these are conditional
sentences. These sentences,
usually consisting of two clauses,
state a hypothesis and give a
conclusion. In English this corres-
ponds to the "If . . .
then" formula.
This type of sentence, while prevalent in English, is
usually
listed as one of several
subordinate clause relationships.1
By
contrast, the Greek language
presents a more fully developed system
of conditional sentences by
means of which a remarkable degree of
precision may be obtained in expressing
conditional thought. The
Greek conditional sentence
presents both the condition and certain
specific implications about it
in one sentence whereas English needs
both the conditional statement
and qualifying sentences to communicate
the same concept. This
compactness lends itself to greater precision
1 Porter Perrin and
George H. Smith, Handbook of Current
English, third edition, edited
by Jim W. Corder (
Scott, Foresman and Company,
1968), 48-56, 120-121.
2
in the statement of conditional
concepts.
Since conditional sentences are basic to the material of
the
Greek New Testament, a detailed
understanding of conditional sentences
is vital for an accurate
interpretation of its contents. This, then,
is the goal of this study: to
explore conditional sentences so that the
message of the New Testament
may be better understood.
Though all students of Greek, both Classical and Koine,
agree
on the importance of
conditional sentences, few agree on the analysis
of them. A. T. Robertson aptly
describes the situation in Koine studies
when he writes, "In truth
the doctors have disagreed themselves and the
rest have not known how to
go."1 The Classical scene is likewise
muddled, as Blass-Debrunner
notes, "The classical grammars are also hope-
lessly at variance."2
Some of this confusion is due to the absence of a
standard by
which to classify conditional
sentences. Time, degree of reality and
construction have all been
suggested by various grammarians as possible
classification systems.
Further, each grammarian seems to have developed
his own terminology in
discussing the subject, and each argues that his
is best. Indeed, it is possible
to trace the influence of major
grammarians through succeeding
generations by noting who adopts their
terminology in dealing with
conditional sentences.
1 A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the
Light of Historical
Research
(
1934),
p. 1004.
2 Friedrich Blass and
Alvert Debrunner, A Greek Grammar of the
New Testament and Other
Early Christian Literature, translated and
revised
by Robert W. Funk (
1961), p. 189.
3
Another reason for the lack of standardization may be the
inherent flexibility of the
language itself. Though Classical and Koine
Greek may be considered
fossilized ancestors of Modern Greek, they were
living, functioning languages,
complete with the internal syntactical
elasticity found in living
languages today. Greek, like English, developed
through usage, and patterns so
developed may refuse to be forced into a
logically consistent mold. So,
whether through lack of a standard, or
lack of accepted terminology,
or through syntactical flexibility,
conditional sentences have
provided grammarians with a fruitful area of
contemplation, and students
with a frustrating area of concentration.
This study seeks to offer help to those involved in the
analysis of conditional
sentences by summarizing the work of previous
grammarians and giving a
detailed analysis of each type of conditional
sentence in the New Testament.
The work of past and contemporary
scholars will be surveyed to
give an overview of their studies, agree-
ments, and disagreements. Then
the conditional sentences in the Greek
New Testament will be identified
and analyzed with the help of principles
obtained from the grammatical
survey. Finally, observations will be
offered on the important
matters of translation and interpretation.
The result should be a small
but positive step in gaining further insight
into the meaning of conditional
sentences in the Greek New Testament.
CHAPTER I
A HISTORICAL SURVEY
Since any study necessarily builds upon the work of
others, a
survey of previous studies of
conditional sentences is basic to a
thorough understanding of the
topic. This study will include the work
of both Classical and Koine
scholars.
Conditional
Sentences in General
A brief survey of the technical details of conditional
sentences
will set the scene for the
succeeding discussion and evaluation.
The Definition of
Conditional Sentences
A conditional sentence is a two-clause sentence in which
the
first clause states a
supposition or hypothesis and the second clause
states the results if that
condition is met. The hypothetical clause
which states the condition
("If this . . .") is termed the protasis
and the conclusion clause is
called the apodosis (". . . then
this.").
Herbert Weir Smyth explains it
this way:
A condition is a supposition on
which a statement is based.
A
conditional sentence commonly consists of two clauses:
The protasis: the conditional, or
subordinate, clause,
expressing
a supposed or assumed case (if).
The apodosis: the conclusion, or
principal, clause, expressing
what
follows if the condition is realized. The truth or fulfillment
of
the conclusion depends on the truth or fulfillment of the
conditional clause.1
1 Herbert Weir Smyth, Greek Grammar for Colleges (
American Book Company, 1920),
p. 512.
5
The Construction of Conditional
Sentences
The Protasis
As Smyth stated, the protasis stands as the subordinate
or
dependent clause, setting forth
the condition. The term protasis comes
from prosta<sij, "lit. stretching forward, that which is put
forward
(in logic, a premise).1 While the formal sequence is the standard
"If . . . then,"
English, as well as Greek, varies the sequence in
usage: "You will receive
the reward if you do a good job."
The form of the protasis in Greek involves a conditional
particle (ei] or e]a<n) and a
verb. The various combinations of particles
and verbs will be discussed
later. Though the mood of the verb is the
key element in identifying the
type of condition, certain constructions
are fairly standard. Again,
these will be presented later. This
combination of particles and
moods enables Greek to express conditional
thought with a compact
precision lacking in English. The thought of
a few Greek words may take a
few English sentences to be communicated.
The Apodosis