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FOR YOU HAVE KEPT MY WORD: the Grammar of Revelation 3:101

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FOR YOU HAVE KEPT MY WORD: the Grammar of Revelation 3:101 FOR YOU HAVE KEPT MY WORD: 1 The Grammar of Revelation 3:10 Introduction Although Revelation 3:10 has become a wellspring for various eschatological theories,2 two important grammatical questions in verse 10a have escaped serious scrutiny. 1. What is the most appropriate translation for the Greek word hoti which begins verse 10a? 2. With what punctuation should Revelation 3:10a end? Contrary to what is unwittingly implied in the verse divisions and punctuation of most English translations, the earliest Greek manuscripts used only uppercase letters (uncials) without punctuation marks, capitalization, or versification. Thus, the answers to these two grammatical questions are not rote. Instead, careful scrutiny reveals a subtle, yet a significant error in most English translations: Revelation 3:10a’s causal clause is not subordinate to verse 3:10b, but rather to verse 3:9. Two Options Based upon the Greek Word Hoti Two seemingly similar English renderings of the Greek word hoti, because and for, may differ markedly in meaning. Usually, the two words are interchangeable, but sometimes they are not. The conjunction because has a much broader and more dynamic range than the conjunction for. Revelation 3:9b–10 is a textbook example highlighting the differences between possible usages and meanings of hoti. 1 The author read an earlier draft of this article at the Pre-Trib Study Group on December 14, 1999 in Dallas, TX. Later this year, another installment: “For You Have Kept My Word: The Theology of Revelation 3:10,” will seek to determine whether this passage parallels Thessalonians 5:1–11. 2 Revelation 3:10b has been a focal-point in the debate over the timing of and the nature of the Rapture. Four main eschatological positions seek to appropriate it: Pretribulation Rapture, Posttribulation Rapture, Pre-Wrath Rapture, and Partial Rapture. BECAUSE FOR Regarding Revelation 3:9b–10, two basic interpretive options are possible, the second having three variations: (3:9b) . indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 1 (3:10a–b) Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. (3:9b–10a) . indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you, because you have kept My command to persevere. 2A (3:10b) I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. (3:9b–10a) . indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. For you have kept My command to persevere. 2B (3:10b) I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. (3:9b–10a) . indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you, for you have kept My command to persevere. 2C (3:10b) I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Interestingly, when Because starts a sentence (option 1), it takes on an unusual meaning. Even so, it is the punctuation and For You Have Kept My Word 3 translation found in most English versions.3 Option 2 (with its three variations A, B, and C) offers an alternative understanding. The distinction between options 1 and 2 profoundly affects the sense of Revelation 3:9b–10, but no distinction in meaning exists within the three variations for option 2 (2A, 2B, and 2C).4 Option 1 subordinates the causal clause in verse 10a to 10b, while separating verses 9b from 10a: On the other hand, options 2A, 2B, and 2C subordinate the causal clause in verse 10a to verse 9, while separating 10a from 10b. Both grammatical and stylistic arguments lead to proposing option 2 as the most grammatically- sound understanding. The Difference between For and Because Revelation 3:10a starts with οℵτι, transliterated hoti with the following meanings in English: “that, for, because.” Although the range of meanings is not controversial, this word occurs almost 1,300 times, necessitating a rough-and-ready classification of usage. Though it is verifiable, it is not perfect.5 Critical Text Majority Text Textus Receptus Content 843 837 839 Cause 453 448 452 Totals: 1,296 1,285 1,291 3 E.g., King James Version, New King James Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, and New International Version. 4 Readers do not always pay attention to capitalization and punctuation. Thus, the author of this paper prefers 2B or 2C: The replacement of Because with because may not always communicate the corrected idea. 5 Appendix 1 is the basis for the chart above. The focus of the present argument is upon the approximately 450 causal usages. The words because and for are often interchangeable conjunctions of cause, except when either word starts a sentence. The fact that the King James Version tends to treat individual verses as complete sentences inadvertently introduces an interpretive problem for some passages in which hoti is the first word in the Greek verse.6 Specifically, King James Version versification may not always give the correct impression about the syntactical structure of the Greek text. Consider the following two sets of unpunctuated clauses in uppercase letters: Set 1 Set 2 Clause 1 I ATE LUNCH I ATE LUNCH Clause 2 BECAUSE IT IS 2 PM FOR IT IS 2 PM Clause 3 I AM NOT HUNGRY I AM NOT HUNGRY Variations in the subordination of these clauses and changes in punctuation yield different meanings in the following four sets of sentences: Set 1 Set 2 Clause 1 I ate lunch. 1 I ate lunch, 1 Clause 2 Because it is 2 p.m., 2 because it is 2 p.m. 2 Clause 3 I am not hungry. 3 I am not hungry. 3 Set 3 Set 4 Clause 1 I ate lunch. 1 I ate lunch, 1 Clause 2 For it is 2 p.m. 2 for it is 2 p.m. 2 Clause 3 I am not hungry. 3 I am not hungry. 3 (The boxes indicate the subordination of clause 2 to either clause 1 or 3.) When Because starts a sentence, it subordinates its clause to the one that follows (set 1): When because follows a comma, its clause is subordinate to the one preceding (set 2). However, whether for begins a sentence or follows a comma, it always 6 The KJV starts every verse with a capital letter and ends most with final punctuation (period, question mark, colon, or semicolon). For You Have Kept My Word 5 links its clause with the preceding one (sets 3 and 4). Although a simplified illustration, the foregoing four sets of sentences parallel the relationships between clauses in Revelation 3:9b–10, thereby illustrating the previously discussed options 1 and 2. Translation and punctuation go hand-in-hand. Specifically, the following chart shows that ending verse 9 with a comma or starting verse 10 with For (for) yields the various forms of option 2. In other words, option 1 requires both a period and the capitalized form of Because. A decision against either of those points produces option 2. Final Punctuation of Revevlation 3:9: (1) Period (2) Comma BECAUSE Option 1: . Because Option 2A: , because FOR Option 2B: . For Option 2C: , for Causal Uses of Hoti The view that hoti starts a new sentence with Because relies upon the least common meaning, the suspensive use of hoti. This particular usage presents the hoti clause first and leaves the effect suspended until later. Again, referring to the illustration involving the four different sets of sentences, the following illustrates the difference between the suspensive and normative usages of hoti. Because it is 2 p.m., (Cause) I am not hungry. (Suspended Effect) Normally, the effect precedes hoti’s introduction of an explanatory causal clause: I ate lunch, (Effect) because it is 2 p.m. (Cause) I ate lunch, (Effect) for it is 2 p.m. (Cause) I ate lunch, (Effect) For it is 2 p.m. (Cause) The KJV renders hoti with a causal sense about 450 times. Noted grammarian, Nigel Turner, accepts about ninety percent of them as causal. He regards only twelve as suspensive exceptions to his 397 post-positional uses: Causal clauses: the majority have post-position. {Οτι (causal) is post-positive 397 times, and the only [pre-positional or suspensive] exceptions are as follows: Lk 1917 Jn 150 (a question) 845 (1419?) 1519 166 2029 (a question) Ro 97 Ga 46 Rev 310, 16 187.7 Edwin Abbott, a Johannine specialist, suggests suspensive uses in John 1:50; 8:45; 15:19; 16:6;8 and possibly 14:19.9 In Revelation he gives 3:10, 16, 17; and 18:7.10 For Paul, he offers: Romans 9:7; 1 Corinthians 12:15–16; and Galatians 4:6.11 The combination of Turner and Abbott yields the following chart: Johannine Non-Johannine John 20:29 (1) Luke 19:7 (1) 7 James Hope Moulton, A Grammar of New Testament Greek, vol. 3, Syntax, by Nigel Turner (Edinburgh: Clark, 1963), 345. 8 Edwin A. Abbott, Johanine Grammar (London: Black, 1906; reprint, Farnborough, England, 1968), 156, n. 1. 9 Ibid., 155f. 10 Ibid., 155. 11 Ibid. For You Have Kept My Word 7 T John Revelation Romans 9:7 A U 1:50 3:10 Galatians 4:6 B R 8:45 3:16 B N 14:19(?) 3:17 O E 15:19 T R 16:6 (8–9) (2) T 1 Corinthians 12:15–16 (2) Totals: (9–10) (5) Their discussions of the suspensive use of hoti make Turner and Abbott unusual among grammarians.
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