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Understanding the Genitive Absolute

The genitive absolute is a grammatical construction consisting of a noun or pronoun and a participle in the genitive case, set off from the main clause of the sentence. It conveys circumstantial information like time, cause, means or manner. For example, "while they were eating, he said." The participle functions like a normal participle to indicate aspect and time relative to the main verb. The genitive absolute was commonly used in Semitic languages and the Greek Septuagint to juxtapose ideas, whereas classical Greek tended to use circumstantial participles agreeing with the subject.

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163 views1 page

Understanding the Genitive Absolute

The genitive absolute is a grammatical construction consisting of a noun or pronoun and a participle in the genitive case, set off from the main clause of the sentence. It conveys circumstantial information like time, cause, means or manner. For example, "while they were eating, he said." The participle functions like a normal participle to indicate aspect and time relative to the main verb. The genitive absolute was commonly used in Semitic languages and the Greek Septuagint to juxtapose ideas, whereas classical Greek tended to use circumstantial participles agreeing with the subject.

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mausj
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THE GENITIVE ABSOLUTE

! It is a phrase which is not connected syntactically with the rest of its sentence.

! Its subject is a NOUN or PRONOUN, and its verb is a CIRCUMSTANTIAL PARTICIPLE. Both of these are in the
GENITIVE CASE:
Mt 26:21 -at .cte|| au| .t :.| a | . , ut | et .t ; . u | :aae c.t ..
And while they were eating, he said, "Amen I say to you, that one of you will betray me."

! The rest of the genitive absolute phrase may include other elements and modifiers:
prepositional phrase
Mk 5:18 Kat .at|e|e; aueu .t ; e :et e| :a.-a .t au e | e eate|tc.t; t|a .` au eu .
And as he was embarking into the boat, the one who had been possessed begged him that he might be with him

dative of respect
2 Pt 4:1 Xtceu eu | :ae |e; ca-t -at u .t; | au | .||eta| e :tcac.
Since, therefore, Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same intention


direct object indirect object
Mt 9:18 Tau a au eu aeu |e; au et ;, teeu a,| .t ; .| :ec.-u|.t au . ,| e t
u,a eu at ...uc.| aa .| .:t .; | ,.ta ceu .:` au |, -at ,c.at.
While he was saying these things to them, behold, one leader came and reverenced him, saying,
"My daughter just died; but come lay your hand on her, and she will live."

object infinitive
Acts 19:30 Eaueu e. eue.|eu .t c..t| .t ; e | e e| eu - .t | au e | et aat
Now, although Paul was wishing to enter into the populace, the disciples were not allowing him

! The verb functions like any other participle with respect to aspect and time (e.g., a present participle has a
progressive/repeated aspect and usually indicates action simultaneous with the main verb of the sentence).

! The genitive absolute phrase can be used to indicate any of the 8 circumstances associated with all
circumstantial participles. Context will indicate which circumstance is the most appropriate. For example,
the temporal use makes the most sense in Mt 26:21 (above), but theoretically, it could be translated in any of
the following ways:










! Both Zerwick (#49) and Blass-Debrunner-Funk (#423) point out that the Semitic way of thinking favors
juxtaposing ideas against one another, while the Greek mind-set prefers to specificy how individual
elements are linked or subordinated to one another. Thus, in many instances where NT authors coming
from a Semitic context would tend to use the genitive absolute (in juxtaposition to the rest of the sentence),
Classical or Hellenistic writers would normally use a circumstantial participle agreeing in case, gender
and number with its antecedent, as in this example of good, literary Hellenistic prose:

accusative case
First Apology 10:2 Kat :a|a | a,| a,ae| e|a eteu, cat au e | e.etea ,.a
(Justin Martyr) And we have been taught that in the beginning, he created all things because (he) is good
Temporal: "And when/while/as/after they were eating, he said"
Causal: "And because/since/as/inasmuch as they were eating, he said"
Purpose: "And for/in order for them to eat, he said" (more common with future participle)
Means: "And by/through/by means of their eating, he said"
Manner: "And with them eating, he said"
Condition: "And if/ as long as they were eating, he said"
Concessive: "And though/although they were eating, he said"
Attendant Circumstance: "They were eating, and he said"

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