Final Deck Flashcards
Dative Indirect Object
The dative substantive is that to or for which the action of a verb is performed. The indirect object will only occur with a transitive verb.
The key is: (1) the verb must be transitive; and (2) if the dative can be translated with to or for it is most likely indirect object.
Dative of Interest (Advantage and Disadvantage)
The dative substantive indicates the person (or, rarely, thing) interested in the verbal action. The dative of advantage has a to or for idea, while the dative of disadvantage has an against idea.
Instead of the words to or for, supply for the benefit of or in the interest of for the dative of advantage, and for/unto the detriment of, to the disadvantage of or against for the dative of disadvantage.
Dative of interest typically (but not always) belongs to the larger category of indirect object. The difference in the two is that, in the former, interest is stressed, while in the latter it is not.
Dative of Reference/Respect
The dative substantive is that in reference to which something is presented as true. An author will use this dative to qualify a statement that would otherwise typically not be true.
Instead of the word to, supply the phrase with reference to before the dative. (Other glosses are concerning, about, in regard to, etc.) When the noun in the dative is a thing, the sentence typically makes no sense if the dative is removed, as, e.g., in Rom 6:2—“How shall we who died [to sin] still live in it?”
Dative in Simple Apposition
Though not technically a syntactical category, the dative case (as well as the other cases) can be an appositive to another substantive in the same case. An appositional construction involves two adjacent substantives that refer to the same person or thing and have the same syntactical relation to the rest of the clause. The first dative substantive can belong to any dative category and the second is merely a clarification of who or what is mentioned. Thus, the appositive “piggy-backs” on the first dative’s use, as it were. This usage is common.
Dative of Sphere
The dative substantive indicates the sphere or realm in which the word to which it is related takes place or exists. Normally this word is a verb, but not always. This is a common use of the dative.
Before the noun in the dative supply the words in the sphere of or in the realm of.
Dative of Time
The noun in the dative indicates the time when the action of the main verb is accomplished. The dative routinely denotes point of time, answering the question, “When?”
Remember that the noun in the dative expresses an indication of time.
Matt 17:23 τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἐγερθήσεται
[at a point in time] on the third day he will be raised.
Dative of Association
The dative substantive indicates the person or thing one associates with or accompanies. This usage is relatively common.
Before the noun in the dative supply the phrase in association with.
Dative of Means/Instrument
The dative substantive is used to indicate the means or instrument by which the verbal action is accomplished. This is a very common use of the dative, embracing as it does one of the root ideas of the dative case (viz., instrumentality).
Before the noun in the dative, supply the words by means of, or simply with. The noun in the dative is conceived of as impersonal.
Dative of Agency
The dative substantive is used to indicate the personal agent by whom the action of the verb is accomplished. This is an extremely rare. (1) According to the above definition, if the dative is used to express agency, the noun in the dative must not only be personal, but must also be the agent who performs the action.
Four keys to identification for the dative of agency: (a) Lexical: the dative must be personal. (b) Contextual: the person specified by the dative noun is portrayed as exercising volition. (c) Grammatical: the only clear texts involve a perfect passive verb, as in the classical idiom. (d) Linguistic: a good rule of thumb for distinguishing between agent and means is simply this: the agent of a passive verb can become the subject of an active verb, while the means normally cannot.
Luke 23:15 οὐδὲν ἄξιον θανάτου ἐστὶν πεπραγμένον αὐτῷ
nothing worthy of death had been done by him.
As is apparently always the case in the NT, the only clear examples involve a perfect passive verb form.
Jas 3:7 πᾶσα γὰρ φύσις θηρίων … δεδάμασται τῇ φύσει τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ
for every kind of beast … has been tamed by humankind
Dative of Cause
The dative substantive indicates the cause or basis of the action of the verb. This usage is fairly common.
Before the dative insert the phrase because of or on the basis of.
This use of the dative is similar to but not the same as the dative of means. (At times, however, it is impossible to distinguish the two.) The dative of means indicates the how; the dative of cause indicates the why; the dative of means indicates the method; the dative of cause indicates the basis.
Dative of Content
The noun in the dative denotes the content that is used by a verb of filling. This usage is debatable in the NT (in part because it is difficult to distinguish it from material; in part because even in its own right, it is extremely rare).
The dative is a quantitative word related to a verb of filling. Indeed, the key differences between content and material are that (1) material will involve a quantitative word, while content may be qualititative (or even abstract); (2) content is specifically related to a verb of filling.
Dative Direct Object
A number of verbs take the dative as their direct object. Also, it should be noted that such datives are usually related to verbs implying personal relation. Thus the meanings of the verbs correspond in meaning to the basic idea of the pure dative.
A good rule of thumb is that verbs taking a dative direct object can usually be translated with to or in. Thus ὑπακούω can be translated, “I am obedient to,” διακονῶ can be rendered “I minister to,” εὐχαριστῶ can be translated as “I am thankful to,” πιστεύω can be rendered “I trust in.” (One has to use a little imagination with these verbs because they are normally rendered “I obey,” “I serve,” “I thank,” and “I believe.”)
Dative After Certain Prepositions
Certain prepositions take the dative after them. See the chapter on prepositions for discussion. For review of which prepositions take which cases, cf., e.g., Mounce, Basics of Biblical Greek, 55–62.
When a dative follows a preposition, you should not attempt to identify the dative’s function by case usage alone. Rather, consult BAGD for the specific usage of that case with that preposition.
Accusative Direct Object
The accusative substantive indicates the immediate object of the action of a transitive verb. It receives the action of the verb. In this way it limits the verbal action. This usage is so common as to be routine: when one sees an accusative substantive, he/she normally should think of it as the direct object; conversely, when one anticipates the direct object, the case expected is usually the accusative.
Double Accusative - Person-Thing
Constructions in which a verb takes two accusatives - Personal Thing and Object Complement
Certain verbs take two direct objects, one a person and the other a thing. The thing is the nearer object; the person is the more remote object. Another way to put this is that the person is the object affected, while the thing is the object effected. This is a fairly common category.
