Wallace Nominative Uses

Nominative Absolute

The nominative absolute is the use of the nominative case in introductory material (such as titles, headings, salutations, and addresses), which are not to be construed as sentences. Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ The revelation of Jesus Christ Exception: The only exception to this definition is that when a participle in the nominative case is grammatically unrelated to the rest of the sentence, it is traditionally called a nominative absolute participle (because it shares similarities with the gen. absolute participle).

Nominative of Exclamation

The nominative substantive is used in an exclamation without any grammatical connection to the rest of the sentence. Subcategory of Nominative of Vocative. ἴδε ἡ μήτηρ μου καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί μου Behold, my mother and my brothers!

Difference between the Pendent Nominative and Nominative Absolute?

The pendent nominative is similar to the nominative absolute in that it is grammatically independent. However, while the nominative absolute is not used in a sentence, the pendent nominative is.

Predicative Nominative

The predicate nominative (PN) is approximately the same as the subject (S) and is joined to it by an equative verb, whether stated or implied. The usage is very common. The equation of S and PN does not necessarily or even normally imply complete correspondence (e.g., as in the interchangeability of A=B, B=A in a mathematical formula). Rather, the PN normally describes a larger category (or state) to which the S belongs. It is important to keep in mind, however, that there are two distinct types of S-PN constructions; these will be discussed below.

Nominativus Pendens (Pendent Nominative)

This nominative substantive is the logical rather than syntactical subject at the beginning of a sentence, followed by a sentence in which this subject is now replaced by a pronoun in the case required by the syntax.

Nominative for Time

Very rarely in the NT the nominative case is used rather than another case to indicate a measurement of time. The data are insufficient to tell which oblique case the nominative normally is substituting for (though most have argued that it is the rough equivalent of an acc. of time). Each instance needs to be determined by its own context.101 ἤδη ἡμέραι τρεῖς προσμένουσίν μοι already [for the extent of?] three days they have been with me

Pecking order if both S and PN has one of the three tags?

1. Pronoun=Greatest priority 2. Articular noun and Pronoun seem to have equal authority. 3.

How to Disintiguish the S from the PN?

1. The (S) will be a Pronoun οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός this is my beloved Son 2. The (S) will be Articular πνεῦμα ὁ θεός God is spirit 3. The (S) will be a proper name τί οὖν ἐστιν Ἀπολλῶς; What then is Apollos?

Parenthetic Nominative

A parenthetic nominative is actually the subject in a clause inside a sentence that may or may not have a different subject. A parenthetic nominative is the subject of an explanatory clause within another clause. ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος ἀπεσταλμένος παρὰ θεοῦ, ὄνομα αὐτῷ Ἰωάννης. There came a man sent from God (his name was John) (1) Unlike the nominative absolute, the parenthetic nominative occurs in sentences; (2) unlike both the nominative absolute and pendent nominative, the parenthetic nominative is not usually found at the head of its construction (especially not at the head of a sentence); (3) unlike the pendent nominative, the parenthetic nominative is not used to indicate the author's emotion at the time of writing, nor is it primarily emphatic in nature. Its use is primarily explanatory and is frequently an editorial aside, especially in the Fourth Gospel.

Nominative in Proverbial Expressions

A substantive in the nominative is used in proverbial expressions that have no finite verb. ὁ δρασσόμενος τοὺς σοφοὺς ἐν τῇ πανουργίᾳ αὐτῶν He catches the wise in their craftiness Generally speaking, the syntax is either compressed and elliptical (as in "once a thief, always a thief") or else fragmentary and foreign to its new context (such as when an author quotes just a subordinate clause). The reason for the unusual syntax is that the p 55 proverbial saying, even if fragmentary, has become a fixed part of the literary heritage. Since it is well known in that particularly pithy form, to round out the syntax would be to spoil the effect.

Nominative for Vocative

A substantive in the nominative is used in the place of the vocative case. It is used (as is the voc.) in direct address to designate the addressee. 1. Anarthrous a. Without ὦ πατὴρ δίκαιε,74 καὶ ὁ κόσμος σε οὐκ ἔγνω righteous Father, even the world has not known you b. With ὦ Ὦ γενεὰ ἄπιστος, ἕως πότε πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἔσομαι; O unfaithful generation!75 How long will I be with you? 2. Articular ἡ παῖς, ἔγειρε. Child, rise.

Grammatically Independent Use of the Nominative

All independent nominatives follow this general rule: The substantive in the nominative case is grammatically unrelated to the rest of the sentence.

Nominative as Nauseum

Also known as the aporetic nominative (from the Greek word ἀπορέω, "I am at a loss"), this is the category one should appeal to when another slot cannot be found. The title is descriptive not of the nominative but of the feeling one has in the pit of his/her stomach for having spent so much time on this case and coming up with nothing.

Nominative in Simple Apposition

An appositional construction involves (1) two adjacent substantives (2) in the same case,40 (3) which refer to the same person or thing, (4) and have the same syntactical relation to the rest of the clause.

Nominative in Apposition to Oblique Cases

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 second substantive is said to be in apposition to the first. Normally, both substantives will be in the same case. The Seer of Revelation, seems, for the most part, either to have considered the substantive in the nominative case as an indeclinable title (2:13), a quotation (1:5; 17:5),93 or simply as imitating the LXX usage (1:5; 17:4). It seems that he used this to emphasize the word in the nominative, for his audience would certainly take note of such a construction. ἀπὸ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστός from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness (or perhaps, "the witness, the faithful one")

Subset Proposition

the predicate nominative describes the class to which the subject belongs (usual relationship between the two). ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν God is love

Convertible Proposition

this construction indicates an identical exchange. That is to say, both nouns have an identical referent. The mathematical formulas of A=B, B=A are applicable in such instances. A statement such as "Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player in NBA history" means the same thing as "the greatest player in NBA history is Michael Jordan." There is complete interchange between the two.

Nominative After a Preposition

ἀπὸ ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος from "he who is" and "the he was" and "he who is coming" Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 62. This is the first and worst grammatical solecism in Revelation, but many more are to follow. There are two broad options for how to deal with it: Either the author unintentionally erred or he intentionally violated standard syntax.96 If unintentional, it could be due to a heavily Semitized Greek, or merely represent the level of linguistic skill that a minimally educated man might achieve (as in the vulgar papyri).97 Either of these is doubtful here because (1) such a flagrant misunderstanding of the rudiments of Greek would almost surely mean that the author simply could not compose in Greek, yet the Apocalypse itself argues against this; (2) nowhere else does the Seer use a nom. immediately after a preposition (in fact, he uses ἀπό 32 times with a gen. immediately following). If intentional, the question of what the author intends. Few scholars would disagree with Charles' assessment: "The Seer has deliberately violated the rules of grammar in order to preserve the divine name inviolate from the change which it would necessarily have undergone if declined. Hence the divine name is here in the nominative."98 It would be like one American saying to another, "Do you believe in 'We the People'?" If the question had been, "Do you believe in us the people?" the allusion to the Preamble to the Constitution would have been lost. The Seer is no doubt alluding to Exod 3:14 in the LXX (ἐγὼ εἰμι ὁ ὤν—"I am who I am"), a text well familiar to early Gentile Christians. Although there are other views on the grammar of Revelation as a p 64 whole,99 it seems that 1:4 may function somewhat paradigmatically for many of the solecisms. The Seer had just instructed the readers to pay careful attention to his words (1:3)—something he ostensibly fails to do in the next verse! But, in reality, he is driving his audience back into the OT by preserving the very forms found in the LXX, even when they lack concord in the new context. (E.g., he continues to do this in 1:5, where a nom. is in apposition to a gen.: the nom. is a quotation from Ps 89). Without even once saying, "It is written," the author is thus able to signal the readers that he is using the OT