Granville Sharp
Granville
Sharp
Granville
Sharp
(1735–1813) was an
English political reformer, slavery abolitionist, and Greek language
scholar
known for his contributions regarding the translation of New Testament
Greek as
it relates to the divinity of Christ. Sharp believed strongly in the deity
of Christ
and studied the New Testament in its
original language to more ably prove Christ’s deity. The Granville
Sharp Rule
was first noted in 1798 in his book Remarks on the Uses of the
Definitive
Article in the Greek Text of the New Testament: Containing Many New
Proofs of
the Divinity of Christ, from Passages Which Are Wrongly Translated in
Common English Versions.
The actual rule of Granville Sharp is concerned with the use of
definite
articles and copulative conjunctions in the New Testament. Copulative
conjunctions
(also called additive conjunctions) are words that join other words and
indicate the relation of additional information. In English, we have
one
definite article, the; some copulative conjunctions are and,
moreover,
and also.
The Granville Sharp Rule states, “When the copulative kai
connects two
nouns of the same case, [viz. nouns (either substantive or adjective,
or
participles) of personal description, respecting office, dignity,
affinity, or
connexion, and attributes, properties, or qualities, good or ill], if
the
article ho, or any of its cases, precedes the first of the said
nouns or
participles, and is not repeated before the second noun or participle,
the
latter always relates to the same person that is expressed or described
by the
first noun or participle”.
In simpler terms, the Granville Sharp Rule says that when two singular
common
nouns are used to describe a person, and those two nouns are joined by
an
additive conjunction, and the definite article precedes the first noun
but not
the second, then both nouns refer to the same person. This principle of
semantics holds true in all languages. For example, consider this
sentence:
We met with the owner and the curator of the museum,
Mr. Holton.
In the preceding sentence, the definite article the is used
twice,
before both owner and curator. The curator is obviously
Mr.
Holton, but the owner could be a different person. Did we meet with one
or two
people? Is Mr. Holton the owner of the museum as well as the curator?
The
grammatical construction leaves the question open. However, the
following
sentence removes the ambiguity:
We met with the owner and curator of the museum, Mr. Holton.
In the second example, the definite article the is only used
once,
before the first noun. This means that the two nouns, joined by and,
are
both in apposition to the name of the person. In other words, Mr.
Holton is
both owner and curator. The Granville Sharp Rule makes it clear that we
are
referring to the same individual.
Two of the New Testament verses associated with the Granville Sharp
Rule are Titus
2:13
and 2 Peter 1:1.
The KJV translates Titus
2:13
as, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” In the
original
Greek, the words for “God” and “Saviour” are joined by kai, and
the
definite article ho is only used once, preceding “God”;
according to the
Granville Sharp Rule, both God and Saviour must refer to
the same
person, namely, Jesus Christ.
“Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”
Similarly, 2 Peter 1:1
refers to “our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
Following Granville Sharp’s rule, Jesus Christ is clearly identified as
both
“God” and “Saviour,” another example of the Bible’s teaching of the
deity of
Christ. The grammatical construction of the Greek makes it plain: definite
article + singular noun + copulative conjunction + singular
noun = the same person.
Though the Granville Sharp Rule may seem arcane, the concept has an
important
impact regarding Bible translation and our understanding of the nature
of Christ.
The New Testament passages where this rule applies highlight the deity
of Jesus
Christ. He is more than the Messiah; He is God.
“NINE BIBLE REASONS THAT PROVE
JESUS CHRIST IS GOD”
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