-
Greek Lessons
- Grammatical Resistance: Pharaoh’s Syntax of Control in Exodus 10:11
- The Accusation in Quotation: Pauline Perception and Koine Rhetoric
- Healing and Heralding: The Grammar of Kingdom Nearness
- The Word Near You: Syntax, Faith, and the Internalization of Truth in Romans 10:8
- Synonyms: Image and Likeness: εἰκών, ὁμοίωσις, and ὁμοίωμα in the Greek New Testament
-
Category
Author Archives: New Testament Greek
Diphthongs and Digraphs in Greek: Classical, New Testament, and Modern Perspectives
Greek diphthongs and digraphs—those elegant pairings of vowels and consonants—have undergone a fascinating transformation from the rhythmic clarity of Classical Greek to the streamlined sounds of Modern Greek. In Classical times, diphthongs like αι, ει, and οι were distinctly pronounced, often influencing poetic meter, while digraphs held firm phonetic roles. As Koine Greek emerged, vowel sounds began merging in a phenomenon called iotacism, simplifying pronunciation for a diverse Hellenistic audience. Today, Modern Greek reflects the full evolution: diphthongs have mostly monophthongized, and digraphs like μπ and ντ have shifted to match contemporary speech patterns. For biblical scholars, these changes are more than linguistic trivia—they unlock deeper insights into manuscript dating, translation precision, and the authentic oral tradition of Scripture.… Learn Koine Greek
Differences Between New Testament Greek, Modern Greek, and Classical Greek
Greek’s long linguistic journey—from the ornate precision of Classical forms to the streamlined clarity of Modern speech—frames New Testament Koine as a pivotal middle ground. It retains much of Classical grammar but simplifies moods and case usage, while its phonology begins merging vowel sounds in ways that reshape poetic and rhetorical nuance. Semitic influence and imperial multiculturalism inflect its vocabulary and syntax, producing a Greek tailored for pastoral clarity and theological depth. Modern Greek, though descended from Koine, diverges in structure and semantics, making it an unreliable guide for biblical meaning. For interpreters, tracing these shifts is essential: it anchors exegesis in the living language of the first-century Mediterranean, not in anachronistic assumptions from other eras.… Learn Koine Greek
Posted in Ancient Greek, History, Modern Greek
Leave a comment
The Divided I: Party Spirit and Apostolic Allegiance in 1 Corinthians 1:12
1 Corinthians 1:12 expands upon the issue Paul introduces in verse 11 — reports of quarrels among the Corinthian believers. In this verse, he names the source of division: self-identification with different Christian leaders. This seemingly small detail has massive theological and ecclesial implications. As Paul opens his letter to the fractious Corinthian church, he puts his finger on one of the most pervasive spiritual diseases: factionalism under the banner of Christian allegiance.
Structural Analysisλέγω δὲ τοῦτο, ὅτι ἕκαστος ὑμῶν λέγει· ἐγὼ μέν εἰμι Παύλου, ἐγὼ δὲ Ἀπολλώ, ἐγὼ δὲ Κηφᾶ, ἐγὼ δὲ Χριστοῦ.
Paul begins with the clarifying formula λέγω δὲ τοῦτο — “Now I say this,” which signals that he will spell out the problem he just mentioned.… Learn Koine Greek
New Testament Greek: Importance for Biblical Studies, Exegesis, and Theology
New Testament Greek isn’t just a linguistic puzzle—it’s the scaffolding of theological clarity. Every case ending, aspectual nuance, and syntactic shift carries interpretive weight, shaping how doctrines are understood and applied. The grammar doesn’t merely support exegesis; it actively guides it, revealing emphasis, causation, and theological intent embedded in the structure itself. Lexical richness and semantic precision protect against oversimplification, while historical debates—from Christology to soteriology—often hinge on the force of a single article or participle. In this way, grammar becomes a theological safeguard, anchoring interpretation in the inspired text and ensuring that theology flows from exegesis, not the other way around.… Learn Koine Greek
Posted in Exegesis, Textual Criticism, Theology
Leave a comment
Historical Context of the New Testament Greek
The Greek of the New Testament pulses with the life of a multilingual, cosmopolitan world shaped by Alexander’s conquests, Roman infrastructure, and Jewish diaspora traditions. Emerging from the flexible and pragmatic Koine dialect, it blends Attic roots with panhellenic features, layered over Semitic idioms and Septuagintal theology. Far from being a degraded form of Classical Greek, it reflects the vibrant registers of urban marketplaces, house churches, and rhetorical education. Its syntax, vocabulary, and discourse strategies mirror the lived realities of bilingual speakers navigating civic, religious, and communal identities. To read it well is to enter a world where λόγος, χάρις, and πίστις carried not just meaning—but movement, memory, and mission.… Learn Koine Greek
Posted in History
Leave a comment
“ὃ προεπηγγείλατο διὰ τῶν προφητῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν γραφαῖς ἁγίαις”: The Fore-Promised Gospel in Romans 1:2
Introduction: A Gospel Long Promised
Romans 1:1–2 begins Paul’s epistle with this phrase:
τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ… ὃ προεπηγγείλατο διὰ τῶν προφητῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν γραφαῖς ἁγίαις “the gospel of God… which He promised beforehand through His prophets in holy scriptures”
This relative clause establishes the continuity between the gospel and the Old Testament. It affirms that the good news was not invented in the New Testament era—it was foretold.
Let’s now analyze this beautifully structured clause from Romans 1:2, which Paul inserts immediately after mentioning “the gospel of God”:
ὃ προεπηγγείλατο διὰ τῶν προφητῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν γραφαῖς ἁγίαιςThis relative clause explains how the gospel was not a novelty, but part of God’s long-standing redemptive plan.… Learn Koine Greek
Future Indicative: Periphrastic Form of The Future
(1) PERIPHRASTIC FORM OF THE FUTURE. A Future tense composed of a Present Participle and the Future of the verb eivmi, is found occasionally in the New Testament. The force is that of a Progressive Future, with the thought of continuance or customariness somewhat emphasized.
Luke 5:10; ἀνθρώπους ἔσῃ ζωγρῶν, thou shalt catch men, i.e. shalt be a catcher of men.
Luke 21:24; Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἔσται πατουμένη, Jerusalem shall [continue to] be trodden under foot.
(2) Μέλλει with the Infinitive is also used with a force akin to that of the Future Indicative. It is usually employed of an action which one intends to do, or of that which is certain, destined to take place.… Learn Koine Greek
Posted in Grammar
Tagged Future Indicative, Periphrastic Form of The Future, Present Participle, Μέλλει
Leave a comment
Future Indicative: The Deliberative Future
(1) The Deliberative Future. The Future Indicative is sometimes used in questions of deliberation, asking not what will happen, but what can or ought to be done. Such questions may be real questions asking information, or rhetorical questions taking the place of a direct assertion. Cf. 169 under The Deliberative Subjunctive.
Luke 22:49; εἰ πατάξομεν ἐν μαχαίρῃ, shall we smite with the sword?
John 6:68; Κύριε, πρὸς τίνα ἀπελευσόμεθα, Lord, to whom shall we go?… Learn Koine Greek
Future Indicative: The Gnomic Future
(1) The Gnomic Future. The Future Indicative may be used to state what will customarily happen when occasion offers.
Rom. 5:7; μόλις γὰρ ὑπὲρ δικαίου τις ἀποθανεῖται, for scarcely for a righteous man will one die. See also Gen. 44:15; Rom. 7:3, χρηματίσει. Observe the Gnomic Presents both before and after.
Future Indicative: The Imperative Future
(1) The Imperative Future. The second person of the Future Indicative is often used as an Imperative.
Jas. 2:8; Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
REMARK 1. This idiom as it occurs in the New Testament shows clearly the influence of the Septuagint. It occurs most frequently in prohibitions, its negative being, as also commonly in classical Greek, not μὴ, but οὐ.
REMARK 2. In Matt. 15:6 the verb timh,sei has the negative ouvmh.. Some interpreters take this as a Predictive Future, but the thought requires the Imperative sense, and in view of the frequent use of ouv mh.… Learn Koine Greek