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Greek Lessons
- Vindicated at the Table: How Speech Condemns and Grammar Acquits
- Carried, Not Carrying: The Grammar That Topples Boasting
- Spliced into Abundance: The Grammar of Displacement and Participation in ἐνεκεντρίσθης
- When the Heart Expands Toward Ruin: The Grammar of Self-Watchfulness
- Living, Begetting, Dying: The Grammar of Time and Continuity
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Author Archives: Biblical Greek
When the Heart Expands Toward Ruin: The Grammar of Self-Watchfulness
Πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ μὴ πλατυνθῇ ἡ καρδία σου καὶ παραβῆτε καὶ λατρεύσητε θεοῖς ἑτέροις καὶ προσκυνήσητε αὐτοῖς (Deuteronomy 11:16 LXX)
Pay attention to yourself, lest your heart be enlarged, and you transgress and serve other gods and bow down to them.
Grammatical InsightThis verse from Deuteronomy 11:16 is syntactically compact yet theologically charged, with grammar functioning as moral warning. The opening verb πρόσεχε is a present active imperative, second person singular, demanding sustained attentiveness rather than a momentary glance. The reflexive dative σεαυτῷ intensifies responsibility, turning vigilance inward and making the subject both watcher and watched. The particle μὴ introduces a clause of apprehension, preparing the reader for a feared outcome rather than a neutral condition.… Learn Koine Greek
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Living, Begetting, Dying: The Grammar of Time and Continuity
Καὶ ἔζησεν Σαλα μετὰ τὸ γεννῆσαι αὐτὸν τὸν Εβερ τριακόσια τριάκοντα ἔτη καὶ ἐγέννησεν υἱοὺς καὶ θυγατέρας καὶ ἀπέθανεν (Genesis 11:15 LXX)
And Sala lived after he begot Eber three hundred thirty years, and he begot sons and daughters, and he died.
Grammatical InsightThis verse from Genesis 11:15 in the Septuagint exemplifies the stark simplicity of genealogical Greek, where syntax carries the weight of sacred history. The verb ἔζησεν (aorist active indicative of ζάω) opens the verse with a completed life-event, framing existence as a bounded whole. The temporal construction μετὰ τὸ γεννῆσαι employs μετά with an articular infinitive, a distinctly Greek way of marking time “after the act of begetting.”… Learn Koine Greek
The Inner Circumcision: Grammar as the Call to Transformation
Καὶ περιτεμεῖσθε τὴν σκληροκαρδίαν ὑμῶν καὶ τὸν τράχηλον ὑμῶν οὐ σκληρυνεῖτε ἔτι (Δευτερονόμιον 10:16 LXX)
And you shall circumcise the hardness of your heart, and your neck you shall not harden any longer.
Grammatical InsightThe verse of Deuteronomy 10:16 in the Septuagint compresses profound theology into the tight syntax of command. The verb περιτεμεῖσθε (future middle indicative, second person plural of περιτέμνω) conveys an imperative nuance, functioning as a “prophetic future.” It invites the hearers not merely to perform a ritual but to participate in an inward transformation. The accusative object τὴν σκληροκαρδίαν (“the hardness of your heart”) personifies resistance to divine will, making grammar a vessel of moral anatomy.… Learn Koine Greek
The Grammar of Offering: Eternal Ordinance in the Syntax of Service
Τὸν βραχίονα τοῦ ἀφαιρέματος καὶ τὸ στηθύνιον τοῦ ἀφορίσματος ἐπὶ τῶν καρπωμάτων τῶν στεάτων προσοίσουσιν ἀφόρισμα ἀφορίσαι ἔναντι κυρίου καὶ ἔσται σοὶ καὶ τοῖς υἱοῖς σου καὶ ταῖς θυγατράσιν σου μετὰ σοῦ νόμιμον αἰώνιον ὃν τρόπον συνέταξεν Κύριος τῷ Μωυσῇ (Λευιτικόν 10:15 LXX)
The arm of the removal and the breast of the separation they shall bring upon the offerings of the fat portions as a separation to separate before the Lord, and it shall be for you and for your sons and for your daughters with you as a perpetual statute, as the LORD commanded Moshe.
Grammatical InsightThe verse of Leviticus 10:15 in the Septuagint is a masterclass in priestly syntax, revealing how grammatical structure mirrors sacred hierarchy.… Learn Koine Greek
Grammatical Resistance: Pharaoh’s Syntax of Control in Exodus 10:11
Μὴ οὕτως πορευέσθωσαν δὲ οἱ ἄνδρες καὶ λατρεύσατε τῷ θεῷ τοῦτο γὰρ αὐτοὶ ζητεῖτε ἐξέβαλον δὲ αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ προσώπου Φαραω (Exodus 10:11 LXX)
Let them not go thus. Only the men—go and serve God, for that is what you are seeking. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
Grammatical InsightThis verse in the Septuagint crystallizes Pharaoh’s strategy of partial compliance, framed entirely in the precision of Greek command forms. The text opens with a prohibitive expression: μὴ οὕτως πορευέσθωσαν — “Let them not go thus.” The use of μὴ with a third person present imperative (πορευέσθωσαν) conveys prohibition in the form of royal command.… Learn Koine Greek
The Syntax of Survival: Postdiluvian Duration in a Simple Sentence
Ἔζησεν δὲ Νωε μετὰ τὸν κατακλυσμὸν τριακόσια πεντήκοντα ἔτη (Genesis 9:28 LXX)
And Noah lived after the flood three hundred fifty years.
Grammatical InsightAt first glance, Genesis 9:28 in the Septuagint appears deceptively simple. It consists of one main clause, a prepositional phrase, and a numerical time expression. But beneath this surface lies an elegant use of Greek syntax to record sacred time. The main verb ἔζησεν (“he lived”) is an aorist active indicative, third person singular. The aorist tense marks a completed action in the past, summarizing Noah’s post-flood lifespan as a single, closed event. This is typical for biblical narrative, where the aorist compresses life into a perfective snapshot, offering theological finality rather than durative unfolding.… Learn Koine Greek
Confession in the Aorist: Pharaoh’s Syntax of Contrition
Ἀποστείλας δὲ Φαραω ἐκάλεσεν Μωυσῆν καὶ Ααρων καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ἡμάρτηκα τὸ νῦν ὁ Κύριος δίκαιος ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ ὁ λαός μου ἀσεβεῖς (Exodus 9:27 LXX)
Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time. The LORD is righteous, but I and my people are impious.”
Grammatical InsightThis single verse from Exodus 9:27 LXX captures one of the most dramatic moments in the plague narrative—the moment when Pharaoh appears to break. The Greek constructs this confession with syntactic conciseness and a burst of aorist finality. The verse begins with an aorist active participle ἀποστείλας (“having sent”), marking the action as complete and preceding the main verb ἐκάλεσεν (“he summoned”).… Learn Koine Greek
The Eye That Spoke: Verbal Aspect and Narrative Shame in Genesis 9:22
Καὶ εἶδεν Χαμ ὁ πατὴρ Χανααν τὴν γύμνωσιν τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἀνήγγειλεν τοῖς δυσὶν ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ ἔξω (Genesis 9:22 LXX)
This compact verse from Genesis 9:22 LXX is simple, yet grammatically dense and narratively charged. It presents a tight sequence of finite verbs and participles that chart the moral fall of Ḥam and the relational fracture that ensues. We begin with the aorist indicative εἶδεν (“he saw”), denoting a complete and punctiliar action. This aorist form focuses the reader on a moment of irreversible perception – Ḥam saw what should not have been seen: the γύμνωσιν (“nakedness”) of his father.… Learn Koine Greek
Temporal Precision and Aspectual Framing in Genesis 8:13
Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ἑνὶ καὶ ἑξακοσιοστῷ ἔτει ἐν τῇ ζωῇ τοῦ Νωε, τοῦ πρώτου μηνός, μιᾷ τοῦ μηνός, ἐξέλιπεν τὸ ὕδωρ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς· καὶ ἀπεκάλυψεν Νωε τὴν στέγην τῆς κιβωτοῦ ἣν ἐποίησεν, καὶ εἶδεν ὅτι ἐξέλιπεν τὸ ὕδωρ ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς. (Genesis 8:13 LXX)
Setting the Scene
This verse brings us into the narrative’s turning point: the floodwaters have abated, and Noe opens the ark’s roof to look. The Septuagint renders the Hebrew’s careful dating formula with a rich ἐν + dative temporal structure, followed by a sequence of aorist verbs that frame the events as completed, decisive acts.… Learn Koine Greek
Warnings in Participles: The Grammar of Subtle Caution in Deuteronomy 8:12 LXX
Μὴ φαγὼν καὶ ἐμπλησθεὶς καὶ οἰκίας καλὰς οἰκοδομήσας καὶ κατοικήσας ἐν αὐταῖς (Deuteronomy 8:12 LXX)
Setting the Scene
This fragment belongs to a conditional warning in Deuteronomy 8, where the people are cautioned against pride and forgetfulness once they have enjoyed prosperity in the land. The Greek renders a Hebrew sequence of clauses in a way that layers four aorist participles, all dependent on an implied apodosis of potential disobedience. The grammar creates a rising chain of events that leads from provision to potential spiritual danger.
Grammar in Focus: Coordinated Aorist ParticiplesThe phrase consists of four participial clauses joined by καί: 1.… Learn Koine Greek
