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Greek Lessons
- Declensions of Blessing: Case Usage in Matthew 10:12
- 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
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Category
Author Archives: Biblical 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
The Ark at Ararat: Resting on the 27th Day
Καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἡ κιβωτὸς ἐν μηνὶ τῷ ἑβδόμῳ ἑβδόμῃ καὶ εἰκάδι τοῦ μηνός ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη τὰ Αραρατ (Genesis 8:4 LXX)
Landing in Language: The Aorist of ἐκάθισεν
The verse begins with ἐκάθισεν — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular of καθίζω, meaning “to sit,” “to rest,” or “to settle.” – The aorist tense here emphasizes a completed historical event — the ark definitively came to rest. – It marks a crucial turning point: no more wandering upon the waters.
This verb sets the tone for the passage — one of finality, divine control, and geographical rootedness.
A Precise Moment: 27th Day of the 7th Month– ἐν μηνὶ τῷ ἑβδόμῳ = “in the seventh month” 17th – ἑβδόμῃ καὶ εἰκάδι = literally “seventh and twenty,” that is, the twenty-seventh day
Clarification of the Numerical Error: Earlier interpretations misread this as the seventeenth day due to a confusion with the Masoretic Hebrew text (which says בְּשִׁבְעָה־עָשָׂר = seventeenth).… Learn Koine Greek
If It Touches and Eats: Conditional Clauses and the Syntax of Sacred Separation
Καὶ ψυχή ἣ ἂν ἅψηται παντὸς πράγματος ἀκαθάρτου ἢ ἀπὸ ἀκαθαρσίας ἀνθρώπου ἢ τῶν τετραπόδων τῶν ἀκαθάρτων ἢ παντὸς βδελύγματος ἀκαθάρτου καὶ φάγῃ ἀπὸ τῶν κρεῶν τῆς θυσίας τοῦ σωτηρίου ὅ ἐστιν κυρίου ἀπολεῖται ἡ ψυχὴ ἐκείνη ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτῆς (Leviticus 7:21 LXX)
A Law of Boundaries
Leviticus 7:21 LXX sets strict boundaries around ritual purity and participation in sacred meals. The verse’s intricate Greek syntax reflects its seriousness: it is a finely structured conditional law, involving relative clauses, modal particles, and a strong apodosis of judgment. The syntax does not merely prohibit — it guards the holiness of the covenant community.… Learn Koine Greek
Fifteen Cubits Above: Passive Elevation and the Grammar of Submersion
Δέκα πέντε πήχεις ἐπάνω ὑψώθη τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ ἐπεκάλυψεν πάντα τὰ ὄρη τὰ ὑψηλά (Genesis 7:20 LXX)
Overview: The Flood’s Final Reach
Genesis 7:20 LXX captures the climax of divine judgment in the flood narrative — the point at which even the highest mountains vanish beneath the rising waters. This brief but potent verse is constructed with precision of measurement, a divine passive, and a telling combination of accusative objects that mark the totality of submersion.
Δέκα πέντε πήχεις ἐπάνω ὑψώθη τὸ ὕδωρ: Passive Elevation Beyond Earth Literal Rendering:“Fifteen cubits above the water was raised.”
Grammatical Components:– δέκα πέντε πήχεις: “fifteen cubits” — accusative plural, measurement of length – ἐπάνω: “above” — functioning adverbially, denoting vertical distance – ὑψώθη: aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular, from ὑψόω (“to lift up, raise”) – τὸ ὕδωρ: nominative subject — “the water”
Syntax and Semantics:– Though δέκα πέντε πήχεις appears first, it modifies the verb ὑψώθη by indicating the degree of elevation.… Learn Koine Greek
The Waters Took Dominion: Imperfect Verbs and the Theology of Rising Judgment
Καὶ ἐπεκράτει τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ ἐπληθύνετο σφόδρα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπεφέρετο ἡ κιβωτὸς ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος (Genesis 7:18 LXX)
A Triple Ascent in the Flood Narrative
Genesis 7:18 LXX presents the crescendo of the flood: rising water, multiplying force, and the ark lifted from the earth. The verse is a rhythmic triplet of imperfect verbs, each building a sense of motion, dominance, and theological weight. The grammar does more than describe — it carries the narrative upward.
Imperfect Verbs of Motion and ContinuityAll three main verbs are imperfect indicatives, conveying continuous or progressive action in the past — fitting for a scene where increase, expansion, and floating define the visual frame.… Learn Koine Greek
