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Greek Lessons
- Crossing Over: Aorist Participles, Narrative Flow, and the Motion of Matthew 9:1
- The Grammar of Pleading: Conditional Syntax and Subjunctive Permission in Matthew 8:31
- The Grammar of Silence: Commands, Purpose, and the Messianic Secret
- “What to Us and to You?”: Demonic Recognition and Eschatological Grammar in Matthew 8:29
- Whispers of Identity: From Prophets to Pronouns in Mark 8:28
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Category
Category Archives: Grammar
Conscience and Construction: The Future Passive in 1 Corinthians 8:10
Ἐὰν γάρ τις ἴδῃ σε, τὸν ἔχοντα γνῶσιν, ἐν εἰδωλείῳ κατακείμενον, οὐχὶ ἡ συνείδησις αὐτοῦ ἀσθενοῦς ὄντος οἰκοδομηθήσεται εἰς τὸ τὰ εἰδωλόθυτα ἐσθίειν; (1 Corinthians 8:10)
For if someone sees you, the one who has knowledge, reclining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, being weak, be built up to eat things sacrificed to idols?
The Ethics of VisibilityThis verse explores a scenario of moral influence and perception: what happens when a believer with “knowledge” is seen by a weaker brother engaging in questionable behavior? The grammar plays a crucial role in conveying Paul’s concern. A conditional structure, participles, and a rare use of the future passive come together to create a rhetorical question that warns of the unintended consequences of liberty exercised without love.… Learn Koine Greek
The Prepared Banquet and the Unworthy Called: A Greek Exegesis of Matthew 22:8
Matthew 22:8 is spoken within the parable of the wedding feast — a climactic parable told by Jesus in Jerusalem, following his triumphal entry and escalating confrontations with the religious authorities. The parable (Matthew 22:1–14) portrays a king preparing a wedding banquet for his son. After the invited guests refuse to come — even violently rejecting his messengers — the king delivers this pronouncement to his servants. Verse 8 marks a dramatic narrative turn, opening the way for new guests to enter. Theologically, this verse serves as both judgment and invitation.
Structural Analysisτότε λέγει τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ· ὁ μὲν γάμος ἕτοιμός ἐστιν, οἱ δὲ κεκλημένοι οὐκ ἦσαν ἄξιοι·
The verse opens with the temporal adverb τότε (“then”), situating the speech in the aftermath of rejection.… Learn Koine Greek
Falling and Hearing: Grammatical Encounter and Divine Address in Acts 22:7
The Voice on the Road: Literary and Theological Context of Acts 22:7
Acts 22:7 — ἔπεσόν τε εἰς τὸ ἔδαφος καὶ ἤκουσα φωνῆς λεγούσης μοι· Σαοὺλ, Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις; (“And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’”)
This verse is Paul’s retelling of his Damascus road experience to a hostile Jewish crowd in Jerusalem. It portrays the dramatic moment of divine interruption—physical collapse and personal address—through coordinated aorists and a genitive construction that introduces a moment of divine speech. The Greek grammar intensifies the theological shock of the moment: a persecutor is arrested by the voice of the one he is harming, and the narrative tension builds through verbal and participial sequencing.… Learn Koine Greek
Educated in Egypt: Passive Voice and Descriptive Contrast in Acts 7:22
καὶ ἐπαιδεύθη Μωϋσῆς πάσῃ σοφίᾳ Αἰγυπτίων, ἦν δὲ δυνατὸς ἐν λόγοις καὶ ἐν ἔργοις. — Acts 7:22
The Grammar of Formation and PowerStephen’s speech before the Sanhedrin offers a rare insight into the early Christian view of Moses’ upbringing and abilities. Acts 7:22 presents Moses not merely as a Hebrew, but as someone shaped by the wisdom of Egypt and gifted with remarkable influence. The Greek grammar balances a divine passive with a descriptive contrast, giving us both the process of education and the character it produced.
ἐπαιδεύθη… πάσῃ σοφίᾳ Αἰγυπτίων: The Divine Passive of EducationThe verb ἐπαιδεύθη (“he was educated”) is in the aorist passive, indicating that Moses underwent a process of instruction at a point in the past.… Learn Koine Greek
Dying to the Law, Belonging to Another: Aorist Passives, Purpose Clauses, and Union with the Risen Christ
ὥστε, ἀδελφοί μου, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐθανατώθητε τῷ νόμῳ διὰ τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι ὑμᾶς ἑτέρῳ, τῷ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἐγερθέντι, ἵνα καρποφορήσωμεν τῷ Θεῷ. (Romans 7:4)
Dead to Law, Alive to Fruitfulness
In Romans 7:4, Paul uses a striking metaphor to describe the believer’s transition from the dominion of the Law to life in Christ. The grammar of the verse is rich and theological: we see an aorist passive verb, a telic infinitive, a relative clause, and a final purpose clause that brings it all together.
This verse is a theological masterpiece, and its Greek syntax is the frame that holds it in place.… Learn Koine Greek
The Red Horse and the Grammar of Chaos: Verbal Force in Revelation 6:4
καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἄλλος ἵππος πυρρός, καὶ τῷ καθημένῳ ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ἐδόθη αὐτῷ λαβεῖν τὴν εἰρήνην ἐκ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἵνα ἀλλήλους σφάξωσι, καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ μάχαιρα μεγάλη. — Revelation 6:4
A Horse of Fire: Unleashing Judgment through GrammarThis dramatic apocalyptic verse unleashes the second horseman of the apocalypse: a fiery red horse symbolizing conflict and bloodshed. The Greek grammar in this single sentence orchestrates a chain of violent outcomes, structured through strategic use of aorist verbs, infinitives, subjunctives, and divine passives that build momentum from heavenly decree to earthly destruction.
ἐξῆλθεν…καὶ ἐδόθη: The Structure of Divine PermissionThe opening verb ἐξῆλθεν (“went out”) sets the apocalyptic scene in motion.… Learn Koine Greek
Grammatical Analysis of Ephesians 5:22
Grammatical Analysis of Ephesians 5:22
Αἱ γυναῖκες τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν ὑποτάσσεσθε ὡς τῷ Κυρίῳ
Word Breakdown
Greek Word
Gloss
Grammatical Analysis
Αἱ
the
Article, Nominative Plural Feminine — agrees with γυναῖκες
γυναῖκες
wives
Noun, Nominative Plural Feminine — subject of the verb
τοῖς
to the
Article, Dative Plural Masculine — agrees with ἀνδράσιν
ἰδίοις
own
Adjective, Dative Plural Masculine — emphasizes personal relationship
ἀνδράσιν
husbands
Noun, Dative Plural Masculine — indirect object of the verb
ὑποτάσσεσθε
submit yourselves
Verb, Present Middle/Passive Imperative, 2nd Person Plural — exhortation directed at the subject
ὡς
as
Conjunction — introduces the comparison clause
τῷ Κυρίῳ
to the Lord
Article + Noun, Dative Singular Masculine — standard or model for the submission
Syntactical Analysis
Αἱ γυναῖκες — nominative subject of the verb ὑποτάσσεσθε.… Learn Koine Greek
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Zeal and Persecution in Acts 22:4: Relative Clause, Coordinated Participles, and Legal Terminology in Paul’s Defense
ὃς ταύτην τὴν ὁδὸν ἐδίωξα ἄχρι θανάτου, δεσμεύων καὶ παραδιδοὺς εἰς φυλακὰς ἄνδρας τε καὶ γυναῖκας,
Relative Pronoun and Contextual Link: ὃς
ὃς: Relative pronoun, nominative masculine singular—”who.”
Refers back to Paul himself as the speaker, continuing the autobiographical narrative in his defense before the Jerusalem crowd.
Introduces a relative clause summarizing Paul’s past behavior.
Direct Object and Definite Accusation: ταύτην τὴν ὁδὸν
ταύτην: Demonstrative pronoun, accusative singular feminine—”this.”
τὴν ὁδὸν: Accusative singular feminine of ὁδός, “way,” a term used throughout Acts to refer to the Christian movement.
Together: “this way” or “this path”—a reference to the early Christian faith.
This phrase reflects insider terminology within the nascent Church but is used here in a judicial self-indictment.… Learn Koine Greek
The Refusal of the Invited: A Study in Aspect and Rejection in Matthew 22:3
καὶ ἀπέστειλε τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ καλέσαι τοὺς κεκλημένους εἰς τοὺς γάμους, καὶ οὐκ ἤθελον ἐλθεῖν.
In the parable of the wedding feast (Matthew 22:1–14), Jesus crafts a narrative that is both deeply theological and profoundly human. At its heart lies a moment of refusal—simple in form, yet devastating in implication:
καὶ ἀπέστειλε τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ καλέσαι τοὺς κεκλημένους εἰς τοὺς γάμους, καὶ οὐκ ἤθελον ἐλθεῖν.
“And he sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, but they were not willing to come.” This verse encapsulates the tragic irony of divine invitation met with human indifference.… Learn Koine Greek
The Mystery Manifested: A Greek Exegesis of 1 Timothy 3:16
The verse καὶ ὁμολογουμένως μέγα ἐστὶ τὸ τῆς εὐσεβείας μυστήριον introduces a creedal or hymnic formulation embedded within the flow of Paul’s first letter to Timothy. Situated immediately after exhortations concerning church leadership and conduct (1 Timothy 3:1–15), this verse functions both as a theological climax and a christological anchor. It offers a poetic confession that encapsulates the mystery of godliness — not as an abstract concept but as a revealed person and mission.
Structural AnalysisThe structure is symmetrical and rhythmic. The main clause — μέγα ἐστὶ τὸ τῆς εὐσεβείας μυστήριον — sets up a predicate of astonishing magnitude: “great is the mystery of godliness.”… Learn Koine Greek
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