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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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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
Ἔπεσόν τε εἰς τὸ ἔδαφος καὶ ἤκουσα φωνῆς λεγούσης μοι· Σαοὺλ, Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις; (Acts 22:7)
And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
The Voice on the Road: Literary and Theological Context of Acts 22:7This 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)
And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in words and in deeds.
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.… 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
Αἱ γυναῖκες τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν ὑποτάσσεσθε ὡς τῷ Κυρίῳ (Ephesians 5:22)
Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord.
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 GreekFruitful Grammar: Participles and Growth in Mark 4:8
Καὶ ἄλλο ἔπεσεν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν καλήν καὶ ἐδίδου καρπὸν ἀναβαίνοντα καὶ αὐξανόμενα, καὶ ἔφερεν ἓν τριάκοντα καὶ ἓν ἑξήκοντα καὶ ἓν ἑκατόν. (Mark 4:8)
And another fell into the good soil and was giving fruit that grew up and increased, and it bore thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
This verse, nestled within the Parable of the Sower, may appear simple in story, but it hides deep syntactic and theological riches. With participles describing spiritual process and coordinate clauses quantifying divine abundance, Mark 4:8 uses Greek grammar to proclaim the silent miracle of receptive hearts. Let’s trace the steps.… Learn Koine Greek
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, (Acts 22:4)
I persecuted this way to the point of death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
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.… Learn Koine GreekThe 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. (Matthew 22:3)
And he sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding, but they did not want to come.
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.”… Learn Koine Greek
