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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: Septuagint Greek
The Echo of Obedience: Participial Structure and Divine Sequencing in Exodus 34:4
Καὶ ἐλάξευσεν δύο πλάκας λιθίνας καθάπερ καὶ αἱ πρῶται· καὶ ὀρθρίσας Μωυσῆς ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος τὸ Σινα καθότι συνέταξεν αὐτῷ Κύριος, καὶ ἔλαβεν Μωυσῆς τὰς δύο πλάκας τὰς λιθίνας. (Exodus 34:4 LXX)
Setting the Scene: When Grammar Frames Covenant Renewal
The verse before us is a moment of restoration — Mosheh, at the LORD’s command, carves new stone tablets after the first were shattered. But the narrative is not merely historical. It is grammatically rich, loaded with participial texture that orders time, purpose, and faithful obedience. By examining the participle ὀρθρίσας and the surrounding syntax, we uncover how the Septuagint subtly conveys the heart of covenantal response.… Learn Koine Greek
In the Midst of the Measure: Spatial Genitives and the Grammar of Sacred Geometry
Καὶ μετρήσεις ἔξω τῆς πόλεως τὸ κλίτος τὸ πρὸς ἀνατολὰς δισχιλίους πήχεις καὶ τὸ κλίτος τὸ πρὸς λίβα δισχιλίους πήχεις καὶ τὸ κλίτος τὸ πρὸς θάλασσαν δισχιλίους πήχεις καὶ τὸ κλίτος τὸ πρὸς βορρᾶν δισχιλίους πήχεις καὶ ἡ πόλις μέσον τούτου ἔσται ὑμῖν καὶ τὰ ὅμορα τῶν πόλεων (Numbers 35:5 LXX)
The Verse as a Blueprint
Numbers 35:5 LXX records YHWH’s precise instructions for measuring the pasturelands (or suburbs) of the Levitical cities. But beneath its spatial details lies a rich tapestry of directional syntax, adjectival structure, and genitive constructions that reveal a deeply ordered cosmos — one where grammar maps holiness.… Learn Koine Greek
You Shall Rule, Not Be Ruled: Future Verbs and Asymmetry in Divine Promise
ὅτι Κύριος ὁ θεός σου εὐλόγησέν σε ὃν τρόπον ἐλάλησέν σοι καὶ δανιεῖς ἔθνεσιν πολλοῖς σὺ δὲ οὐ δανιῇ καὶ ἄρξεις σὺ ἐθνῶν πολλῶν σοῦ δὲ οὐκ ἄρξουσιν (Deuteronomy 15:6 LXX)
The Architecture of a Blessing
Deuteronomy 15:6 LXX offers a covenantal vision of Israel’s future — not merely of abundance, but of sovereignty and freedom from dependence. This promise is embedded in a rich network of future indicative verbs, personal pronouns, and sharp syntactic asymmetries that reveal the nature of divine favor.
This verse is not only eschatological in content, but also predictive in form: nearly every key clause uses the future tense, projecting a vision of Israel’s destiny in grammatical time.… Learn Koine Greek
Seventy-Five Souls: Syntax and History in Acts 7:14
Ἀποστείλας δὲ Ἰωσὴφ μετεκαλέσατο τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ Ἰακὼβ καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν συγγένειαν αὐτοῦ ἐν ψυχαῖς ἑβδομήκοντα πέντε (Acts 7:14)
Then Joseph sent and summoned his father Jacob and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all.
The Aorist Participle: ἀποστείλαςThe participle ἀποστείλας comes from the verb ἀποστέλλω, meaning “to send.” It is an aorist active participle, nominative masculine singular, agreeing with Ἰωσὴφ — “Joseph.” In Greek, the aorist participle often conveys an action prior to the main verb. Thus, “having sent” introduces the cause or means for what follows.
Joseph, having sent a message or delegation, performs the next action: he summons.… Learn Koine Greek
