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Greek Lessons
- Following the Teacher: Aorist Participles, Future Intentions, and Conditional Clauses
- Two Witnesses: Pronouns, Participles, and Present Tense in John 8:18
- Blind Minds and Hardened Hearts: Koine Simplicity versus Classical Subtlety
- The Witness Within: Spirit and Identity in Paul’s Koine Expression
- The Grammar of Good Ground: Parsing Luke 8:15
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Category
Category Archives: Theology
“ὃ προεπηγγείλατο διὰ τῶν προφητῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν γραφαῖς ἁγίαις”: The Fore-Promised Gospel in Romans 1:2
Introduction: A Gospel Long Promised
Romans 1:1–2 begins Paul’s epistle with this phrase:
τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ… ὃ προεπηγγείλατο διὰ τῶν προφητῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν γραφαῖς ἁγίαις “the gospel of God… which He promised beforehand through His prophets in holy scriptures”
This relative clause establishes the continuity between the gospel and the Old Testament. It affirms that the good news was not invented in the New Testament era—it was foretold.
Let’s now analyze this beautifully structured clause from Romans 1:2, which Paul inserts immediately after mentioning “the gospel of God”:
ὃ προεπηγγείλατο διὰ τῶν προφητῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν γραφαῖς ἁγίαιςThis relative clause explains how the gospel was not a novelty, but part of God’s long-standing redemptive plan.… Learn Koine Greek
Symbolic Geography and Theological Irony in Revelation 11:8: Participial Modification and Spiritual Topography in Apocalyptic Greek
καὶ τὸ πτῶμα αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τῆς πλατείας τῆς πόλεως τῆς μεγάλης, ἥτις καλεῖται πνευματικῶς Σόδομα καὶ Αἴγυπτος, ὅπου καὶ ὁ Κύριος αὐτῶν ἐσταυρώθη.
Subject and Location of Exposure: καὶ τὸ πτῶμα αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τῆς πλατείας τῆς πόλεως τῆς μεγάλης
– καὶ: Coordinating conjunction—”and.” – τὸ πτῶμα: Accusative singular neuter of πτῶμα, “corpse” or “dead body.” – Subject of the implied verb “lies” or “was” (understood from the context). – αὐτῶν: Genitive plural personal pronoun—”their.” – Possessive genitive modifying πτῶμα: “their dead body” (collectively referring to the two witnesses). – ἐπὶ τῆς πλατείας: Preposition ἐπὶ with genitive—”on the street.” – πλατείας: Genitive singular feminine of πλατεία, “broad street” or “public square.”… Learn Koine Greek
Posted in Grammar, Theology
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