Mastering New Testament Greek Textbook






Ted Hildebrandt

 

© 2003 by Ted Hildebrandt version 2016

Published by Baker Academic

a division of Baker Book House Company

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakeracademic.com

All rights reserved. This publication is intended for the personal use of the licensee. It may be stored in a retrieval system and reproduced for personal use only. It may not be transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Verses from the New Testament selected for reading and translation are from The Greek New Testament, edited by Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, and Allen Wikgren, 4th revised edition, © 1966, 1968, 1975 by United Bible Societies, 1983, 1994 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. Used by permission.

To my father,

Ted Hildebrandt,

who instilled in me the basics of life:

discipline, persistence, a love of God’s word,

and the blessed hope of Christ’s return.

May your entrance into

His glorious presence

be joyous!

Your grateful son,

Ted

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1 The Alphabet 8

CHAPTER 2 Accents, Syllables, and English Grammar. 12

CHAPTER 3 Present Active Verbs. 23

CHAPTER 4 Second Declension Nouns. 29

CHAPTER 5 First Declension Nouns. 36

CHAPTER 6 Prepositions. 40

CHAPTER 7 Adjectives. 47

CHAPTER 8 Personal Pronouns. 52

CHAPTER 9 Present Middle/Passive Verbs. 57

CHAPTER 10 Future Verbs. 62

CHAPTER 11 Demonstrative, Relative, Reflexive, and Reciprocal Pronouns. 66

CHAPTER 12 Imperfect Verbs. 71

CHAPTER 13 Third Declension Nouns. 76

CHAPTER 14 Second Aorist Verbs. 81

CHAPTER 15 First Aorist Verbs. 85

CHAPTER 16 Aorist and Future Passive Verbs. 90

CHAPTER 17 Contract Verbs. 95

CHAPTER 18 Perfect Verbs. 99

CHAPTER 19 Present Participles. 105

CHAPTER 20 Aorist Participles. 112

CHAPTER 21 Perfect Participles. 118

CHAPTER 22 Infinitives. 124

CHAPTER 23 Subjunctive Verbs. 129

CHAPTER 24 Imperative Verbs. 136

CHAPTER 25 The -μι Verbs. 140

CHAPTER 26 Numbers and Interrogatives. 146

CHAPTER 27 Comparatives, Conjunctions, Adverbs, and Clause Types. 150

CHAPTER 28 Case Revisited. 157

Commencement 162

Works Cited. 167

Appendix 1 Vocabulary Lists by Chapter. 168

Appendix 2 Paradigms. 175

Appendix 3 Chapter Summaries. 191

Appendix 4 Verb Principal Parts. 249

Appendix 5 Total Review Quick Starters. 266

Appendix 6 27 Greek Chants. 274

Appendix 7 Lord’s Prayer (Mat. 6:9b-13). 278

English-Greek Glossary. 279

Greek-English Glossary. 324

Greek Vocabulary Builder. 358

down to 9 times. 358

Greek-English Lexicon. 395

Index. 460

Preface

The potentials of the digital medium are just beginning to be realized. Recently there have been major upheavals in the music industry due to the MP3 format that allows the putting of hundreds of songs (rather than a dozen) on a single CD-ROM. Ebooks are beginning to appear on the web and elsewhere. Many of these technologies hold great promise for use by the Christian community.

This etextbook attempts to take what was formerly made available in my interactive Greek program and put it in an ebook format paralleling the interactive Greek program found on this disk. It can be universally viewed and/or printed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader (freely available at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html or as found on the CD-ROM). Mastering New Testament Greek is an interactive multimedia program that has proved quite effective in teaching first-year Koine Greek to thousands who have used it since it was published in the mid-1990s. I have seen a need in my own Greek classes at Gordon College for a hardcopy that the students can have at hand when away from the screen. The new ebook format makes this textbook option a possibility. In addition to the interactive multimedia program (which includes an interactive easy-reader with the full text of 1 John and John 1–5) and the textbook, the CD contains a workbook with exercises coordinated with the textbook, a vocabulary frequency list to aid in learning words that appear nine or more times in the New Testament, and a full Greek-English lexicon with definitions for every word in the Greek New Testament. These are printable in the Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format on any computer. Additional learning resources are available free from http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/ted_hildebrandt/index.cfm including over three thousand pages of advanced grammars and a complete text of the Greek New Testament.

For instructors, an answer key to the workbook is available, as well as PowerPoint material for the presentation of the twenty-eight chapters.

I wish to thank Jim Kinney at Baker Book House for opening the door and shepherding this project through to completion. A great debt of gratitude is owed to Wells Turner and Dave Mathewson whose editorial suggestions, corrections, and oversight are evident on every page of these digital texts. I would also like to thank Daniel Holman for editing all the Greek characters into Unicode for these digital texts. Finally, I’d like to thank Dr. Roger Green and the rest of my colleagues at Gordon College for allowing me the pleasure of opening the door to Greek for students at Gordon, returning the favor that Dr. Robert Newman and Dr. Gary Cohen did for me in my own seminary training so many years ago.

The original goal was to give my students at Gordon College all the tools they need for first-year Greek in one disk. The goal now is to leverage the technology so that anyone who desires to can learn New Testament Greek.

Enjoy Greek!

Ted Hildebrandt

Introduction

The New Testament was written in Koine (koi-NAY) Greek. It provided a magnificent medium for proclaiming the gospel message because Greek was so widely known after Alexander’s conquests of the west and east. There are many challenges to mastering Greek: the difficulty of learning any language for those who are monolingual, differences in the alphabetic script, the highly structured grammatical nature of Greek, and the fact that Koine Greek is not spoken today. In order to conquer the difficulties of this journey, we need to know clearly why we are undertaking this awesome endeavor.

God used Greek to communicate. If aliens had come to this planet and left documents explaining how the universe functions and how humans can make a contribution to the galaxies and ultimately attain eternal life, with certain genetic modifications, of course, there would be tremendous interest in decoding this incredible message. Indeed, one has come from another world and has addressed all the major issues of life/death, meaning/meaninglessness, joy/sorrow, love/hate, presence/absence, right/wrong that provide the matrix of human existence. God has spoken in His son (Heb. 1:1–2; Jn. 1:14, 18) whose life was recorded in the stories of those who witnessed and experienced this divine encounter. The writer of John notes that he was an eyewitness of the life of Christ, saying “This is that disciple who saw these events and recorded them here. And we all know that his account of these things is accurate” (Jn. 21:24). The writer knew and witnessed that these divine truths were confirmed not only by a single witness, but by a community of witnesses he identified as “we.” The purpose of this recorded message was to provide a factual basis for belief and a guide to life: “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” This is the good news, the gospel. It was recorded so that others, even denizens of the third millennium after Christ, may have the privilege of being able to hear its wonderful message. If our understanding of the message is cloudy, so will our thinking and belief on these matters of great import.

The prophets also recognized that they spoke messages from God (Amos 3:8). Jeremiah, when asked why he prophesied, clearly stated, “The Lord sent me to prophesy” (Jer. 26:12). He heralded warnings against those who “are prophets of deceit, inventing everything they say” (Jer. 23:25f.). Many, even in our day, like to project their own thoughts into the mouth of God, feeling compelled to bend the text to whatever ideology or agenda they are seeking to promote. Learning Greek will help us reverse that process.

These recorded messages from God may be carefully and passionately studied as one would read an email from one’s beloved. So the psalmist writes, “I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. I will delight in your principles” (Ps. 119:15f.). The New Testament writers also acknowledged that “no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves or because they wanted to prophesy. It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God” (2 Pet. 1:21). Thus, because of the unique nature of this communication, we seek to carefully examine the message in its original form, stripping away the translations to hear the original message.

We desire to accurately unleash the meaning of God’s word. The unique nature of this communication did not stop when it was recorded as a static, culturally locked, historical text. No, the message came with the transforming power and presence of the One who gave it. So the writer of Hebrews observes, “For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are” (Heb. 4:12). It is our goal to hear this message more carefully and unleash its transforming power within this postmodern context in a way that is consistent with the original intent of the divine and human authors. Learning Greek will allow us to move one step closer to the source.

We need guidance for our lives. Because the Bible offers divine guidance for our lives, we want to carefully hear its message, clearly separating it from the myriad of voices that are calling for our attention in this information and media-saturated age. Learning Greek will help slow and quiet us so that we may hear the voice of God amid the din of modern marketing schemes. It is from Scripture that we seek to find moral guidance, as the psalmist said, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Ps. 119:11). It is there that we will find wisdom from sages, by listening and retaining their instructions. They admonished, “Lay hold of my words with all your heart; . . . Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words” (Prov. 4:4f.). It is in a close reading of the words of the biblical text that we will find wisdom.

The Scriptures open us up to a relationship with God. Jesus pointed out the connection of His words to life and relationship with God: “The very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (Jn. 6:63). “Faith comes by hearing the word of God,” Paul tells us (Rom. 10:17). It is through reading and obeying His word that we come to know him. Greek will be a tool in disciplining our minds in the pursuit of life from God.

We enjoy hands-on reading. Finally, we like to experience things firsthand. Being dependent on another’s point of view or passively accepting the interpretation or spin of another is contrary to our desire to know and experience for ourselves. Learning Greek allows us to shed layers of intermediary voices to listen more closely to what God has said. That is not to say we should ignore the voices of others; but we should be able to read and evaluate for ourselves. All language communication is at points ambiguous and vague. Learning Greek will not solve all linguistic problems. However, knowing Greek will assist us in weighing and evaluating the possibilities in order to select the most appropriate options.

As a residual benefit, learning Greek will help us better understand English. Greek is a highly structured language and lies behind much of Latin, which in turn connects with English. Many have claimed that learning Greek has taught them much that was elusive in their previous study of English grammar.

 

 

One may ask why we should not save time and energy by letting the linguistic experts do the translation work for us. There are several limitations of translations that are overcome in reading Greek for ourselves. A personal reading of Greek allows for a closer reading of what the authors originally wrote. As one becomes aware of the writer’s style, observing structures and idiosyncrasies that are only seen in reading Greek, one is better able to render what the author originally meant. Oftentimes what may be ambiguous in English is cleared up by the Greek. Cultural issues and metaphors that may be critical to understanding a passage are again more visible in the Greek original and often smoothed over into modern idioms. Translators must make choices, and often a Greek word may have a broad area of meaning, but in translation one English word must be chosen. There is not a perfect word-for-word match between languages. One who reads Greek is more aware of the breadth, diversity, and possibilities of meanings. To the one who can read Greek, the choices made by the translator are no longer buried by the translation.

Many politically correct biases are currently being read into modern translations. Being able to read it in Greek for ourselves helps cut through those modern spins to hear the original voices more clearly. Thus, while translations are quite helpful, being able to read the original Greek has many benefits.

One final word should be voiced in terms of improper motivations for learning Greek. A person may want to learn Greek to get ahead of others or because it is impressive and authoritative to say, “In the Greek it means. . . .” Learning Greek must be coupled with humility or it will do more damage than good. It is also not good to learn Greek because we have some specific agenda we are pushing and desire to add a Greek cannon to blast out our theme. Listening to the voice of God needs to be the focus more than proving our particular point of view. Loving God and others is the goal, not putting ourselves up on an academic pedestal or putting others down because they do not share our “enlightened” perspective (Phil. 2:5ff.).

It’s amazing, when you think of it. You can learn Koine Greek now and for the rest of your life you will be able to read the New Testament for yourself. Having said that, we’ve got some work cut out for us.

First, learning any new language is difficult. It’s like learning to play basketball. Initially one stumbles while trying to dribble and run at the same time. Air-balls are shot, and how each position works is a mystery. One initially feels uncoordinated. With repetition, practice, and good coaching, a mastery is gained, and the game becomes a source of fun and refreshment while still retaining a sense of challenge. Greek will follow a similar pattern. There are certain fundamentals (passing, dribbling, footwork, positioning, etc.) that must be mastered in order to enjoy basketball. So also in Greek there are several foundational skills that must be mastered in order to have the enjoyment of reading Greek.

Here are some hints. “Inch by inch it’s a cinch, yard by yard it’s too hard.” Applied to Greek, what this means is, Greek is learned best by taking little steps because large ones (staying up all night cramming) may trip you up. “The turtle wins the race” in Greek. Consistent daily study is better than pressure-filled weekly cram sessions that lead to quick learning and quick forgetting. “Step by step you scale the mountain.” When you do not understand something, ask for help or go over it until you understand it. If you don’t “get it,” work on it, but continue on. Frequently the picture will become clearer further down the road. Repetition, persistence, and small bites are the three keys. Be careful about missing a step. In some ways it’s like math. If you miss a step, it catches up with you later on.

Your mastery of Greek will depend on learning three things: vocabulary, morphology, and syntax. In order to retain the vocabulary, it is suggested that you write the words on flash cards.  Recently, we have provided flashcards with graphics on them to help you remember using images.  These cards can be carried with you and reviewed frequently in the brief moments between the activities of your life. If you enjoy using the web for review, there is an online Vocabulary Builder available at all times with free mp3 downloads that have musical backgrounds to help make the process enjoyable and relaxing. There are 5,437 different Greek words in the New Testament (the elexicon has all of them listed). We will learn those that occur most frequently. By learning the words used more than 50 times, 313 words, you will be able to read about 80 percent of the New Testament (Mounce, Basics, 17). It will be important to say the words out loud. The mouth can teach the ear. The interactive program will allow you to hear how Greek is being pronounced and drill you with biblical examples. Seeing is one way of learning, but hearing adds another gateway into your memory. You may want to make associations or wordplays in English or mentally picture the object to which the word refers. Repetition is the best teacher. The program and the Vocabulary Builder will help reinforce your mastery of the vocabulary.

The morphology (how the words are formed; e.g., book/books; “s” indicates a plural) and syntax (the grammar of how words come together into sentences: subject/verb/ object/modifier) will require brain aerobics. Here is where the mental wrestling will take place. Some of the concepts will be difficult to grasp initially. We will try to start with explanations from English and then move to Greek, showing how Greek makes a similar move. The problem is that many do not understand English grammar. We will build the language from parts of speech—nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, conjunctions, and prepositions. Many of these will take different endings, depending on how they are used. These ending and forms will be mastered in a series of twenty-something memorable chants.  Mastering these sets of endings will be a good part of the course early on. “Inch by inch it’s a ________.”

The parts of speech will work in sentences. The syntax, or relationships between words, will manifest roles for words, such as subjects, verbs, objects, and modifiers. These concepts will be illustrated in the context of the drills and exercises taken directly from Scripture. Some of these concepts may not come initially but continue on, and the eureka moments will come as you look back. It is of great benefit to work out examples. Frequent reviews are also critical for making the connections. Small, frequent breaks, dividing and repeating the material in short study sessions, help avoid an overwhelming sense of frustration and gives the needed space to regain the motivation needed to continue on.

Another factor that has shown itself to be critical, if one is taking Greek in a class, is staying plugged into the community of those learning Greek. It is not advisable to skip classes or assignments as that often leads to serious difficulty. If you miss a step you may end up on your face because learning Greek is sequential. Catching up becomes harder and harder. Being in class has proved itself important. Be there!

Studying with a “buddy” is also very helpful. Two heads are better than one in trying to understand sticky points. Teamwork is frequently necessary if you want to play in the game, and it makes the learning task a little more enjoyable. This will provide incremental accountability as we move chapter-by-chapter through the material.

Time and consistency on this task is the key to mastering Greek. Learning Greek is a good time to tone your mental muscles. At points, the urge will surge to quit and give up. At those points remember why you are tackling Greek in the first place. Remember the inch-by-inch principle. Take one small step at a time. Do not worry about the big picture. Take the next little step and review, review, and review. After you’ve climbed a while, you may be encouraged to look back and see how far you have come. Giving up is fatal. You learned English, which in many ways is harder than Greek. It just takes time and energy. Hopefully, we will make that time fun, and you will be able to see some of the rewards along the way.

Several learning resources are available to help you. First, you will have access to printed materials in the form of easily printed materials in Adobe Acrobat PDF file formats. The printed materials will include this etextbook and an eworkbook. For each chapter in the book, a one- or two-page summary has been developed, distilling the essence of the chapter (see appendix 3). The book will teach and structure the concepts, and the workbook will allow you to practice and reinforce what you have learned. The Mastering New Testament Greek interactive program will present the same material in a interactive multimedia format, with sound and immediate responses. The benefit of this is that after presenting the material, the computer will drill you over the material, giving you immediate feedback on how well you have done. In the future we will have streaming video and interactive materials available online. Thus there are four ways to approach this: in-class instruction, printed materials and workbook exercises, interactive multimedia, and online resources. The point is to use whatever combination works best for you. The font supplied with Mastering New Testament Greek is also available in your word processor. Learning to type in Greek can be a real time-saver and looks impressive in other classes and papers.

There are two resources beyond these that may be helpful: (1) a Greek New Testament, either the UBS 4th edition or Nestle-Aland 27th edition New Testament text (the Westcott/Hort/Robinson New Testament text available online at:

 http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/ted_hildebrandt/index.cfm, and (2) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3d ed., by Bauer, Danker, Arndt, and Gingrich (BDAG). William Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek or Gerald Stevens’s New Testament Greek are both good first-year grammar resources if you want to supplement the materials here.  There are several advanced grammars and mp3 audio resources at our web site for free.  1 John is found there with Mozart in the background which actually helps make it more memorable.  

Greek is one of the oldest members of the Indo-European family of languages. Other members of this family are Sanskrit, which is older, and Latin (the Romance languages: French, Spanish, etc.), which is younger. English is derived from the Teutonic branch and Russian from the Slavic branch of the Indo-European family. Hebrew is found in a totally different, Semitic family of Near Eastern languages, akin to Aramaic, Akkadian, Arabic, Ugaritic, and others.

The Greek language has developed through five stages:

      1.   Formative Period (pre–900 b.c.): This period extended from “Linear B” (ca. 1200 b.c.) down through the time of Homer (ca. 900 b.c.).

      2.   Classical Period (900–300 b.c.): The Classical Period was from the time of Homer down to Alexander the Great (330 b.c.). There were numerous dialects during this period (e.g. Doric, Aeolic, and Ionic). Attic, a branch of Ionic, became the predominant dialect at Athens and was used by most of the famous classical Greek authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Xenophon, Thucydides, and others.

      3.   The Koine Period (330 b.c.–a.d. 330): As Alexander unified Greece and needed a single Greek language for his army before he could begin to spread Hellenistic culture through the ancient world, many of the subtleties of classical Greek were lost. Greek was simplified and changed as it interfaced with, and was influenced by, other cultures. This common language came to be known as Koine (common) Greek. It was in this language that the Septuagint (LXX, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament), the New Testament, and the works of the early church fathers were written. The nature of Koine eluded modern scholars because of its simplicity when compared to Classical Greek. This led some scholars in the nineteenth century to explain it as a “Holy Ghost” language, created just for the Bible. In the early part of the twentieth century, Deissmann, Moulton and others found that the recently discovered Egyptian papyri, inscriptions, and ostraca were written in the same common everyday language used by the New Testament. God speaks in the language of the people. At points the New Testament will manifest Hebraisms, where the influence of Hebrew and/or Aramaic may be seen.

      4.   The Byzantine Period (a.d. 330–1453): During the Byzantine Period, Greek was spoken in the eastern half of the Roman empire, which was centered in Constantinople. In 1453 Constantinople fell to the Turks. That concluded this period. Tension between the Greeks and Turks persists until this day.

      5.   The Modern Period: The Modern Period dates from 1453 to the present. Modern Greek is closer to Koine than it is to Classical Greek. Modern pronunciation and grammatical structures, however, are quite different from the Greek that Jesus spoke. We will focus on Koine Greek. As recently as 1982, major changes have taken modern Greek further from its Koine roots. In the latest edition of Standard Modern Greek, established by the Center for Educational Studies in Greece, the number of accents has been reduced to one, the breathing marks dropped and the dative case, middle voice and optative mood are not present in modern Greek.  

The recent merging of katharevousa (hybrid of ancient and Modern used for official and academic purposes) has given way to the more populace oriented Demotic (ca. 1976) as Modern Standard Greek which is another step further away from Koine (vid. Holton, Mackridge and Philippaki-Warburton, Greek:  A Comprehensive Grammar of the Modern Language (Routledge, 1997) or Greek Today: a Course in the Modern Language and Culture (Dartmouth College Press, 2004) by Peter Bien, Dimitri Gonicas, et al.  Those looking for advanced grammars on Koine should pursue books by Stanley Porter, Daniel Wallace and David Black, as well as the articles by James Boyer and books by A. T. Robertson, Moulton and Burton freely available on the web-site and this disk.

 

24 Letters, the Gateway into the Language

Small/Capital
α / Α	Alpha sounds like “a” in father.
β / Β	Beta sounds like “b” in Bible.
γ / Γ	Gamma sounds like “g” in gone.
δ / Δ	Delta sounds like “d” in dog.
ε / Ε	Epsilon sounds like “e” in met.
ζ / Ζ	Zeta sounds like “z” in daze when it begins a word, “dz” when it’s in the middle of a word.
η / Η	Eta sounds like “e” in obey.
θ / Θ	Theta sounds like “th” in think.
ι / Ι	Iota short sounds like the “i” in sit. Iota long sounds like the “i” in machine. Modern Greek uses the long “i” as in machine.  In initial positions, it is often found in Hebrew personal names, where it has a consonant “y” sound:  Ἰησοῦς (Jesus/Yesus).
κ / Κ	Kappa sounds like “k” in kitchen.
λ / Λ	Lambda sounds like “l” in law.
μ / Μ	Mu sounds like “m” in mother.
ν / Ν	Nu sounds like “n” in new.
ξ / Ξ	Xsi sounds like “x” in axe.
ο / Ο	Omicron sounds like “o” in not or “o” in omelette. Some pronounce it like modern Greek, with a long “o” as in obey, others like Hansen and Quinn (Greek: An Intensive Course) use the “ou” sound in thought. Modern Greek uses a long “o” as in ocean.
π / Π	Pi sounds like “p” in peach.
ρ / Ρ	Rho sounds like “r” in rod.
σ / Σ	Sigma sounds like “s” in set. Sigma looks like ς when it comes at the end of a word (final sigma)—σοφός (wise).
τ / Τ	Tau sounds like “t” in talk.
υ / Υ	Upsilon sounds like “oo” in hoops. Modern Greek uses an “i”as in machine.
φ / Φ	Phi sounds like “ph” in phone.
χ / Χ	Chi sounds like “ch” in chemical.
ψ / Ψ	Psi sounds like “ps” in lips.
ω / Ω	Omega sounds like “o” in tone.

We will focus on the lower-case letters, miniscules, although the early uncial (uppercase) manuscripts were written without punctuation or spaces between the words in all uppercase letters, majuscules (major writings). Be able to recognize the upper-case letters. Capital letters are used in proper names, to begin direct quotations, and at the beginning of paragraphs. You may want to use the Mastering New Testament Greek disk to work on the pronunciation of these letters and to drill yourself.

Easy English look alikes: α, β, ε, ι, κ, ο, ς, τ, υ

Double consonants: θ (th), ξ (xs), φ (ph), χ (ch), ψ (ps)

Easy to confuse letters:

            η—eta (with n)

            ν—nu (with v)

            ρ—rho (with p)

            χ—chi (with x)

            ω—omega (with w)

Here are some English-like examples to use for sounding things out. Pronounce the following, accenting the capitalized syllables:

ανθρωπος—pronounced “AN-thro-pos” (anthropology)

θεος—pronounced “the-OS” (theology)

προφητης—pronounced “pro-FA-tas” (two long a’s) (prophets)

Χριστος—pronounced “Kri-STOS” (Christ)

καρδια—pronounced “kar-DE-a” (i = ee) (heart; cf. cardiac)

αμην—pronounced “a-MEIN” (ei = long a sound) (amen)

Vowels: α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω

Short	Long
ε	η
ο	ω

            Can be either long or short: α, ι, υ

The iota will be pronounced three different ways:

              1.   Iota short sounds like “i” in “sit”

              2.   Iota long sounds like the “i” in “machine” (= modern Greek)

              3.   When it is initial in a Hebrew name, it sounds like a “y”— Ἰησοῦς (Jesus/Yesus)

Nasal gamma: The “g” sound of a gamma changes to a “n” sound when put before: γ, κ, χ, ξ. ἄγγελος is pronounced: “angelos.” This is called a “nasal gamma.”

Final sigma: Sigma is always written σ unless it comes at the end of a word, when it is written ς. This form is called a final sigma. It is pronounced the same. Thus σοφός (wise) shows the two forms of the sigma (note the final sigma form).

Eight diphthongs: 2 vowels with 1 sound. Diphthongs are combination vowels. Two vowels are written but result in only one sound. These are frequent in Greek, and so be aware of them. The final letter of a diphthong will always be an ι or an υ (closed vowel). The diphtongs in Modern Greek are the place of greatest phonetic divergence.

αι	as in aisle	(αἷμα, blood)
ει	as in eight	(εἰμί, I am)
οι	as in oil	(οἶκος, house)
υι	as in suite	(υἱός, son)
αυ	as in sauerkaut	(αὐτός, he)
ευ, ηυ	as in feud	(πιστεύω, I believe)
ου	as in boutique	(Ἰησοῦς, Jesus)

            All are considered long except αι, and οι when at the end of a word, where they are short.

Iota subscripts (Improper diphthongs): There are 3 letter combinations that are formed by taking the vowels α, η, and ω and subscripting an iota under them. It doesn’t affect pronunciation but may be significant in specifying grammatical features: ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ

Diaeresis (  Ἠσαϊας–Isaiah:  Ἠ-σα-ι-ας)—cancels the diphthong effect (indicates the two vowels must be kept separate). The diaeresis shows that a vowel must be pronounced as a separate syllable. It will be found often on Old Testament names (Μωϋσῆς = Moses).

Ἠσαΐας	Ἠ-σα-ΐ-ας	Isaiah (Jn. 1:23)
Μωϋσῆς	Μω-ϋ-σῆς	Moses (Jn. 1:45)
Ἀχαΐα	Ἀ-χα-ΐ-α	Achaia (Acts 18:12)

A phonetic chart is also a helpful way of grouping the letters:

Labials (lips)	π	β	φ
Dentals (teeth)	τ	δ	θ
Velars (palate)	κ	γ	χ

            Phonetic sigma addition:

Labial + σ = ψ	Velar + σ = ξ	Dental + σ = σ
(π + σ = ψ)	(κ + σ = ξ)	(τ + σ = σ)

 

At this point don’t worry about the accent marks over vowels except to stress that syllable (chapter 2 is on accents). The number following the word is the number of times the word is used in the New Testament. The word after the dash gives an English parallel.

ἄγγελος	angel (175)—angel
ἀμήν	truly, verily (129)—amen
ἄνθρωπος	man, human (550)—anthropology
ἐγώ	I (1,175)—ego
θεός	God (1,317)—theology
καί	and, even, also (9,153)
καρδία	heart (156)—cardiac
λέγω	I say (2,354)
προφήτης	prophet (144)—prophet
Χριστός	Christ, Messiah, anointed one (529)—Christ

      1.   Be able to chant through the alphabet, saying the name of each letter in order. Be able to do the Alpha-robics moves. See if you can say the Greek alphabet as fast as you can say the English alphabet. Can you see where the name “alphabet” comes from? Know what a final sigma looks like. What are diphthongs, and what sound does each make? Know which vowels are long and short and which can be either. What are the three iota subscripts? What role does the diaeresis play? Know the vocabulary items (recognize and write them).

      2.   Work on the drills and exercises in Mastering New Testament Greek, Interactive chapter 1.

      3.   Do the worksheets from the workbook.

You will be able to—

      1.   identify syllables for pronunciation;

      2.   identify the three Greek accents;

      3.   recognize the basic rules of Greek accents;

      4.   identify proclitics and enclitics;

      5.   identify rough/smooth breathings, apostrophes, and diaeresis markings;

      6.   identify four Greek punctuation marks;

      7.   remember English grammar (parts of speech, noun declension, and verb parsing), and

      8.   gain a mastery of ten more Greek vocabulary words.

In order to correctly pronounce Greek words, we need to be able to identify how the syllables are combined to make words. Greek divides words into syllables in almost the same way as English. So if you don’t recognize a new word, just try to pronounce it as you would in English. Generally, start at the left and divide after the vowel.

      1.   A consonant or pronounceable consonant cluster (i.e., any consonant combination that can begin or end a Greek word) goes with the vowel that follows it.

      2.   Split two consonants if they are the same letter or if they create an unpronounceable combination (i.e., any consonant combination that cannot begin or end a Greek word).

      3.   Split two vowels (except for diphthongs), allowing only one vowel or diphthong per syllable.

      4.   Split compound words into their original parts before applying the rules of syllable division.

Check a Greek lexicon to determine whether or not a particular consonant cluster can begin or end a word. If you can find a word that begins with that cluster, it is safe to assume that it is a pronounceable cluster and should not be divided. The following examples illustrate the rules for word division. The four rules are briefly:  1) consonants go with following vowel, 2) split consonants (except clusters), 3) split vowels (except diphthongs), and 4) split words. 

(1) A consonant or pronounceable consonant cluster goes with what follows:

 

	Syllables		Meaning
ἀμήν	ἀ	μήν	truly, verily	μ goes with following vowel
δόξα	δό	ξα	glory, fame	ξ goes with following vowel
ἐγώ	ἐ	γώ	I	γ goes with following vowel
λέγω	λέ	γω	I say	γ goes with following vowel
λόγος	λό	γος	word, statement	γ goes with following vowel
κύριος	κύ	ρι  ος	Lord	ρ goes with following vowel
κόσμος	κό	σμος	world	σμ is a cluster vid. Σμύρνα
Πέτρος	Πέ	τρος	Peter	τρ is a cluster vid. τρεῖς
Χριστός	Χρι	στός	Christ	στ is a cluster vid. στολή

 (2) Split two consonants: Consonant clusters are divided if they are the same letter or if they create an unpronounceable combination:

	Syllables			Meaning
ἄγγελος	ἄγ	γε	λος	angel, messenger (γ/γ)
ἀδελφός	ἀ	δελ	φός	brother (λ/φ)
ἄνθρωπος	ἄν	θρω	πος	man (θρ is a pronounceable cluster)
καρδία	καρ	δί	α	heart (ρ/δ)
ἔρχεται	ἔρ	χε	ται	he/she/it comes (ρ/χ)
μαρτυρέω	μαρ	τυ	ρέ   ω	I testify (ρ/τ)
βάλλω	βάλ	λω		I throw (λ/λ)

 (3) Split two vowels (except for diphthongs), allowing only one vowel or diphthong per syllable:

	Syllables				Meaning
ἀκούω	ἀ	κού	ω		I hear, obey (ου is a diphthong)
θεός	θε	ός			God (ε/ο)
καρδία	καρ	δί	α		heart (ι/α)
κύριος	κύ	ρι	ος		lord, Lord (ι/ο)
υἱός	υἱ	ός			son (υι is a diphthong) (υι/ο)
Φαρισαῖος	φα	ρι	σαῖ	ος	Pharisee (αι is a diphthong) (αι/ο)

 (4) Split compound words into their original parts before applying the rules of syllable division:

Example: When the preposition σύν (“with”) combines with the verb ἄγω (“I lead”), the syllable breaks are συν-ά-γω, not συ-νά-γω as rule 2 would require.

Traditionally, the last three syllables of a word have had specific names. The last syllable is called the “ultima,” the second from the last the “penult,” and the third from the last the “antepenult.” Penult means “almost last” in Latin. Antepenult means “before the almost last.”

 

Antepenult	Penult	Ultima
	κό	σμος	world
προ	φή	της	prophet
ἀ	δελ	φός	brother

      1.   Acute ( ´ ) angles upward (left to right), originally indicating a rising pitch. Today we use the accents to specify syllable emphasis, not tone or pitch variation.

            λέγω (I say)

      2.   Grave ( ` ) angles downward, originally indicating a falling pitch.

            ἀδελφὸς (brother)

      3.   Circumflex ( ῀ ) angles upward then downward, originally indicating a rising then falling pitch.

            αὐτοῦ (his)

      1.   Acute may occur on any of the last three syllables (antepenult, penult, ultima).

            Acute on Any of the Last Three Syllables

Syllables			Meaning
ἄγ	γε	λος	angel, messenger (antepenult acute)
	δό	ξα	glory, fame (penult acute)
	ἐ	γώ	I (ultima acute)

      2.   Circumflex may occur only on the last two syllables (but only if the vowel or diphthong is long).

                                    Circumflex on Either of the Last Two Long Syllables

Syllables				Meaning
Φα	ρι	σαῖ	ος	Pharisee (penult circumflex)
		αὐ	τοῦ	his (ultima circumflex)

Diphthongs are considered long except for οι or αι in a final syllable.

      3.   Grave may occur only on the last syllable.

Grave on the Last Syllable

Syllables			Meaning
ἀ	δελ	φὸς	brother (ultima grave)
	ἀ	μὴν	truly, verily (ultima grave)

Potential Placement Chart

	Antepenult	Penult	Ultima
Acute	´	´	´
Circumflex		῀	῀
Grave			`

Nouns attempt to keep their accents on the same syllable as the base form you learn in the vocabulary lists or find in the lexicon.

man, human
ἄνθρωπος	antepenult acute
ἀνθρώπου	penult acute; long ultima causes change
ἀνθρώπῳ	penult acute; long ultima causes change
ἄνθρωπον	antepenult acute; short ultima, no change
ἄνθρωπε	antepenult acute; short ultima, no change

The verb’s accent has a tendency to recede toward the first syllable as far as possible.

λύω	λύ ω	I loose (penult acute)
λύεις	λύ εις	you loose (penult acute)
λύει	λύ ει	he/she/it looses (penult acute)
λύομεν	λύ ο μεν	we loose (antepenult acute)
λύετε	λύ ε τε	you (pl.) loose (antepenult acute)
λύουσι	λύ ου σι	they loose (antepenult acute)

If the ultima is long, then the antepenult cannot be accented.

ἄνθρωπος	antepenult acute
ἀνθρώπου	penult acute; cannot accent antepenult because of ου
ἀνθρώπῳ	penult acute; cannot accent antepenult because of ῳ

 

If the ultima is long and the penult is accented, then that accent must be an acute.

ἀνθρώπου	penult acute; long ultima ου causes change
ἀνθρώπῳ	penult acute; long ultima ῳ causes change
λύω	I loose (penult acute)
λύεις	you loose (penult acute)
λύει	he/she/it looses (penult acute)

If the ultima is short and the penult is both long and accented, that accent must be a circumflex.

ἦλθεν	ἦλ θεν	he went (short ultima; long penult) (Jn. 1:7)
ἐκεῖνος	ἐ κεῖ νος	that (short ultima; long penult) (Jn. 1:8)
πρῶτος	πρῶ τος	first, earlier (short ultima; long penult) (Jn. 1:15)

If an acute is on the ultima, it becomes a grave when followed by another word without intervening punctuation.

πρὸς τὸν θεόν	two graves and an acute (Jn. 1:1)
καὶ θεὸς ἦν	two graves and a circumflex (Jn. 1:1)

There are several short Greek words that do not have an accent. These clitics are pronounced as if they were part of the word that accompanies them. A clitic is a word that “leans on” the preceding or the following word.

      1.   Proclitic comes before the word that carries the accent.

Proclitic (before the accented word)

ὁ Χριστός	the Christ (Jn. 1:20) (ὁ has no accent; the  ‛ is a breathing mark, not an accent—see below)
ὁ λόγος	the word (Jn. 1:1) (ὁ has no accent)
Ἐν ἀρχῇ	in the beginning (Jn. 1:1) (  Ἐν has no accent)
οὐ κατέλαβεν	it did not understand/overcome (Jn. 1:5) (οὐ has no accent)

 

2.     Enclitic comes after the word that carries the accent.

Enclitic (after the accented word)

πρῶτός μου	before me (Jn. 1:15) (μου has no accent) Note the accent added to the ultima of πρῶτός
Ἐγώ εἰμι	I am (Jn. 6:35) (εἰμι has no accent)

There are two breathing marks that are placed on vowels and diphthongs when they begin words.

      1.   Smooth breathing (  ᾽ ) does not affect pronunciation.

Smooth breathing (  ᾽ )

ἀδελφός	brother
ἄγγελος	angel, messenger
ἀμήν	truly, verily
ἀπόστολος	apostle
ἐγώ	I

      2.   Rough breathing ( ‛ ) adds an “h” sound before the sound of the initial vowel.

Rough breathing ( ‛ )

ἕξ	six as in hexagon
υἱός	son, descendant (note breathing goes on the second vowel of the diphthong initial word)
ὑπέρ	in behalf of, above
ἵνα	that, in order that (note the breathing mark beside the acute accent)

Note: an initial rho (ρ) always takes a rough breathing (ῥῆμα word). It has no effect on the pronunciation, however. Initial υ always takes a rough breathing, too.

There are four punctuation marks in Greek. The comma and period are the same as in English. The colon and question mark are different.

1. Period ( . )	λόγος.
2. Comma ( , )	λόγος,
3. Colon ( · )	λόγος·
4. Question Mark ( ; )	λόγος;

 

 

In English, letters that drop out or are elided are marked with an apostrophe (e.g., it’s = it is). Greek also uses an apostrophe to mark the missing letter(s). The final letter of a preposition, if it is a vowel, is dropped when it precedes a word that begins with a vowel.

διά + αὐτοῦ becomes δι᾽ αὐτοῦ

(Note that the omitted alpha is replaced by an apostrophe; Jn. 1:3, 7; cf. Jn. 1:39)

Sometimes a word with a final vowel followed by a word with an initial vowel will be contracted together. This is called “Crasis.” A coronis (  ᾽ ) is used to retain the breathing of the second word.

καί [and] + ἐγώ [I] becomes κἀγώ (“and I,” Jn. 1:31, 33)

      1.   Noun names a person, place, thing or idea (e.g., book).

      2.   Adjective is a word used to qualify the meaning of the noun (e.g., good book).

      3.   Definite Article is a word that specifies a particular noun (e.g., the good book). The indefinite article is “a” (e.g., a book).

      4.   Pronoun is a word used instead of a noun (e.g., the book, it).

      5.   Preposition is a relational word that connects an object (often a noun) to its antecedent (e.g., in the book).

      6.   Verb is often an action or state-of-being word that makes a statement, asks a question, or gives a command (e.g., read the book).

      7.   Adverb qualifies the meaning of the verb (e.g., read quickly).

      8.   Particle is a small indeclinable word expressing some general aspect of meaning, or some connective or limiting relation (see chapter 27).

The sentence is divided into two parts:

      1.   Subject, about which something is said.

Simple subject:	Terry went to the store.
	The big red truck moved slowly.
Complete subject:	The big red truck moved slowly.
Compound subject:	Terry and Dawn went to the store.
Understood subject:	Please close the door (“you” is understood).

      2.   Predicate is that which is said about the subject.

Simple predicate:	Joy walked home.
Complete predicate:	Joy walked home.
Compound predicate:	Joy walked home and raked leaves.

Predicate nominative: It is I (rather than “It is me”). A predicate nominative completes the idea of the subject. It will most often occur with an “is” verb.

A phrase is a group of words used as a single part of speech.

Perhaps the most common is the prepositional phrase:

The book by the bed is my textbook (the phrase acts like an adjective modifying “book”).

He held the book over his head (the phrase acts like an adverb modifying “held”).

Infinitive phrases often act as nouns, adverbs or adjectives:

With work you can expect to master Greek (as a noun).

He played to win (as an adverb).

He had plenty of water to drink (as an adjective modifying water).

A clause is a group of words that includes a subject and predicate. (A clause has a verb; a phrase does not.)

Phrase: The great big strong man (an adjective phrase)

Clause: The man who owns the store (an adjectival/relative clause)

A main clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone.

A subordinate clause is dependent on the main clause and cannot stand alone. Note the following subordinate clauses.

When the store opened, the people pushed through the front door.

He knew that power had gone out of him.

It is crucial for students of Greek to gain mastery over (conquer, vanquish) verbs.

Tense generally describes the time of action of the verb (present, future, past), although the time/tense connection has been hotly contested recently (vid. S. Porter, R. Decker, D. Mathewson, et al.).  Some see the Greek tense forms as being used to denote Aktionsart (how the action takes place [punctiliar, durative, iterative, inceptive...]) and others stress aspect (the writer’s view or portrayal of the action as opposed to when/how the action actually happened).  You should be aware of all three perspectives.

Tense=time:  Time is

Ø  Kathy walks everyday (present tense).

Ø  Kathy walked yesterday (past tense).

Ø  Kathy will walk tomorrow (future tense).

Ø  Horses gallop across the prairie (omnitemporal/gnomic; what they usually do).

Ø  God loves you (timeless).

The Greek verb forms (present/aorist/perfect) are not directly indicative of the time an event actually happened.  Hence the present tense form can be used for events that are past, present, future, omnitemporal or timeless.

Aktionsart denotes the type of action, how it happens:  These types of features are better understood as a result of the discourse level or based on the lexical meanings of particular verbs and combinations rather than to try to force such “meanings” onto the morphological tense forms (present, aorist, perfect).

Continuous/durative action (the event as a process), He is cooking.

Iterative (happens repeatedly) He kept shooting the ball.

Inceptive (event is beginning) She is leaving now.

Omnitemporal/gnomic: Horses gallop across the prairie (omnitemporal/gnomic; what they usually do)

Timeless: God loves you.

Aspect:  the writer’s portrayal of an action (Porter/Decker/Mathewson) the time is indicated more from adverbials, prepositions or time words           than from the “tense” of the verb. 

Present/Imperfect:  immediacy, details, in progress, descriptive, foreground material (can be used to portray present, past, future, omnitemporal or timeless action; so it is not time locked)

Aorist: wholistic, complete, undifferentiated, background material

Perfect/Pluperfect:  state of affairs, frontground form 

Mathewson defines background, foreground and frontground as follows:

        1. background:  this does not refer to material that is non-essential or unimportant, but to material that serves a supporting role.

        2. foreground: this refers to material that is selected for more attention and often consists of the main characters and thematic elements in a discourse.

        3. frontground: elements that are frontgrounded are singled out for special attention, are presented in a more well-defined way, and stand out in an unexpected manner in the discourse (Mathewson, 27).

Voice shows who does or receives the action of the verb. Voice indicates how the subject is related to the action of the verb.

Active: Subject does the action.

Middle: Subject does action for itself or emphasizing the subjects participation in the action of the verb (most often the Greek is translated into an English active or for him/her/itself [benefit])

Passive: Subject receives the action.

Mathewson has described it visually as: 

Ø  Active:   Subject  ----> Verb  (object)

Ø  Middle:  Subject <--> Verb

Ø  Passive:  Subjects <--- Verb (agent)

Examples of verb voice:

Zachary shot the ball (active)—Zach does the action.

The ball was shot by Zachary (passive)—ball receives action.

Zachary himself passed the ball (middle)—Zach did it for himself.

Verbal mood shows how something is said.

Indicative:	Portrayal of reality
Subjunctive:	Desire, prossible
Imperative:	Command, entreaty
Optative:	Wish, remote possibility

     Examples of Verb Mood:

Indicative:	He learned Greek well.
Subjunctive:	In order that he might learn Greek well . . .
	If he studies, he may learn Greek well.
Imperative:	Learn Greek well!
Optative:	Oh that you might learn Greek.
	(Hopefully, this will not be a remote possibility.)

 

Nouns in Greek have gender, number, and case.

Gender: The Greek masculine, feminine, and neuter genders are often indicated by the endings attached to the noun. Abstract nouns and objects that are neither male nor female in English are often marked as either masculine or feminine in Greek (The boat, she left port).

Number: As an “s” often ends an English word that is plural, Greek likewise, has endings that mark whether a noun is singular or plural (e.g., book, books).

Case: In English we have three cases that are seen in how we use our pronouns. Case will be an important feature in Greek and often difficult to grasp initially.

      1.   Subjective or nominative case:  She = subject (She did it.)

      2.   Objective or accusative case:      Her = object (The car hit her.)

      3.   Possessive or genitive case:       Hers = possessive (The car was hers.)

Greek adds two more:

      4.   Dative case: The case marking the indirect object. (I told the story to the apostles.)

      5.   Vocative case: The case of direct address. (O Lord, save me.)

Endings will be added to the Greek nouns to indicate gender, number and case.

ἀδελφός	brother (343)
ἀκούω	I hear, obey (428)
δόξα	glory, fame (166)
ἔχω	I have, hold (708)
κόσμος	world (186)
κύριος	lord, Lord, sir (717)
λόγος	word (330)
Πέτρος	Peter (156)
υἱός	son (377)
Φαρισαῖος	Pharisee (98)

You will be able to—

      1.   understand the English verbal system and its parallels to Greek (tense, voice, mood, person, and number),

      2.   recognize and write the present active indicative forms of Greek verbs, and

      3.   master ten high-frequency vocabulary words.

Verbs are words of action or state of being:

Zachary drove the car.

Elliott is a good kid.

We use verbs to make statements, give commands, or express wishes:

Come here (command).

May Zach play basketball this year (wish).

Tanya is working tonight (statement).

Tense in English refers to the time of the action of the verb:

Ø  Present: Annette swims.

Ø  Past: Annette swam.

Ø  Future: Annette will swim.

Ø  Perfect: Annette has swum.

Tense/Aktionsart/Aspect

In Greek, the tense form is not used so much as to coordinate with time (when the event happened, usually indicated by the context through adverbs, prepositional phrases and other temporal indicators), or to how (type,duration [Aktionsart]; usually implicit in the lexical meaning of the verb or broader context) the action takes place but, and most of all, its aspect which is the author’s portrayal of an action (foregrounding/immediacy/ descriptive/progress [present tense form]; background/wholistic/complete [aorist] and frontgrounding/state of being [perfect]).  In short, while we will generally translate the present tense in this course with an English present one must realize that there is not really a connection of the present tense form with the present time and the present tense form can be used for past, present, future, timeless or omnitemporal types of verbal actions.  Thus, aspect, or how the author portrays an activity, seems to be a more adequate way to describe the present tense form (foregrounding/immediacy/ descriptive/progress) but for now we will simply translate it in these exercises which are out of context as an English present tense.  Be aware, however, that the actual time will more often than not be indicated by adverbs, prepositional phrases and conjunctive modifiers than from the tense form on the verb.

English has two voices, to which Greek adds a third:

      1.   Active voice: The subject does the action of the verb.

        Active voice examples:

Terry hit the ball.

Joy kissed Andy.

      2.   Passive voice: The subject receives the action of the verb.

        Passive voice examples:

The ball was hit by Terry.

Andy was kissed by Joy.

      3.   Middle voice: The subject’s  participation in the action of the verb is emphasized, the action is done for the subject’s benefit, or rarely the subject acts on him/herself (reflexive) or members of a group interact among themselves (reciprocal).

        Middle voice examples:

Terry himself kicked the ball (emphasizing participation; frequent).

Terry kicked the ball for himself (interest/benefit).

Terry kicked himself (reflexive; rare).

The players patted each other (reciprocal; rare).

Some describe many middle verbs in Greek as deponent (75 percent of the time). This means they are middle in form but translated as active with the active form missing (“deponent”).  In this program, the middle will be translated as active unless otherwise indicated (Mounce, Basics, 149).  Such “deponent” verbs are easily found in the lexicon as having an –ομαι ending (e.g. ἔρχομαι, γίνομαι) rather than the normal active ending ω (e.g. βλέπω, ἀκούω).  While the term “deponent” is debated it may be best just to translate them as middles emphasizing the subject’s participation in the action of the verb (hence active). 

Mood refers to the kind of reality of the action, or how the action of the verb is regarded.

      1.   Indicative mood: The verb simply states or portrays that something happened.

        Elliott prays.

      2.   Imperative mood: The verb gives a command, exhortation or entreaty.

        Pray, Elliott!

      3.   Subjunctive mood: The verb expresses a wish, possibility, or potentiality

        Elliott may pray.

      4.   Optative mood: The verb expresses a wish, remote possibility.

        Oh that he would stand.

There are three persons in Greek.

      1.   First person indicates the person(s) speaking (I [singular] or we [plural]).

        First person examples:

                I studied Greek.

                We studied Greek.

      2.   Second person indicates the person(s) spoken to (you [singular or plural]). Some would say “you-all”, “ye,” or “you’uns” (dialect) for the plural, thus distinguishing it from “you” or “thou” as singular.

        Second person examples:

                You studied Greek.

                You both studied Greek.

      3.   Third person indicates the person(s) or thing(s) spoken about (he, she, it [singular]; they [plural]).

        Third person examples:

                She studied Greek.

                They studied Greek.

                It made them happy.

Both English and Greek distinguish between singular (I, you, he, she, it) and the plural (we, you, they).

Verbs must agree with their subjects in both person and number.

He rides the wave.

They ride the wave (not “They rides the wave”).

The present active indicative (PAI) will be our first verb paradigm. It is a frequently used “tense” in the New Testament (over 4,400 times). Active means that the subject does the action of the verb as opposed to the middle or passive voices. The indicative mood portrays the action as reality (liars also use the indicative so what is being portrayed as reality may not be in fact) making a statement, as opposed to the imperative (command) or subjunctive (possibility) moods, which we will study later.

Each form will be composed of a:

Stem + Pronominal ending

λύ + ω

The present tense may used of either undefined Aktionsart (event simply happens) or continuous Aktionsart (event was a process).

Thus for our grammatical practice sentences they will be translated as follows:

1. Undefined:	I loose. I run.
2. Continuous:	I am loosing. I am running.

The context will determine which should be used. One should be aware that in sentences in contexts the present tense form can be used to designate action in the past, present,  future, omnitemporal or timeless happenings.

Greek will often use the present tense to reference an event that actually happened in the past. The historical present is used to add vividness or dramatic effect to the narrative or, most often, it is an idiom. It often occurs in narrative in the third person. In these cases the present tense is simply translated by our past tense (“he says” becomes “he said”).

This present active paradigm is very important. You should be able to chant through it in your sleep. Learn these “primary” pronominal endings also since they will be useful when we do the future tense.

Stem + pronominal suffix:	λύ + ω	λύ + ομεν
	λύ + εις	λύ + ετε
	λύ + ει	λύ + ουσι

Present Active Indicative (PAI) Paradigm

Singular		Plural
1. λύω	I loose/am loosing.	λύομεν	We loose/are loosing.
2. λύεις	You loose/are loosing.	λύετε	You loose/are loosing.
3. λύει	He/she/it looses/is loosing.	λύουσι(ν)	They loose/are loosing.

Primary Pronominal Suffixes

ω	I	ομεν	we
εις	you	ετε	you (you-all)
ει	he/she/it	ουσι(ν)	they

Most frequently a nu ( ν ) is added to the end of words ending in σι or ε.  In English we do something similar with “a book” and “an item.”  Most often the third plural form will be: λύουσιν instead of λύουσι (cf. βλέπουσιν καὶ, Mat. 13:13).  Rarely the nu (ν) will be dropped before words beginning with consonants (cf. βλέπουσι τὸ . . . Mat. 18:10).

In English, we make no distinction between a “you” singular and a “you” that is plural (“you all”). Some grammars, following King James English, use “thou” for the singular and “ye” for the plural. Such usage is archaic, and hence we will use “you” for both second person singular and plural. You should be aware, however, that in Greek a sharp distinction is made.

Verbs are parsed or conjugated in the following format:

Tense, voice, mood, person, number, lexical form, English meaning.

E.g., λύω Present active indicative (PAI), 1st person singular, from λύω, meaning “I loose, destroy.”

Shorter form: λύω PAI, 1 sg., from λύω, “I loose, destroy.”

        λύετε PAI, 2 pl., from λύω, “you loose, destroy”

    Recite the first column then the second.  Practice until it is as natural as breathing.

      λύω                λύομεν     

      λύεις                λύετε          

      λύει                 λύουσι(ν)

ἀλλά	but, yet (638)
ἀπόστολος	apostle, sent one (80)
βλέπω	I see (133)
γάρ	for, then (1041)
Γινώσκω	I know (222)
Ἰησοῦς	Jesus (917)
λαμβάνω	I take, receive (258)
λύω	I loose (42)
οὐρανός	heaven (273)
πιστεύω	I believe (241)

You will be able to—

      1.   understand the English syntax of nouns in sentences (subject, object, number, gender, etc.),

      2.   understand the Greek noun system (gender, number, case),

      3.   write out the second declension paradigm for masculine and neuter nouns, and

      4.   master ten high-frequency vocabulary words.

A noun is commonly defined as a word that stands for a person, place or thing.

Natanya	=	person
Store	=	place
Car	=	thing

Gender in English is determined by the sex of the referent: “king . . . he,” “queen . . . she.” Objects that are neither male nor female are considered neuter: “table . . . it.” In Greek some inanimate objects are given male or female designations. Be careful not to confuse Greek grammatical gender with biological gender!

οἶκος	“House” is masculine.
ἱερόν	“Temple” is neuter.
ἐκκλησία	“Church, congregation” is feminine.

Both English and Greek inflect words for number. Both languages have singular and plural nouns. Notice the change on the end of the Greek words.

Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
heaven	heavens	οὐρανός	οὐρανοί
man	men	ἄνθρωπος	ἄνθρωποι

English uses word inflections in order to indicate changes in case. Case is the role a word plays in the sentence (such as subject, object, possessive).

This is the subject of the verb.

He hit the ball.

The subject of the sentence can usually be discovered by putting “who” or “what” before the verb.

He ran to the store.

Who ran to the store? He (= subject).

This is the object of the verb.

The ball hit him.

The object of a sentence can usually be discovered by putting a “who” or “what” after the verb.

He hit the ball.

He hit what? The ball (= object).

This indicates who is the possessor.

He hit his truck.

The possessive case often can be discovered by asking “whose?”

Charlie hid his cake.

Whose cake? His (possessive).

Nominative	=	subject of the sentence
Accusative	=	object of the sentence
Genitive	=	Possessive

There are three noun declensions in Greek. A declension is a grouping of nouns that are inflected with a shared set of endings. The difference in endings does not affect the translation procedure for first, second, and third declensions. The second declension nouns are characterized by an ο as the final letter of the stem. They are largely masculine or neuter. First declension nouns are characterized by an η or α for the final letter and are mostly feminine. Third declension nouns have stems that end in a consonant.

We will learn the second declension before the first because it is more frequent. Second declension nouns are largely masculine, as indicated in lexical lists by placing the masculine definite article  ὁ (“the”) after the nominative singular form. Each noun should be learned with its definite article that indicates its gender. Second declension nouns that are neuter are marked by placing the neuter definite article τό (“the”) after the root.

In contrast to English, which uses “a” as an indefinite article (“a book”), Greek has no indefinite article. Thus, the Greek indefinite noun may be translated “book” or “a book.” Greek nouns are assumed to be indefinite unless marked by the article (“the”). The Greek article can actually be used for several functions beyond making a noun definite.  For now, simply be aware of the nominative form of the definite article, which will indicate the gender of the noun being learned:

Ø  ὁ = masculine (“the”)

Ø  ἡ = feminine (“the”)

Ø  τό = neuter (“the”)

Greek nouns are masculine, feminine, or neuter in gender. Often this gender is more a syntactical feature than a metaphysical statement, as many inanimate objects are given grammatical gender. Thus “year” ( ἔτος) is neuter, while “day” (ἡμέρα) is feminine, but “time” (χρόνος) is masculine.

As in English, Greek has both singular and plural nouns. The verb most often matches the number of the subject noun just as in English:

Students (plural) love Greek.

The student (singular) loves Greek.

In Greek, there are five inflectional forms marking the various cases or roles that nouns play in sentences.

Most Often Marks the Subject of the Sentence

Music calms the heart.

“Music” is the subject of the sentence. In Greek it would be marked with a nominative inflectional ending.  With “is” verbs it can be used as a predicate nominative as in “It is he.”  Here “he” (nominative) is used rather than the accusative “him.” 

Often Expresses a Possessive, Description, Origin, Relation, Limits quality

The Pharisee went to the house of God (description)

The book of the chief was worn (possesive).

The writing of the prophet (origin)

The son of Mary (relation).

Note the different meanings of “of” in these sentences.

“Of God” or “God’s” would be marked in Greek with a genitive inflectional ending. We will generally use the keyword “of” when translating the genitive, although the genitive may actually function in many other ways as well.

Often Marks the Indirect Object, Location, Agency

He spoke a word to the apostle (Indirect Object)

She went to the class (location).

He was struck by the catcher (agency)

“To the apostle” would be marked with a dative inflectional ending in Greek. The dative functions in many ways. In some contexts it may also be translated “for” or “at” or “by” or “with.” We will generally use the key words “to, for, at, by, with” (remember = 2 by 4, ate (at) with) when translating the dative.

Indicates the Object of the Sentence.

Joy saw the ball.

Elliott walked home.

“The ball” is the object of the sentence. It would be marked by an accusative inflectional ending in Greek.  The accusative’s basic idea is limiting the content, direction, extent or goal of the verb or preposition it is associated with.  It limits the quantity while the genitive will limit the quality (Wallace).   It can also be used as

the subject of the infinitive and some verbs will take a double accusative (e.g. “he will teach you [1] all things [2]”). 

Is Used for Direct Address

Sister, you are the one!

O Lord, how majestic is your name.

“Sister” receives a direct address and would be marked by a vocative inflectional ending in Greek.

You should be able to chant through this declension. Because the vocatives are so few and often the same as the nominative, you need only to chant the Nom.-Acc. The vocative will be recognized when it appears, and it is often the same as the nominative.

 

 

Masculine Second Declension Forms (Stem Ending in ο)

       λόγος = word

	Singular	Plural	Inflectional Endings
Nom.	λόγος	λόγοι	ος	οι
Gen.	λόγου	λόγων	ου	ων
Dat.	λόγῳ	λόγοις	ῳ	οις
Acc.	λόγον	λόγους	ον	ους
Voc.	λόγε	λόγοι	ε	οι

Meaning of Inflectional Forms

	Singular		Plural
Nom.	λόγος	a word	λόγοι	words	(subject of sentence)
Gen.	λόγου	of a word	λόγων	of words	(possessive, origin)
Dat.	λόγῳ	to a word	λόγοις	To words	(indirect object)
Acc.	λόγον	a word	λόγους	words	(direct object)
Voc.	λόγε	O word	λόγοι	O words	(direct address)

Ø  Nominative = subject of the sentence

Ø  Genitive = descriptive/possessive usually translated with keyword “of”

Ø  Dative = indirect object/agency/location usually translated with keyword “to, by, for, with at”

Ø  Accusative = direct object of a sentence

Ø  Vocative = direct address (e.g., O words, tell us how to read Greek)

Another way to look at case (Hansen and Quinn, Greek: An Intensive Course, 20):

Accusative	Dative	Genitive
Motion toward or into	in	Motion away from/out of
==============>		=================>

 

Neuter Second Declension Forms (Stem Ending in ο)

       ἱερόν = temple

	Singular	Plural
Nom./Voc.	ἱερόν	ἱερά
Gen.	ἱεροῦ	ἱερῶν
Dat.	ἱερῷ	ἱεροῖς
Acc.	ἱερόν	ἱερά

 

Meaning of Inflectional Forms

	Singular		Plural
Nom.	ἱερόν	a temple	ἱερά	temples	(subject of sentence)
Gen.	ἱεροῦ	of a temple	ἱερῶν	of temples	(possessive)
Dat.	ἱερῷ	to a temple	ἱεροῖς	To temples	(indirect object)
Acc.	ἱερόν	a temple	ἱερά	temples	(direct object)
Voc.	ἱερόν	O temple	ἱερά	O temples	(direct address)

Note that in the neuter the nominative, accusative and vocative always have the same form. The genitive and dative neuter have the same endings as the masculine. You should be able to chant through this paradigm, lumping the vocative with the nominative.

Verbs are parsed (PAI, 1st sg, from λύω, “I loose”). Nouns are declined using the following pattern: Case, number, gender, base Greek word, meaning.

For example:

λόγῳ        Dative, Singular, Masculine, from λόγος, meaning “to a word”

ἱερῶν       Genitive, Plural, Neuter, from ἱερόν, meaning “of temples”

The order of words in a sentence in Greek may be the same as in English (subject + verb + object). Greek puts inflectional endings on nouns to mark their case. This allows Greek to change the word order for various purposes without substantially altering the meaning of a sentence. For example, the subject may be placed after the verb and the object placed before the verb for emphasis while retaining the original meaning of the sentence.  Recent studies have shown that word order is important, so the good student will keep an eye on the order of syntactic units (VSOM versus SVOM etc.).

One comment on the vocabulary forms. In lexical lists, nouns such as δοῦλος are followed by -οῦ, which gives the genitive singular ending, indicating that it is a second declension noun. The ὁ article is given to specify that it is masculine.

λόγος         (word: Subject)           ἱερόν   (temple: Subject)

λόγου        (of a word)                  ἱεροῦ   (of a temple)

λόγῳ          (to/by/for a word)       ἱερῷ     (to/by/for a temple)

λόγον          (word:  Object)          ἱερόν    (temple: Object)

λόγοι         (words: Subject)          ἱερά    (temples: Subject)

λόγων        (of words)                   ἱερῶν  (of temples)

λόγοις        (to/by/for words)         ἱεροῖς  (to/by/for temples)

λόγους       (words:  Object)          ἱερά     (temples: Object)

ἀγαπάω	I love (143)
γράφω	I write (191)
δέ	but, and (2,792)
δοῦλος, -ου, ὁ	servant, slave (124)
εὑρίσκω	I find (176)
ἱερόν, -οῦ, τό	temple (71)
λαός, -οῦ, ὁ	people (142)
νόμος, -ου, ὁ	law (194)
οἶκος, -ου, ὁ	house (114)
ὡς	as, about, how (504)

You will be able to—

      1.   understand the English syntax of nouns in sentences (subject, object, number, gender, etc.),

      2.   understand the Greek noun system (gender, number, case),

      3.   write out and chant the first declension paradigm for feminine nouns, and

      4.   master ten more high-frequency vocabulary words.

There are three noun declensions in Greek. We have learned the second declension with its masculine and neuter nouns and its characteristic ο endings. Now we will focus on the first declension. First declension nouns are largely feminine, as indicated by placing the feminine article ἡ (“the”) after the nominative singular form. Each noun should be learned with its definite article, which indicates its gender. The stem of first declension nouns ends with an alpha or eta. Learn to chant through this eta first declension of γραφή. Learn to recognize the variations on the other two forms (alpha and masculine form).

Feminine First Declension Forms (Stem Ending in η)

       γραφή, ἡ = writing, Scripture

	Singular	Plural	Inflectional Endings
Nom./Voc.	γραφή	γραφαί	η	αι
Gen.	γραφῆς	γραφῶν	ης	ων
Dat.	γραφῇ	γραφαῖς	ῃ	αις
Acc.	γραφήν	γραφάς	ην	ας

Meanings: Translation of Inflectional Forms

	Singular		Plural
Nom.	γραφή	A writing	γραφαί	writings	(subject of sentence)
Gen.	γραφῆς	of a writing	γραφῶν	of writings	(possessive/description)
Dat.	γραφῇ	to a writing	γραφαῖς	to writings	(indirect object/agency)
Acc.	γραφήν	A writing	γραφάς	writings	(direct object)
Voc.	γραφή	O writing	γραφαί	O writings	(direct address)

Ø    Nominative = subject of the sentence, predicate nom., apposition

Ø    Genitive = possessive/description/origin usually translated with “of”

Ø    Dative = indirect object, usually translated with “to,” “for,” “by,” “at,” or “with” (2 by 4 ate [at] with)

Ø    Accusative = direct object of a sentence, double accusative

Ø    Vocative = direct address (e.g., “O writings, show us . . .”)

The nominative can be used as in an appositional use.  Apposition is when this form restates or specifies a noun. 

For example:  “Paul, a servant, an apostle writes,”

where “a servant” and “an apostle” are appositional renaming or specifying Paul.

Feminine First Declension Forms (Stem Ending in α)

       ὥρα, ἡ = hour

	Singular		Plural
Nom./Voc.	ὥρα	hour	ὧραι	hours	(subject of sentence)
Gen.	ὥρας	of an hour	ὡρῶν	of hours	(possessive/descrip.)
Dat.	ὥρᾳ	for an hour	ὥραις	for hours	(indirect object/ag.)
Acc.	ὥραν	hour	ὥρας	hours	(direct object)

Note that the nominative and vocative have the same form. The ὥρα and γραφή  

forms are largely the same except for the simple shift of the eta to an alpha in the singular.

Masculine First Declension Forms (Stem Ending in η)

       προφήτης, ὁ = prophet

	Singular		Plural
Nom.	προφήτης	prophet	προφῆται	prophets	(subject)
Gen.	προφήτου	of a prophet	προφητῶν	of prophets	(possessive)
Dat.	προφήτῃ	to a prophet	προφήταις	to prophets	(indirect object)
Acc.	προφήτην	prophet	προφήτας	prophets	(direct object)
Voc.	προφῆτα	O prophet	προφῆται	O prophets	(direct address)

Note that the only major variation here is the genitive singular, which takes an -ου ending. Beyond that, it is much the same as γραφή. Vocatives are rare.

Nouns ending in a consonantal blend (ψ, ξ, or ζ) or double

      consonant  δόξα, -ης, ἡ = glory

	Singular		Plural
Nom.	δόξα	glory	δόξαι	glories	(subject)
Gen.	δόξης	of glory	δοξῶν	of glories	(possessive)
Dat.	δόξῃ	to glory	δόξαις	to glories	(indirect object)
Acc.	δόξαν	glory	δόξας	glories	(direct object)
Voc.	δόξα	O glory	δόξαι	O glories	(direct address)

While Greek has no indefinite article like the English “a” (e.g., a book), the Greek article, usually translated “the,” occurs throughout the New Testament although it often can be used as a substitute for a personal pronoun, demonstrative pronoun (this/that) or a relative pronoun (who/which). The article is inflected for gender, number, and case. Indeed, the article must match its noun in gender, number, and case. The article marks the gender of a noun, whether it is a first, second, or third declension noun.  The article can sometimes function as a pronoun (he, she, it . . . ) and at root has a nominalizing impact on the words it goes with.  Sometimes it is not translated at all especially with proper nouns (“Jesus” not “the Jesus”) or abstracts (“grace” not “the grace”).

Examples:

λόγος	“word” or “a word”	Nom. sg. masc. (Acts 13:15)
ὁ λόγος	“the word”	Nom. sg. masc. (Jn. 1:1)
λόγον	“word” or “a word”	Acc. sg. masc. (Jn. 8:51)
τὸν λόγον	“the word”	Acc. sg. masc. (Jn. 4:39)

Article Forms

	Singular			Plural
	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.
Nom.	ὁ	ἡ	τό	οἱ	αἱ	τά
Gen.	τοῦ	τῆς	τοῦ	τῶν	τῶν	τῶν
Dat.	τῷ	τῇ	τῷ	τοῖς	ταῖς	τοῖς
Acc.	τόν	τήν	τό	τούς	τάς	τά

Note that ὁ, οἱ, ἡ, and αἱ are proclitics, each bearing no accent because it is associated so closely with (leans on) the following word. Being able to recognize the case of the article is handy, since that will also tell you the case of the accompanying noun. Thus, it is a good way to double-check whether or not you are declining a noun properly.

          2-Declension                   1-Declension                           2-Declension

λόγος   (word: Subject)     γραφή   (writing: Subject)       ἱερόν  (temple: Subject)

λόγου   (of a word)           γραφῆς  (of a writing)            ἱεροῦ  (of a temple)

λόγῳ    (to/by/for a word) γραφῇ (to/by/for a writing)   ἱερῷ   (to/by/for a temple)

λόγον   (word:  Object)     γραφήν  (writing: Object)       ἱερόν  (temple: Object)

λόγοι    (words: Subject)   γραφαί  (writings: Subject)     ἱερά    (temples: Subject)

λόγων   (of words)            γραφῶν  (of writings)             ἱερῶν  (of temples)

λόγοις   (to/by/for words) γραφαῖς (to/by/for writings)   ἱεροῖς  (to/by/for temples)

λόγους  (words:  Object)   γραφάς  (writings: Object)      ἱερά     (temples: Object)

ἀγάπη, -ης, ἡ	love (116)
ἀλήθεια, -ας, ἡ	truth (109)
ἁμαρτία, -ας, ἡ	sin (173)
βασιλεία, -ας, ἡ	kingdom (162)
γραφή, -ῆς, ἡ	writing, Scripture (50)
ἐγείρω	I raise up (144)
ἐκκλησία, -ας, ἡ	assembly, church (114)
ἔργον, -ου, τό	work (169)
μαθητής, -οῦ, ὁ	disciple (261)
ὥρα, -ας, ἡ	hour (106)

You will be able to—

      1.   understand English prepositions and the various ways they connect words,

      2.   translate the various Greek prepositions and how they relate to the noun inflectional system,

      3.   recognize and predict when prepositions will have a letter elided,

      4.   identify and translate prepositions when they are compounded with other word forms,

      5.   master ten more high-frequency vocabulary words, and

      6.   memorize Jn. 1:1 in Greek.

Prepositions are usually small words that link or relate two words together. Often they tell position in space or time.They often work in conjunction with the cases extending and clarifying the use of a particular case.  Wallace notes prepositions that are found with the accusative and dative often function adverbially and the genitive functions adjectivally (Wallace, 160).

I saw the book on the table (adjectival use—modifies the noun, book).

        Tells of the spatial relationship of the book to the table.

He went after the game (adverbial use—modifies the verb, went)..

        Connects the person’s going to the time of the game.

A phrase is a string of closely connected words. A clause is a string of connected words and/or phrases, including both a subject and a verb.

A prepositional phrase is usually composed of a preposition followed by a noun, which is called the object of the preposition.

Prep. + noun = in + the car (“the car” is the object of the preposition “in”)

In English, the object of the preposition is usually in the objective case. Thus, we would say, “Send the disk with him (accusative),” and not “with he (nominative).”

Greek prepositions may be followed by nouns in the genitive, dative, or accusative inflectional forms. Each preposition will have a particular case(s) that usually inflects the following noun or pronoun.

Like English prepositions, Greek prepositions are connecting or linking words. Each preposition will take a noun/adjective/pronoun in a certain case (genitive, dative, or accusative). This case must be learned along with the preposition’s main meaning(s). The most common meanings are listed with each preposition, but it is important to observe the context because many other meanings are possible. Note that the genitive often has the idea of separation, the dative the idea of location, and the accusative the idea of motion toward.

The following prepositions are used with only one case:

ἀπό = “from” (with the genitive)—also may mean “because of,” “by,” “of”

Ἰησοῦν υἱὸν τοῦ  Ἰωσὴφ τὸν ἀπὸ Ναζαρέτ

Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth (Jn. 1:45)

ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου

from the law (Mat. 5:18)

ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν (ἀφ᾽ is a form of ἀπό when it is followed by a word with a rough breathing mark, the vowel drops and the consonant shifts upward before a rough breathing mark)

from you (Jn. 16:22)

εἰς = “into,” “to,” “in” (with the accusative)—also may mean “among,” “for”

εἰς τὴν ζωὴν

to life (Mat. 7:14)—notice the article is not translated

εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν Πέτρου

into Peter’s house (Mat. 8:14)—notice the article is not translated

εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν

into the kingdom of heaven (Mat. 19:23)—first article is translated the second is not

ἐκ = “from,” “out of” (with the genitive)—also may mean “of,” “because of”

ἐκ τῶν Φαρισαίων

from the Pharisees (Jn. 1:24)

ἐκ τῆς βασιλείας

out of the kingdom (Mat. 13:41)

 

ἐξ οὐρανοῦ (ἐξ is a form of ἐκ when it is followed by a word that begins with a vowel)

from heaven (Mat. 28:2)

ἐν = “in,” “on,” “at” (with the dative)—also may mean “among,” “when,” “by,” “with”

ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις

in the hearts (Mat. 9:4)

ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ

in the man (Jn. 2:25)

ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως

on the day of judgment (Mat. 10:15)

πρός = “to,” “toward” (with the accusative)—also may mean “with” [see page 44]

ἔρχεται πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγει πρὸς Φίλιππον

(because a great crowd) came to him, he said to Philip (Jn. 6:5)

πρὸς τοὺς μαθητάς

to the disciples (Mat. 26:40)

πρὸς τὸν ὄχλον

to the crowd (Mat. 17:14)

σύν = “with” (with the dative)

σὺν τοῖς μαθηταῖς

with the disciples (Mk. 8:34)

σὺν τῷ ἀγγέλῳ

with the angel (Lk. 2:13)

σὺν τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις

with the elders (Lk. 20:1)

The following prepositions are used with two cases:

διά (with the genitive) = “through,” “by,” “during”

διὰ  Ἰερεμίου τοῦ προφήτου

through Jeremiah the prophet (Mat. 2:17)

διὰ τῶν προφητῶν τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου

by the prophets about the Son of Man (Lk. 18:31)

διά (with the accusative) = “because of”

διὰ τὸν λόγον

because of the word (Mat. 13:21)

κατά (with the genitive) = “down,” “against”

κατὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου

against the Son of Man (Mat. 12:32)

κατὰ τοῦ λαοῦ

against the people (Acts 21:28)

κατά (with the accusative) = “according to,” “during”

καθ᾽ ἡμέραν (form of κατά before a rough breathing mark—drops the vowel

        and the consonant is shifted upwards before a rough breathing mark)

during a day (Mat. 26:55)

μετά (with the genitive) = “with”

μετὰ τῶν υἱῶν αὐτῆς

with her sons (Mat. 20:20)

μετὰ  Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναζωραίου

with Jesus of Nazareth (Mat. 26:71)

μετά (with the accusative) = “after”

μεθ᾽ ἡμέρας ἕξ

after six days (Mat. 17:1)

περί (with the genitive) = “for,” “concerning”

περὶ τῶν δύο ἀδελφῶν

concerning the two brothers (Mat. 20:24)

περὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ

concerning the temple (Lk. 21:5)

περί (with the accusative) = “around,” “about”

περὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν

about the truth (2 Tim. 2:18)

A few prepositions are used with three cases:

ἐπί (with the genitive) = “on,” “over”

ἐπὶ γῆς

on earth (Mat. 6:10)

ἐπί (with the dative) = “on,” “at,” “on the basis of,” “against”

πατὴρ ἐπὶ υἱῷ καὶ υἱὸς ἐπὶ πατρί

father against son and son against father (Lk. 12:53)

ἐπί (with the accusative) = “on,” “to,” “toward,” “against” (motion implied)

ἐπὶ τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ

to his disciples (Mat. 12:49)

παρά = (see chapter 8 vocabulary or Greek-English glossary at back of this book)

πρός = (see Greek-English glossary; the genitives and datives are rare)

Genitive	Dative	Accusative
ἀπό  from	ἐν  in	εἰς   into
ἐκ  out of, from	σύν  with	πρός  to, toward, with
διά  through, by	ἐπί  on, at, against	διά   because of
κατά  down, against		κατά  according to, during
μετά  with		μετά  after
περί  for, concerning		περί  around, about
ἐπί  on, over		ἐπί   on, to, toward

Prepositions ending in a vowel often drop the final vowel when it comes before a word that begins with a vowel.

δι᾽ ἐμοῦ = through me (Jn. 14:6)

(διά + ἐμοῦ)

If there is a rough breathing mark on the next word, the final consonant may be shifted:

μεθ᾽ ἡμέρας after days (Mat. 17:1)

(μετά + ἡμέρας)

A proclitic is a word that has no accent because it is joined so closely with the accented word that follows it.

ἐν, εἰς and ἐκ are proclitics.

They come before (pro) the word with the accent.

Enclitics are accentless words that follow the word with the accent. Personal pronouns are frequently enclitics.

Prepositions are often found compounded with a verb in Greek. Sometimes the meaning of the compound may be determined by combining the meaning of the preposition with the meaning of the verb. Other times, however, the preposition affects the meaning of the verb in other ways, most frequently intensifying it.

διά + βλέπω        through + I see

διαβλέπω I see clearly

Prepositions Chant:  11 Prepositional Moves

                  ἐπί       (hands patting on head)

                  περί     (right hand finger extended circle head)

                  πρός     (finger pointing in “to” heart)

                  εἰς        (hands “into” heart—collapse chest)

                  διά     (finger pushing again “through” the back)      

                  ἐν         (arms “in” hugging self)

                  ἐκ        (hand push “out” from heart finger pointing out, close)

                  ἀπό      (fingers pointing “out” both front arms extended out)

                  κατά    (hands push against each other in front)

                  σύν     (right arm around shoulder wave of invisible buddy--with)

                  μετά     (two arms extend around shoulders of invisible buddies--with)

 

It is difficult learning the prepositions as vocabulary items. They are short, but the cases must be learned with each definition. They also have many more meaning possibilities than “normal” words. In Greek, you need to pay particular attention to the small words. Take extra time to master these well. Learn each case of the word almost as a separate item for those that come in more than one case.

ἀπό	from (with gen.) (646)
διά	through (with gen.) (667)
	on account of (with acc.)
εἰς	into (with acc.) (1,768)
ἐκ	out of (with gen.) (914)
ἐν	in (with dat.) (2,752)
ἐπί	on, over (with gen.) (890)
	on, at, on the basis of, against (with dat.)
	on, to, toward, against (with acc.)
κατά	down, against (with gen.) (473)
	according to (with acc.)
μετά	with (with gen.) (469)
	after, behind (with acc.)
περί	about, concerning (with gen.) (333)
	around, near (with acc.)
πρός	to (with acc.) (700)

Memory Verse: John 1:1

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος,

In beginning was the Word,

 

καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν.

and the Word was with God.

You will be able to—

      1.   understand English adjectives and their various uses;

      2.   learn and translate various Greek adjectives;

      3.   identify attributive, predicate, and substantive uses of Greek adjectives;

      4.   properly identify the grammatical agreement between an adjective and its accompanying substantive;

      5.   identify the various forms of the verb εἰμί in the present active indicative;

      6.   master ten more high-frequency vocabulary words; and

      7.   finish memorizing Jn. 1:1 in Greek.

An adjective is a word used to modify a noun or pronoun. The adjective often specifies more clearly what the noun or pronoun actually means. It often answers the question “What kind of ______ is it?”

The soft snow hit the windshield.

        Answers: What kind of snow? Soft.

        The snow was soft.

Adjectives are used in three ways:

      1.   An attributive adjective attributes a characteristic to the noun it modifies.

              The good book

      2.   A predicate adjective assigns a characteristic to the subject of the sentence.

              The book is good.

      3.   As a substantive, an adjective acts independently, as a noun itself.

              The good die young.

Examples:

      1.   Attributive use:

            The red car hit the big truck behind the rear tire.

 

      2.   Predicate use:

            Roses are red and violets are blue.

 

      3.   Substantive use:

            The kind receive their rewards, but the unjust are often surprised (i.e., the kind person; the unjust person).

Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns. They will match the nouns they modify in number, gender, and case.

Adjectives frequently use a 2-1-2 paradigm scheme:

masculine	=	Second declension forms
feminine	=	First declension forms
neuter	=	Second declension forms

Because you already know the first and second declensions, it is easy to recognize the gender, number, and case of the adjectives.

Adjective Paradigm

       ἀγαθός (good)

Declension	2	1	2
Singular	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.
Nom.	ἀγαθός	ἀγαθή	ἀγαθόν
Gen.	ἀγαθοῦ	ἀγαθῆς	ἀγαθοῦ
Dat.	ἀγαθῷ	ἀγαθῇ	ἀγαθῷ
Acc.	ἀγαθόν	ἀγαθήν	ἀγαθόν
Plural
Nom.	ἀγαθοί	ἀγαθαί	ἀγαθά
Gen.	ἀγαθῶν	ἀγαθῶν	ἀγαθῶν
Dat.	ἀγαθοῖς	ἀγαθαῖς	ἀγαθοῖς
Acc.	ἀγαθούς	ἀγαθάς	ἀγαθά

Adjective Paradigm for words ending in ε, ι, or ρ

        δίκαιος (righteous)

Declension	2	1	2
Singular	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.
Nom.	δίκαιος	δικαία	δίκαιον
Gen.	δικαίου	δικαίας	δικαίου
Dat.	δικαίῳ	δικαίᾳ	δικαίῳ
Acc.	δίκαιον	δικαίαν	δίκαιον
Voc.	δίκαιε	δικαία	δίκαιον
Plural
Nom. Voc.	δίκαιοι	δίκαιαι	δίκαια
Gen.	δικαίων	δικαίων	δικαίων
Dat.	δικαίοις	δικαίαις	δικαίοις
Acc.	δικαίους	δικαίας	δίκαια

Attributive position = Adjective has article.

ὁ ἀγαθὸς λόγος   the good word

ὁ λόγος ὁ ἀγαθός the good word

ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός.

I am the good shepherd (Jn. 10:11).

ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ

in the last day (Jn. 6:39)

Predicate position = Adjective has no article.

ἀγαθὸς ὁ λόγος   The word is good.

ὁ λόγος ἀγαθός    The word is good.

καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος δίκαιος

And this man was righteous (Lk. 2:25).

φαίνεσθε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις δίκαιοι.

you appear to men to be righteous (Mat. 23:28).

Substantive use = Adjective is used as a noun—has no noun

The substantive use often has the article but no accompanying noun.

οἱ δὲ δίκαιοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον

but the righteous unto eternal life (Mat. 25:46)

Ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται

But the righteous will live by faith (Rom. 1:17).

Sometimes neither the adjective nor the noun has the article. In this case the context must determine whether to translate it attributively or predicatively.

καὶ ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς καὶ δίκαιος

and a good and righteous man (Lk. 23:50)

εἰμί is a stative verb (it indicates a state of being) and so has no voice (active, middle, or passive).

In English “is” takes a predicate nominative rather than the normal accusative. It is correct to say “This is he” and incorrect to say “This is him.” Similarly, in Greek a noun or pronoun in the nominative goes with the verb, one as the subject the other nominative is the predicate nominative. Learn to chant through this paradigm.

 

 

Present Indicative of εἰμί

Singular		Plural
εἰμί	I am	ἐσμέν	we are
εἶ	you are	ἐστέ	you are
ἐστί(ν)	he/she/it is	εἰσί(ν)	they are

Note: The third singular and plural may take a moveable ν.

Examples:

ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἀληθής ἐστιν

that God is true (Jn. 3:33)

Ἠλίας εἶ; καὶ λέγει, Οὐκ εἰμί.  Ὁ προφήτης εἶ σύ;

“Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” (Jn. 1:21).

Predicate Adjective with a verb:  attributes some quality to the subject of the sentence. 

            It is used with verbs εἰμί and γίνομαι (I become).

            ὁ θεὸς ἀληθὴς ἐστιν

             God is true (true=Pred. Nom. Adj.) (John 3:33)

      Chant #4:  Present Indicative (PAI) εἰμί  Verb

                  (chant left column then right column)

                  εἰμί                              ἐσμέν 

                  εἶ                                 ἐστέ                  

                  ἐστί(ν)                         εἰσί(ν)

Οὐ is placed before the word it negates, which is usually the verb. There are three main forms of this word, depending on the initial letter of the word that follows it:

      1.   οὐ before a consonant.

      2.   οὐκ before a vowel with a smooth breathing mark.

      3.   οὐχ before a vowel with a rough breathing mark.

In addition, οὐχί is a strengthened form of οὐ (see lexicon).

Examples: οὐ—no, not (before a consonant)

      1.   καὶ ταῦτα οὐ γινώσκεις;

            And you do not understand these things? (Jn. 3:10).

 

      2.   καὶ οὐ λαμβάνετέ με

            And you do not accept me (Jn. 5:43).

Examples: οὐκ—no, not (before a word that begins with a vowel with a smooth breathing mark)

      1.   καὶ τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔχετε ἐν ὑμῖν.

            And you do not have his word in you (Jn. 5:38).

      2.   καὶ λέγει Οὐκ εἰμί  -- notice Οὐκ is capitalized indicating it is a quotation

            And he said, “I am not.” (Jn 1:21)

Examples: οὐχ—no, not (before a word that begins with a vowel with a rough breathing mark)

      1.   οὐχ ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι . . .

            Do you not say that . . . (Jn. 4:35).

      2.   καὶ οὐχ ὁ ἄνθρωπος διὰ τὸ σάββατον

            and not man for the Sabbath (Mk. 2:27)

ἀγαθός, -ή, -όν	good (102)
ἅγιος, -α, -ον	holy (233)
δίκαιος, -α, -ον	righteous (79)
εἰμί	I am (2,460)
Ἰουδαῖος, -α, -ον	Jewish, a Jew (195)
μέγας, μεγάλη, μέγα	great, large (243)
νεκρός, -ά, -όν	dead (128)
οὐ, οὐκ, οὐχ	no, not (1606)
πρῶτος, -η, -ον	first (155)
φωνή, -ῆς, ἡ	voice (139)

Ἐν

ἀρχῇ

ἦν

ὁ

λόγος,

In

beginning

Was

the

Word,

καὶ

ὁ

λόγος

ἦν

πρὸς

τὸν

θεόν,

and

the

Word

was

with

the

God,

καὶ

θεὸς

ἦν

ὁ

λόγος.

and

God

was

the

Word.

Note: In the last clause, the definite article marks ὁ λόγος as the subject; θεός is a predicate. Thus the translation “the Word was God.”

You will be able to—

      1.   understand English pronouns and their various uses;

      2.   learn and translate the various Greek pronouns;

      3.   recognize proclitics and enclitics and how they effect accent changes;

      4.   describe how the pronoun works with its antecedent;

      5.   describe how a pronoun is used for emphasis, possession, and in attributive and predicate positions; and

      6.   master ten more high-frequency vocabulary words.

A pronoun is a word that stands in place of a noun or other syntactic units usually for brevity or to avoid repetition. The person or object to which the pronoun refers is called its “antecedent.”

Zach threw the ball to Elliott.

It (the ball: antecedent) hit him (Elliott: antecedent) in the head.

There are various types of Pronouns:

      1.   Personal pronouns stand in for a person: Bill ran a mile. He did it.

      2.   Demonstrative pronouns point to a person or object that is near (this/these) or far (that/those): This book belongs to that student.

      3.   Relative pronouns relate a subordinate clause to a noun: It is a great person who attempts to master Greek.

      4.   Reciprocal pronouns state an interchange between two things/persons: They loved one another.

      5.   Reflexive pronouns direct the action of the verb back to the subject: She hid herself behind the door.

      6.   Interrogative pronouns ask a question: Who broke the chair?

            The personal pronouns are used over ten thousand times in the New Testament.

The demonstrative pronouns are used about sixteen hundred times, the relative pronouns about fifteen hundred times, and the interrogatives just over six hundred times and the others less than that (Wallace, 142).   So the personal pronouns are used more frequently than all the other types of pronouns put together.

In English, pronouns have three cases:

      1.   Subjective, used when a pronoun is the subject of a sentence: He turned left.

      2.   Possessive, used to indicate ownership: He gave his best.

      3.   Objective, used when a pronoun is the object of a sentence: He left him.

In English there are singular and plural pronouns. Pronouns agree with their antecedents in number and person.

	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Subjective	I	we	he	they
Possessive	my	our	his	theirs
Objective	me	us	him	them
Subjective	you/thou	you/ye	she	they
Possessive	your	your	hers	theirs
Objective	you	you	her	them

In Greek personal pronouns will match their antecedent in person, gender, and number. The case will be determined by the role the pronoun plays in the sentence.

Personal pronouns will be either first person (I, we), second person (you/ye), or third person (he/she/it/they).  Because the verb forms indicate the subject of the sentence the nominative personal pronoun is sometimes redundant and used for emphasis, contrast, or when switching characters in a narrative.

Greek uses the genitive where we would normally use a possessive pronoun (e.g., his, hers). Learn to chant the first and second person paradigms.

First Person Pronoun Paradigm

	Singular		Plural
Nom.	ἐγώ	I	ἡμεῖς	we
Gen.	μου	of me/my	ἡμῶν	of us/our
Dat.	μοι	to me/for me	ἡμῖν	to us/for us
Acc.	με	me	ἡμᾶς	us

Watch for ἐγώ combining with καί forming κἀγώ (and I).

Emphatic first person forms are made by prefixing an epsilon and adding an accent to the genitive, dative, and accusative singular forms (ἐμοῦ, ἐμοί, ἐμέ).

Second Person Pronoun Paradigm

	Singular		Plural
Nom.	σύ	you	ὑμεῖς	you
Gen.	σου	of you/your	ὑμῶν	your
Dat.	σοι	to/for you	ὑμῖν	to/for you
Acc.	σε	you	ὑμᾶς	you

The form is made emphatic by adding an accent to the singulars (σοῦ, σοί, σέ).

Examples:

Ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου.

I am the light of the world (Jn. 8:12).

 

Σὺ εἶ Σίμων ὁ υἱὸς  Ἰωάννου.

You are Simon, son of John (Jn. 1:42).

 

ἀλλ᾽ ἐγὼ τὴν ἀλήθειαν λέγω ὑμῖν.

But I speak the truth to you (Jn. 16:7).

An enclitic is a word that is phonetically attached so closely with the preceding word that it has no accent of its own.

Many personal pronouns are enclitics (e.g., μου, μοι, με, σου, σοι, σε).

An enclitic is sometimes accented—

      1.   for emphasis or

      2.   when it is the first word in a sentence.

Declension Format

	Person +	Case +	Number
ἐγώ	First	nominative	singular (I)
σοί	Second	dative	singular (to you)
ὑμῶν	Second	genitive	plural (your)

The third person pronoun αὐτός differs from the first and second person pronouns in that it is marked for gender. Originally it was an intensive pronoun but eventually took over the role of the third person personal pronoun.  With first and second person pronouns, there is no need to specify gender because it is understood as the one speaking or one being spoken to. The endings largely follow a 2-1-2 pattern (second declension, first declension, second declension). If you know those patterns well, you will be able to recognize how the various forms of αὐτός are built.

αὐτός also has some other special features that we will examine shortly.

 

Masculine

	Singular		Plural
Nom.	αὐτός	he	αὐτοί	they
Gen.	αὐτοῦ	his	αὐτῶν	their
Dat.	αὐτῷ	to/for him	αὐτοῖς	to/for them
Acc.	αὐτόν	him	αὐτούς	them

Feminine

	Singular		Plural
Nom.	αὐτή	she	αὐταί	they
Gen.	αὐτῆς	hers	αὐτῶν	their
Dat.	αὐτῇ	to/for her	αὐταῖς	to/for them
Acc.	αὐτήν	her	αὐτάς	them

Neuter

	Singular		Plural
Nom.	αὐτό	it	αὐτά	they
Gen.	αὐτοῦ	its	αὐτῶν	their
Dat.	αὐτῷ	to/for it	αὐτοῖς	to/for them
Acc.	αὐτό	it	αὐτά	them

αὐτός can be used in three ways:

      1.   As a pronoun, αὐτός matches its antecedent in number and gender and is translated as “he,” “she,” “it,” or “they.”  It can function any way a noun can.

        λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ  Ἰησοῦς

        Jesus said to him (Jn. 14:6).

        πρὸς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ

        at his feet (Acts 5:10)

        ἐν τρισὶν ἡμέραις ἐγερῶ αὐτόν.

        in three days I will raise it (Jn. 2:19).

        (“it,” αὐτός, although αὐτός is masculine in Greek, “temple” is neuter in English—“it”)

      2.   As a reflexive intensifier, when αὐτός is used as an adjective in the predicate position (usually in the nominative case) and translated reflexively (e.g., He himself will get the car).

        αὐτὸ τὸ πνεῦμα συμμαρτυρεῖ

        The Spirit itself [himself] beareth witness (Rom. 8:16).

        Ἰησοῦς αὐτὸς οὐκ ἐβάπτιζεν

        Jesus himself did not baptize (Jn. 4:2).

      3.   As an adjective meaning “same,” when αὐτός is used in the attributive position.

        ἡ αὐτὴ σὰρξ

        the same flesh (1 Cor. 15:39)

 

        ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ

        in that same day (Lk. 23:12).

recite down each column then αὐτός

1st Person Sg.	2nd Person Sg.	1st Person Pl.
ἐγώ	σύ	ἡμεῖς
μου	σου	ἡμῶν
μοι	σοι	ἡμῖν
με	σε	ἡμᾶς

      αὐτός,  αὐτή, αὐτό

The second person plural is formed easily by just switching the ἡ to an ὑ [ ὑμεῖς].

αὐτός, -ή, -ό	he/she/it (5,595)
γῆ, -ῆς, ἡ	earth, land, region (250)
ἐγώ, ἡμεῖς	I, we (2,666)
ἡμέρα, -ας, ἡ	day (389)
ὅτι	that, because (1,296)
οὖν	so, then, therefore (499)
ὄχλος, -ου, ὁ	crowd (175)
παρά	from (with gen.) (194)
	beside, with (with dat.)
	alongside, beside (with acc.)
σύ, ὑμεῖς	you, you (pl.) (2,905)
ὑπό	by, at the hands of (with gen.)
	under, below (with acc.) (220)

You will be able to—

      1.   write the present middle and passive verb forms,

      2.   parse and translate middle and passive verbs,

      3.   recognize and translate deponent verbs,

      4.   recognize when the middle or passive verb is followed by a preposition or case that helps to complete the verb’s meaning, and

      5.   master ten more high-frequency vocabulary words.

There are two voices in English. The active voice is where the subject of the sentence does the action.

Zach hit the ball.

The passive voice is where the subject is acted on by the verb.

Zach is hit by the ball.

Greek adds a third voice, the middle voice, which we will look at shortly.

A passive verb often can be identified by placing a “by what?” after the verb.

Zach is hit by the ball.

Zach is hit by what? The ball.

Zach is the subject being acted on. The ball is the agent doing the action.

The present tense may describe progressive/immediacy action (single point in time: He hit the ball) or continuous action (He is hitting the ball). When the passive is used, a helping verb expresses the verb in English.

Ø  He is hit by the ball (present progressive punctiliar).

Ø  He is being hit by the ball (present progressive continuous).

 

 

 

How the action happens (punctiliar, continuative/durative, omnitemporal, timeless—usually discovered from the lexical meaning of the verb or the context)

Ø  Punctiliar (single point in time): Zach is hit by the ball.

Ø  Continuous: Zach is being hit by the ball.

Ø  Omnitemporal:  The quarterback is protected by the tackles.

How the author seeks to portray the action.  The present tense form is used when the action is foregrounded, in process, sense of immediacy.

The present middle and passive have exactly the same form in Greek. Historically the middle was first but in the koine period the passive is used more frequently with modern Greek having only a passive with no middle.  The context must be examined to determine which is being used. There are approximately three times as many passive verbs as there are middle verbs in the New Testament. When translating passives, a helping verb is used. Context will determine which is the best option. In Greek, as in most languages, “Context determines meaning” is an important concept to grasp.   As in the present active, the present middle/passive can be translated present, past, future, omnitemporal or timeless depending on the contextual pointers like adverbs, prepositional phrases, conjunctions and narrative sequencing. Immediacy, process, description and foregrounding is the major thrust of the present aspect.

The middle has several functions:

      1.   It emphasizes the participation/involvement or interest of the subject in the action of the verb which often is translated actively (Tanya, herself, ran the mile). It often intensifies in some manner or degree the relationship between the subject and the action of the verb.

      2.   It expresses self-interest or benefit (e.g. She hid the fork for herself).

      3.  Rarely it is used reflexively (Tanya hit herself with the golf club) or reciprocally

        (They love one another).

  4.  Stylistically, one writer may favor the middle (cf. Mark) over the active     

            (Matthew).

                        Many arrive at the active translation by calling many of these “deponents.”  Mounce (224) says that  75 percent of the middles are deponent (no active form present; middle in form, active in meaning) and should be translated as active: Tanya splashed Rebekah.  We will understand many of them as true middles (stressing the subject’s involvement, interest, intensification or reflexivity) realizing many may be deponent.

Thus the middle may impact the subject’s relationship to the verb in many ways (involvement, interest, intensification, reflexivity, stylistic, et al.).  The translator must be sensitive to the context, the writer’s style and the particular verb’s usage to determine how it should be translated. Remember also that historically the passive is taking over more and more ground from the middle in the koine period. For now, translate most of them active but be aware of the various functional options may come into play.

You should be able to chant through this middle/passive paradigm. Note that this is the second set of primary endings. These endings will reappear when you learn the future tense. Thus, learn the endings well because this hits two birds with one stone.

Present Middle Indicative Paradigm λύω

	Singular		Plural
1.	λύομαι	I am loosing (for myself)	λυόμεθα	We are loosing (for ourselves)
2.	λύῃ	You are loosing (for yourself)	λύεσθε	You are loosing (for yourselves)
3.	λύεται	He/she/it is loosing (for himself/herself/itself)	λύονται	They are loosing (for themselves)

Present Passive Indicative Paradigm

	Singular		Plural
1.	λύομαι	I am being loosed	λυόμεθα	We are being loosed
2.	λύῃ	You are being loosed	λύεσθε	You are being loosed
3.	λύεται	He/she/it is being loosed	λύονται	They are being loosed

Present Middle/Passive Indicative Primary Endings

	Singular	Plural
1.	-ομαι	- όμεθα
2.	-ῃ (-σαι)	- εσθε
3.	-εται	- ονται

      λύομαι  -ῃ,  -εται,        -όμεθα, -εσθε,  -ονται

Summers (Essentials, 51) notes that the word “deponent” comes from the Latin root “deponere,” meaning to “lay aside.” It is used for these verbs because they have “laid aside” (dropped) their active verb forms.

Those that see most middles as deponent take “deponent” verbs as middle in form but active in meaning. They have no active form and are easy to tell in vocabulary lists or a lexicon because they have the middle ending -ομαι (e.g., ἔρχομαι) rather than the normal -ω (e.g., βάλλω) ending.  Thus ἀποκρινόμεθα means “we answer” instead of “we are being answered.”

Mounce notes that in the New Testament about 75 percent of the middle forms are “deponent” (Basics,149). Because of the deponent phenomenon, middle forms may frequently be translated as actives (three to one) or better yet translated active as true middles emphasizing the subject’s participation in the action of the verb.

Frequently Used “Deponent” Verbs

ἀποκρίνομαι	I answer (231)
εἰσέρχομαι	I come in (194)
ἔρχομαι	I come, go (634)
ἐξέρχομαι	I go out (218)
γίνομαι	I become (669)
πορεύομαι	I go (132)

Often with passives there is a need to express the agent, instrument, or means by which the subject is acted on.

This is accomplished by—

      1.   using ὑπό or διά with the genitive to express agency (e.g., Elliott was hit by Zach.), or

      2.   using the dative case to indicate means or instrument. The translation will use “with” or “by” (e.g., Elliott was hit by the ball).

      3.  Impersonal agency is expressed by ἐν + dative (Porter, Idioms, 64, Stevens, 112).

As with other verbs, prepositions are often prefixed to “deponent” verbs to form a compound. This is a handy way to build vocabulary since you know the basic verb and the prepositions and thus you have a good clue for guessing the combined meaning,  although often this combination may reflect an intensification of the original verbal idea. This leverages the vocabulary you already know.

ἔρχομαι	I go, come
εἰσέρχομαι	I go in, enter (εἰς prefix).
ἐξέρχομαι	I go out, leave (ἐκ prefix).
διέρχομαι	I go through (διά prefix).

ὅτι ἐγὼ πρὸς τὸν πατέρα πορεύομαι

because I am going to the father (Jn. 14:12; deponent)

 

ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεται

the Son of Man comes (Mat. 24:44; deponent).

 

 

λέγω ὑμῖν, γίνεται χαρὰ

I tell you, there is joy . . . (Lk. 15:10; deponent)

 

καὶ εἰς πῦρ βάλλεται

and into a fire s/he is cast (Mat. 3:10; true passive)

 

εὑρισκόμεθα δὲ καὶ ψευδομάρτυρες τοῦ θεοῦ

but we also are found [to be] false witnesses of God (1 Cor. 15:15; true passive)

ἀποκρίνομαι	I answer (231)
ἀποστέλλω	I send (132)
βάλλω	I throw (122)
γίνομαι	I become (669)
εἰσέρχομαι	I come in (194)
ἐξέρχομαι	I go out (218)
ἔρχομαι	I come, go (634)
θέλω	I wish (208)
οὕτως	thus, so (208)
πορεύομαι	I go (153)