I had a great time recently when I joined a leadership theology class. I had heard they were going to have two days on NT Greek so I went along to help in my quest to learn the language of the NT.
It was such a privilege to be there with a teacher who knew Greek so well. Although we didn’t get onto much I hadn’t already looked at it was great to reinforce things in my mind. I thought I already knew the alphabet as it turned out I didn’t. It was good therefore to go over it again plus learn the capital letters which were new to me.
| no. | Greek | Capital | key | name | example | comments |
| 1 | α | Α | a | alpha | father | |
| 2 | β | Β | b | beta | ball | |
| 3 | γ | Γ | g | gamma | gift | |
| 4 | δ | Δ | d | delta | den | |
| 5 | ε | Ε | e | epsilon | bet | |
| 6 | ζ | Ζ | z | zeta | zoo | |
| 7 | η | Η | h | eta | they, ate | |
| 8 | θ | Τ | q | theta | thing | |
| 9 | ι | Ι | i | iota | bit | ee-ota or eye-ota |
| 10 | κ | Κ | k | kappa | kitchen | |
| 11 | λ | Λ | l | lambda | lamb | |
| 12 | μ | Μ | m | mu | mother | |
| 13 | ν | Ν | n | nu | nice | |
| 14 | ξ | Ξ | x | xi | taxi | |
| 15 | ο | Ο | o | omicron | omelet | |
| 16 | π | Π | p | pi | pen | pie or “pea”. |
| 17 | ρ | Ρ | r | rho | rock | slight role to the r |
| 18 | ς σ | Σ | s j | sigma | send | ς at the end of a word |
| 19 | τ | Τ | t | tau | tennis | |
| 20 | υ | Υ | u | upsilon | put, foot | |
| 21 | π | Φ | f | phi | phone | |
| 22 | χ | Χ | c | Chi (he) | bach | |
| 23 | ψ | Ψ | y | psi | lips | |
| 24 | ω | Ω | w | omega | bone |
The teacher pronounced Greek with a Greek accent as he had been taught by a Greek lady so it was a little tricky converting to that form the Erasmaian pronunciation that I have begun learning.
Here are some of my notes from the two days:
1) The development of the language:
Ancient Greek : Mycenaean Greek 14th – 12th Century BC, Archaic (Clasical) Greek 8th – 4th BC
Hellenistic Greek or Koine (= common) Greek : 4th Century BC to 4th century AD. Became prominent due Alexander the Great’s empire of. It absorbed local dialects and became the common standard language of the times. The Septuagint was written in Koine Greek.
Byzantine Greek : 5th-15th Century AD. Official language of the Byzantine empire.
Modern (Demotic Greek). Two versions of Greek were in use up until 1976. The Katharevousa version was used in the army, law, medicine, schools, newspapers etc was dropped in favour of Demotic Greek; the langue used for creative literature and everyday speech.
2) Characters
Uncials = capital letters
Miniscules or cursive script = lower case letters. These began to be used in 10th Century AD. They were easier to write and left more space for the accents and other bits and bobs that where beginning to be used.
3) Punctuation
A comma and full stop in Greek mean the same as they do in English. A colon in Greek is a raised full stop and a semi colon in Greek means a question mark.
4) Quote
To his amazement [Jude] learnt for the first time there was no law of transmutation, as in his innocence he had supposed, but that every word of the Latin and Greek was to be individually committed to memory at the cost of years of plodding. Thomas Hardy Jude the Obscure – Macmillan 1974 p50
I hope that Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek speeds up the plodding as he claims to have discovered some short cuts.
5) Tense
Here is a very helpful table for remembering tenses. Notice that the present tense, though mainly meaning present, can also mean an undefined time. Future tense could be anything by the look of it. Note also that the Aorist tense does not necessarily refer to an event that took place at a particular point in time. It could be ongoing. Wenham would say it is a point in time ie punctilliar but it is not. Luke 9:23 “take up your cross daily” is aorist, as is “Rev 20:4 “they reigned with Christ”.
| aspect | Past | Present | Future |
| Continuous | imperfect | present | Future |
| Undefined / simple | Aorist | present | Future |
| Complete with implications | pluperfect | Perfect | Future |
6) Textual families
The Alexandrian (Neutral or Egyptian) Text ie Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus : Originated in Egypt. Some of the oldest existing manuscripts are from this family and are dated to 4th Century AD. They are also the most reliable copies as the scribes didn’t tend to change much.
The Western Text ie Codex Bezae : These originated in the East and are the least trustworthy due to copying changes (to be honest it was a bit slap dash!). They tended to put more emphasis on the Latin copies and the famous Latin Vulgate comes from these texts. They were used a lot in Roman world.
The Byzantine Text ie Codex Alexandrinus, Codex Ephraemi of 5th Century AD. These were used throughout the Greek speaking Byzantine Empire. As they spoke Greek there were a large number of Greek copies made and used epically after miniscule script was invented in the 9th Century. A few errors crept in over time. It became the standard texts for church of the middle ages and the basis for Erasmus’ version. The majority text is based on a lot of late Byzantine texts. (The ending of the Lord prayer was added in in one of these versions I think).
The received Text or the Textus Receptus
“In 1502 work on a bible called the Complutensian Polyglot was begun containing 4 columns; Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin. In an attempt to beat this bible to market, a Swiss printer called Froben approached the Dutch Scholar Desiderius Erasmus in 1515 who agreed to collate and produce a Greek NT” (from Adrian Birks’ 2010 notes).
This was printed and published earlier than the Complutensian Polyglot and cost less so it became much more widely used. Erasmus did the best job he could but in places where he had no Greek text he translated back from Latin versions. In 1565 after a few revisions it formed the basis of the Textus Receptus. The translators of the KJV worked from this whose textual basis was
“essentially a handful of late and haphazardly collected miniscule manuscripts, and in a dozen passages its reading is supported by no known Greek witness” The Text of the New Testament, Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration, by Bruce. M. Metzger
7) Books
He recommended Novum Testamentum Graece Nestle-Aland (NA) currently 27th Edition which has a more complicated textual aparatus and a better font.
He also gave details of The NIV English-Greek New Testament A Reverse Interlinear Zondervan by W D Mounce. (he’s the guy that wrote the books I am getting for Christmas). A reverse interlinear has the Greek in the order of the English words. I guess that gives more meaning to the English words as their order determines their meaning while in the Greek word order means much less. I hope I am getting an ESV reverse interlinear for Christmas by John Schwandt.
He mentions “Greek for the rest of us” by W. Mounce. Amazon.com says it’s a “revolutionary crash-course on ‘baby Greek'”. I think it’s more geared towards those who want to use Greek tools and resources rather than those of us with the bottle to learn the language.
Teach yourself NT Greek by Ian McNair is used in most collages now. Originally it was Nun, then Wenham updated that work and now McNair is used
The new Analytical Greek Lexicon Wesley J Perschbacher is good but I think my computer tools give me the same information.
Good web site http://biblos.com/
8) Other notes:
8.1) Pronunciation
αι = “eh” (elephant) in Greek pronunciation rather than “eye” in the Erasmian or academic pronunciation.
ε = short e (same as αι in Greek pronunciation?)
η = long e (as in “eal”. In the Erasmian pronunciation its more ay as in “ate”).
ο = short o
ω = long o
μ = mu or “mee”
π = “pie” or “pea”, in fact you can pronounce other letters ending in “i” like that ie “phi” as “phee”, “psi” as “psee” etc.
τ= “tow” as in “cow”
β is more “v” in Greek pronunciation
αυ is more “av” in Greek pronunciation
8.2) White as snow
It was suggested that “though your sins are as scarlet they shall be white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18) was not necessarily referring to a good thing. White skin was not good thing a Mediterranean climate and white as snow could be like a leper.
Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper, like snow. (ESV) 2 Kings 5:27
However it could be positive:
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7
I think in the context it looks like a positive thing. v16 says “wash yourselves and make yourselves clean”.
8.3) Temples of the holy Spirit?
Another point that came up was whether we are individually thought of as temples of the Holy Spirit in the bible. We are corporately the temple ie:
1 Cor 3:16-17 Do you not know that you (plural) are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in (plural)? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you (plural) are that temple. (ESV)
BGT 1 Corinthians 3:16 Οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ναὸς θεοῦ ἐστε καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ οἰκεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν; 17 εἴ τις τὸν ναὸν τοῦ θεοῦ φθείρει, φθερεῖ τοῦτον ὁ θεός· ὁ γὰρ ναὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἅγιός ἐστιν, οἵτινές ἐστε ὑμεῖς.
All the “yous” (I could only see two in the Greek) are plural.
2 Cor 6:16 …For we are the temple of the living God…
(se also 1 Peter 2:5, Eph 2:21-22)
But are we individually a temple of the holy Spirit? Are there millions of little temples walking around or just one big unified one?
1 Cor 6:18-20 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (ESV)
Is your plural or singular? They are all plural. Does that mean he is talking about a cooperate body? Mmmm not sure. What would the Greek be if he was talking to several people about their individual bodies? Would it be your plural or singular? Actually if the English is anything to go by it would be “glorify God in your (plural) bodies (plural)” but in the Greek body is singular. I’ll get a commentary…”The Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament” says its talking individually but does not engage with the Greek or prove it in any way. I have no other more detailed commentaries. I need more commentaries!
I found this on the internet:
In writing to the Corinthians, Paul said, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit..?” (1 Cor. 6:19) http://www.urbana.org/ephesians/we-are-gods-temple-ephesians-2-21-22
but in the Greek “body” is singular. So why does everyone say it’s each individual body is a temple of the Holy Spirit? I am sure they are right and my little knowledge of Greek is already causing me to make dangerous mistakes. Anyone know?
5th Jan 2010 – Yes, someone did. Look at Matthew 6:21 “Where your (plural) treasure is, there your (plural) heart (singular) will be also.” You can say “you” plural in the Greek with a singular object X and mean each individual’s X. ie “heart” can be singular but it’s talking about each persons heart not one communal heart. In the context on 1 Cor 6:19 is “body” singular ie “”he who sins sexually sins against his own body” (1 Cor 6:18) ie his individual body. It would seem strange then to move to body meaning “body of all of you”.
8.4 Some early English translations
John Wycliffe was the first to translate the bible into English. Then William Tyndale had a go. His bible has the quaint translation “The Lord was with Joseph and he was a lucky fellow.” of Genesis 39:2. Next Miles Coverdal (1488-1569) wrote a version and then Thomas Mathews, (a pseudonym for John Rogers who was a friend of Tyndale) made the terrible error of translating 1 Peter 3:7 as “He that dwelleth with his wife according to knowledge, taketh her as a necessary helper, and not as a bond servant or a bond slave. And if she be not obedient and helpful to him, endeavoreth to beat the fear of God into her head, that thereby she may be compelled to learn her duty and do it”. His version is sometimes called the wife beaters bible because of this. I have no idea how he came up with this as it’s almost the direct opposite of what the bible actually says:
NIV 1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
Note τιμὴν ie the honour, reverence and respect, the equality “heirs with you“, and the negative consequences of not treating your wife well.
The least said about the KJV’s translation of 1 Sam 25:22 as “pisseth against the wall” the better. Language moves on and so will I!
8.5 Baptism
The teacher stressed that the Greek word for baptism does not necessarily mean immerse. It has a wider range of meanings.
8.6 Punctuation
There was no punctuation in the original manuscripts but the Greek has grammatical markers in the language to tell you when a new sentence starts.
8.7 James
The Greek name for the Book of James is Ιακωβου so the question is where did the English “James” come from? The French call it the book of “Jack”. Tindayle’s version predates King James so it is not in honour of him.
8.8 John 1:1
Be careful of making too much of a grammatical point but Paul does make much of a word ending “seed” Gal 3:16.
Colwell’s rule that “definite predicate nouns which precede the verb usually lack the article” opens up the possibility for “and the word was the God” but it could still be translated “and the word as a God”. The context must be taken into account in deciding between them. We still need to decide if “God” is “definite” ie requiring the definite article “the” before it. All the rule seems to say is it could be “the God” as well as “a god”.
8.9 Participles
Participles share characteristics with both verbs and nouns. ie “Sitting quietly he dozed off”.
All in all time well spent and inspiring to be around someone who knew and loved the language.
PS. I was inspired after the two days to spend more time memorising the verb endings (conjugations?) for λυος and the declensions for λογς. If I can remember that “the” is “τ” and that apart frοm the singular nominative it’s endings are the same as for λογος then great.
PPS I am really looking forward to getting my Greek book’s for Christmas. Just found this site by their author and watched to a sample lesson. Looks really good. That may have to be my next buy. http://www.learnbiblicalgreek.com/product/basics-biblical-greek-video-lectures-dvd
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