Hello friends,
I want to go back to the subject of articles and their use in the Greek. I'm going to briefly describe the subject and a proper conclusion to it, then I'll give you a more extensive article on the matter to reference.
Now, as I discovered for myself, the use of the definite article (eg. "the") works different than it does in English. I believe I referenced this in an earlier blog entry, though I need to make a few appendages.
Now, the example I used was how if you are not careful, and do not have sufficient knowledge of how Greek words, you can make a bad mistake, and by Galatians 1:9 you would become ἀνάθεμα. And I'd prefer this didn't happen to you, so let's be clear.
I used John 1:1 as an example of the mistake that can occur.
(1) Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.
Here I underlined all the words referring to God and Christ, along with their respective definite articles. λογος is word, and θεος is God, though many make the mistake of assuming that the absence of the definite article means that it indicates an indefinite by default. That is, if I said ὁ λόγος, you take it to mean, "The word." But when you just see λόγος, the faulty beginning student (such as myself) would take it to mean "a word."
Now let's use that stretch of logic again. You have an instance of τον θεον in that verse, and you might take it to mean "the God," though when you jump over and see θεος, because there is no article (the ὁ), you would assume "a God." Then you go through and translate it, and you wind up with this apostate rendering:
"In a beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was a god."
So, were the Jehovah's Witnesses right then?
Well actually, no. There are two mistakes made in this assumption:
First, there is no indefinite article in Greek. They have no way of saying, for example, "a dog," "a cat," or "a god." If the Greek speakers wanted to be unspecific, one way is to use a form of the word τις (tis). Even this, it's vague yet specific at the same time, and its common English equivalent is something like "A certain man," "a certain person," "a particular city." There are a few other ways of implying what would be an indefinite article in English, but a lack of article does not mean indefinite article.
Second, there is no definite article in Greek. I just threw you for a loop, didn't I? :) Now this was the mistake that I made, and the reason why I wrote this, but once you understand this, you can understand how the article plays into understanding Greek. There is no definite or indefinite article; just an article. The article serves for purposes other than being definite, such as the following (not comprehensive listing):
--It may indicate the subject of the sentence.
--It may be placed to put stress on an item, or to draw attention.
In the absence of an article, one of the following might occur:
--It may indicate an appropriate use of an indefinite article, though not always. This should be done carefully.
--It may be qualitative, concerning a characteristic
--It may determin the predicate in some cases.
Let's look back at John 1:1 a minute.
...καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. (and the word was God).
-and--God--was---word
You'll notice that this time, I underlined only a small part of each word, and I placed the English renderings below. Now here's where some other knowledge is handy; word order does not indicate meaning. The correct translation is not, "And God was the Word." In this particular clause, both the word "God" and the word "Word" are nominative. Without getting too detailed, you typically change up the ending of the nouns and adjectives to indicate their role in a sentence (subject, relation, direction, object, etc.), and for these two nouns, the ος at the beginning indicates that they are nominative, stand-alone subjects. So which one is the subject? If you consider the rules given above, it's the one with the article. In particular instances, the subject may be indicated by its particular ordering in the sentence, but here it simply isn't clear unless by the article.
Some may still object, but then we could ask the question, "Why isn't it that we insert an indefinite article before the word "beginning?"
(1) Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.
The underlined bit there, en archae, translates into "In the beginning," though that word "en" is not an article. In that first clause, en arche aen ho logos, if we assumed that the absence indicates indefinite, would end up translating, "In a beginning was the word." Not correct. Is there more than one beginning? This is my personal opinion, I will not say this is true, but perhaps John is de-emphasizing "the beginning" in order to magnify and draw attention to "the Word." Greek language involves variations of emphasis, and I can see where you would pay more attention to "ho logos" because between it and "archae," "ho logos" has the article.
Also note that just because there is an article, doesn't mean you must insert an article. Let's take John 1:1 again.
(1) Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.
That phrase, should you decide that the article always requires the, would then read: "And the word was with the God" instead of just "and the word was with God." Think of the article as a pointing finger, creating emphasis. Think of this as if I was reading the passage out loud, and as I read the word "God," I point upwards, meaning God.
Now think about the mess you would have if you translated John 1:1 with the bad assumptions that I made here.
"In a beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the God, and the Word was a God."
The arguments can get technical, and there are yet still objections, but if there is any doubt that Jesus Christ is indeed God, here's a few verses to provide a contextual argument in the book of John itself:
John 1:15 - John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me." (this is important when you consider that John the Baptist was older than Christ by about six months)
John 8:58 - "Before Abraham was, I am." (And as the crowds remarked, "You're not even 50!")
John 14:9 - "Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father '?" (A very large claim, when you consider that God's holiness means there is no one like Him; Jesus is stepping through that veil and saying, "I am just like Him," meaning He is God)
Just reading through John 1:1-18, or the whole book of John for that matter, which I wrote about earlier, you'll see that John was completely convinced that Jesus Christ was indeed God, and God's greatest revelation to mankind. So if you consider the context that John 1:1 is in, it is most definitely saying that Jesus is God.
No worries my friends. You are not preaching a different Gospel, and you are not αναθεμα (anathema) :) You may exit this blog reassured that your Lord and Savior, by grammatical and contexual arguments, is indeed who He says He is.
Sola Scriptura!
Jake
PS - If you want some more technical information on articles in Greek, go here.
Showing posts with label Book of John. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book of John. Show all posts
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
John 1:1-18 - Got it! About memorization too
Ἐν τη φρήν εστίν ὁ εργος τοῦ Ἰωάννου ἡ μαθητής.
And yes, I understand what it says :)
And I tell you, that is not easy stuff :-S.
I'm working on the rest of John 1, got verse 19 down, but I'm taking a detour to ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ Γ. That's 3rd John :). Four verses down there, but the way I'm going, I'm learning vocabulary and grammar as I go, so in a ways it's like learning your first language, and it's certainly interesting, but it takes a lot of focus, a lot of stamina, and a lot of time.
Speaking of which, why memorize the passages? Well, for one I want to have the Bible memorized, so there's one reason, and I decided that the original language would be best. Second, memorizing this early in my Greek study provides to be useful too, as I found that something is best remembered when it's in a particular context. Context gives meaning to something. Suppose I say, "Have you ever met Johnny?" you'd probably say, "Who's Johnny?" I would go onto say, "You know, the one who always sits in the back of the class in the far right corner in our Biblical Languages IV class?" You'd snap and say, "Oh yes, that Johnny! Yeah I've met him, he's a pretty cool guy, saw him at church yesterday morning." In the example, you know about Johnny, but you don't yet get what Johnny I'm talking about. However, when I provided details, you immediately knew which Johnny it was. Those details are called the context, from which you recognized immediately what Johnny I was talking about. It's the same with vocabulary, in my book; the verses they are found in provide the context.
For example, the word κράζω (krazo) means "to cry out." I remember this from verse 15, where is says that John the Baptist cried out about Jesus. There's another odd definition of it which means to croak, or cry like a raven, and so I know John as having been a bit different than others, it's a small trick that helps me remember it (although I am not asserting that this crow-related definition is what κράζω actually means in John 1:15; I have no such experience to say so, so don't worry, your translation's probably right there). But these facts help me remember it. Another, I'll always remember λόγος (logos) because of all I've learned in connection with it, but until then it seemed like little else than another word.
You want to know a secret to getting a language down good? Application. Extensive application. You might be learning Spanish, for example, so the best thing for you to do is start talking to people in Spanish, start writing in Spanish, reading, or perhaps translate Spanish into English and vice versa. Considering the church culture today, I imagine that much of what is taught in the four grueling semesters of Greek at seminaries is quick forgotten as church life gets complicated and busy, so for anyone wanting to master a language, remember...
TIME IS YOUR ENEMY!
That's not a suggestion, that's a command. that makes eleven, if ya count 'em ;) Even a few days of not studying or practicing, you feel like it falls out of your head, so reinforcement is your key.
Well, I'll put in a few more things on John 1:1-18 when I have time, including some verb dissection and perhaps a thing or two that could be learned from the Greek. Though John 1:1-18 is an all around piece of artwork in my book. A beautiful synapsis of the deity of Jesus Christ.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
And yes, I understand what it says :)
And I tell you, that is not easy stuff :-S.
I'm working on the rest of John 1, got verse 19 down, but I'm taking a detour to ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ Γ. That's 3rd John :). Four verses down there, but the way I'm going, I'm learning vocabulary and grammar as I go, so in a ways it's like learning your first language, and it's certainly interesting, but it takes a lot of focus, a lot of stamina, and a lot of time.
Speaking of which, why memorize the passages? Well, for one I want to have the Bible memorized, so there's one reason, and I decided that the original language would be best. Second, memorizing this early in my Greek study provides to be useful too, as I found that something is best remembered when it's in a particular context. Context gives meaning to something. Suppose I say, "Have you ever met Johnny?" you'd probably say, "Who's Johnny?" I would go onto say, "You know, the one who always sits in the back of the class in the far right corner in our Biblical Languages IV class?" You'd snap and say, "Oh yes, that Johnny! Yeah I've met him, he's a pretty cool guy, saw him at church yesterday morning." In the example, you know about Johnny, but you don't yet get what Johnny I'm talking about. However, when I provided details, you immediately knew which Johnny it was. Those details are called the context, from which you recognized immediately what Johnny I was talking about. It's the same with vocabulary, in my book; the verses they are found in provide the context.
For example, the word κράζω (krazo) means "to cry out." I remember this from verse 15, where is says that John the Baptist cried out about Jesus. There's another odd definition of it which means to croak, or cry like a raven, and so I know John as having been a bit different than others, it's a small trick that helps me remember it (although I am not asserting that this crow-related definition is what κράζω actually means in John 1:15; I have no such experience to say so, so don't worry, your translation's probably right there). But these facts help me remember it. Another, I'll always remember λόγος (logos) because of all I've learned in connection with it, but until then it seemed like little else than another word.
You want to know a secret to getting a language down good? Application. Extensive application. You might be learning Spanish, for example, so the best thing for you to do is start talking to people in Spanish, start writing in Spanish, reading, or perhaps translate Spanish into English and vice versa. Considering the church culture today, I imagine that much of what is taught in the four grueling semesters of Greek at seminaries is quick forgotten as church life gets complicated and busy, so for anyone wanting to master a language, remember...
TIME IS YOUR ENEMY!
That's not a suggestion, that's a command. that makes eleven, if ya count 'em ;) Even a few days of not studying or practicing, you feel like it falls out of your head, so reinforcement is your key.
Well, I'll put in a few more things on John 1:1-18 when I have time, including some verb dissection and perhaps a thing or two that could be learned from the Greek. Though John 1:1-18 is an all around piece of artwork in my book. A beautiful synapsis of the deity of Jesus Christ.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
In the beginning was the logos
NOTE: This information in this entry is slightly inaccurate. Check blog entry "Clearing up the Articulars."
Have you ever seen the movie "Luther?" Not the old one, but the newer? There is a line in that movie that stuck with me, as Martin Luther is busy translating the Bible from Greek and Latin into German. He comes to the word "will," which in German has the connotation of power, authority, as in bending one to your will, but in the Greek, it means things along the lines of fire, passion and desire. After he ponders it a moment he says, "It's not the word that's important, but what it says about God."
I thought of that as I pondered this word λόγος (logos), which is found in John 1:1-2. I know I've already done bits and pieces on this chapter, but it gets better. I think it's amazing what this word says about God.
(1) Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. (2) οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν.
John 1:1 - In the beginning was the word (logos), and the word (logos) was with God, and the word (logos) was God. He (the logos) was with God in the beginning.
This is my own personal analysis in this paragraph, but you'll notice that in John it says ὁ λόγος, using an article, "The word." It's characteristic of divine expression in this case. This is not any common word, but is the word. This is similar to the Greek phrase αἱ γραφαί, which translated to us as "Scripture" or "The Scriptures." In Greek, it literally means "the writings," but a writing could be any piece of work, so the definite article makes it specific. What writings? The writings. To the believers in Yahweh, those could mean only one set of writings; thus following, the word can only refer to one word, and it the word originated from God, and to a culture that treasures God above all things, there is nothing so specific, unique and set apart as that which originates from God (which, truthfully, is how we should all learn to think); yet we haven't touched yet,"Just what is this logos?"
I read something very interesting today about that word "logos." In Greek, there are two words for "word." One is rhema (ῥῆμα), the other is logos (λόγος). A question occured to me, "Why is it that one of these is used and not the other? Why not rhema?" My mother had bought a copy of the MacArthur Study Bible, and I began reading the commentary, and there it was! I have my Strong's Concordance with me, and there's nothing really unique about the word "rhema." Here's what it says:
"An utterance (collective, individual, specific); by implication, a matter or topic." Nothing very special about it.
However, logos is a different story.
According to John MacArthur, the word, and John's meaning behind it, drew both from Old Testament meaning and Greek philosophy. In Greek philosophy, logos meant another kind of word, which was usually impersonal, and signified principles such as divine reason, the mind or perhaps wisdom. This of course is a closer to John's intentions in talking about Jesus Christ than is the word "rhema." John doesn't rely on Greek philosophy itself to get the meaning across, but its cultural implications are needed to make it work. Instead, John uses it in the sense that it was used in the Old Testament; as God's divine and powerful expression, such as in Genesis 1:3. Read over John 1 and notice the glory that John attributes to this logos, and you can see immediately it is something unique, something unlike anything else. The beauty of the word though is that both the Greeks and the Jews would understand what was meant by it, and it's that Christ is something more than just mere words.
When I think about it, I believe John is conveying something through this word that actually gets into the mind of God, for John Chapter 1 is a powerful overview of Jesus Christ and all that He came to accomplish. All the things that Christ is, are the things that are even now in the heart of God. Think on these things:
He is not just the spoken words of God; He is the powerful expression of God.
He is the embodiment of what is in the mind of God.
This logos was there when the world was created, and before.
This logos was His companion when He created the world, a funnel (if you will) through which everything was run.
This logos was the mind and thoughts that God used when creating the world.
This logos was the revelation of God that the world had been waiting for since Genesis 3:15.
And He has come and been revealed to us, and is the one by which God even now speaks to us (Hebrews 1:1-2).
You know why the world hates Christ and disputes Him so much? The thing that the world hates about Christ is just what was mentioned above; He is the ultimate expression of the mind of God, all of Himself wrapped up in skin and bones, all brought down to something which we could potentially understand. Everything about Him was in the mind of God; He did not live a moment outside the will of God, for Him and the Father are One. The unity is very hard to comprehend, but when you see Christ, you see the Father! In no former moment in history did the light so shine in the darkness as to shatter it the way that Christ has. All is now in the light, and a sinful world cannot take it.
ὁ λόγος ἐστίν. He is the Word.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
Have you ever seen the movie "Luther?" Not the old one, but the newer? There is a line in that movie that stuck with me, as Martin Luther is busy translating the Bible from Greek and Latin into German. He comes to the word "will," which in German has the connotation of power, authority, as in bending one to your will, but in the Greek, it means things along the lines of fire, passion and desire. After he ponders it a moment he says, "It's not the word that's important, but what it says about God."
I thought of that as I pondered this word λόγος (logos), which is found in John 1:1-2. I know I've already done bits and pieces on this chapter, but it gets better. I think it's amazing what this word says about God.
(1) Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. (2) οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν.
John 1:1 - In the beginning was the word (logos), and the word (logos) was with God, and the word (logos) was God. He (the logos) was with God in the beginning.
This is my own personal analysis in this paragraph, but you'll notice that in John it says ὁ λόγος, using an article, "The word." It's characteristic of divine expression in this case. This is not any common word, but is the word. This is similar to the Greek phrase αἱ γραφαί, which translated to us as "Scripture" or "The Scriptures." In Greek, it literally means "the writings," but a writing could be any piece of work, so the definite article makes it specific. What writings? The writings. To the believers in Yahweh, those could mean only one set of writings; thus following, the word can only refer to one word, and it the word originated from God, and to a culture that treasures God above all things, there is nothing so specific, unique and set apart as that which originates from God (which, truthfully, is how we should all learn to think); yet we haven't touched yet,"Just what is this logos?"
I read something very interesting today about that word "logos." In Greek, there are two words for "word." One is rhema (ῥῆμα), the other is logos (λόγος). A question occured to me, "Why is it that one of these is used and not the other? Why not rhema?" My mother had bought a copy of the MacArthur Study Bible, and I began reading the commentary, and there it was! I have my Strong's Concordance with me, and there's nothing really unique about the word "rhema." Here's what it says:
"An utterance (collective, individual, specific); by implication, a matter or topic." Nothing very special about it.
However, logos is a different story.
According to John MacArthur, the word, and John's meaning behind it, drew both from Old Testament meaning and Greek philosophy. In Greek philosophy, logos meant another kind of word, which was usually impersonal, and signified principles such as divine reason, the mind or perhaps wisdom. This of course is a closer to John's intentions in talking about Jesus Christ than is the word "rhema." John doesn't rely on Greek philosophy itself to get the meaning across, but its cultural implications are needed to make it work. Instead, John uses it in the sense that it was used in the Old Testament; as God's divine and powerful expression, such as in Genesis 1:3. Read over John 1 and notice the glory that John attributes to this logos, and you can see immediately it is something unique, something unlike anything else. The beauty of the word though is that both the Greeks and the Jews would understand what was meant by it, and it's that Christ is something more than just mere words.
When I think about it, I believe John is conveying something through this word that actually gets into the mind of God, for John Chapter 1 is a powerful overview of Jesus Christ and all that He came to accomplish. All the things that Christ is, are the things that are even now in the heart of God. Think on these things:
He is not just the spoken words of God; He is the powerful expression of God.
He is the embodiment of what is in the mind of God.
This logos was there when the world was created, and before.
This logos was His companion when He created the world, a funnel (if you will) through which everything was run.
This logos was the mind and thoughts that God used when creating the world.
This logos was the revelation of God that the world had been waiting for since Genesis 3:15.
And He has come and been revealed to us, and is the one by which God even now speaks to us (Hebrews 1:1-2).
You know why the world hates Christ and disputes Him so much? The thing that the world hates about Christ is just what was mentioned above; He is the ultimate expression of the mind of God, all of Himself wrapped up in skin and bones, all brought down to something which we could potentially understand. Everything about Him was in the mind of God; He did not live a moment outside the will of God, for Him and the Father are One. The unity is very hard to comprehend, but when you see Christ, you see the Father! In no former moment in history did the light so shine in the darkness as to shatter it the way that Christ has. All is now in the light, and a sinful world cannot take it.
ὁ λόγος ἐστίν. He is the Word.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
Monday, July 13, 2009
John 1:6-8
Copied directly from greekbible.com:
Ἰωάννης 1.6-8
(6) Ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος ἀπεσταλμένος παρὰ θεοῦ, ὄνομα αὐτῷ Ἰωάννης: (7) οὗτος ἦλθεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν, ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός, ἵνα πάντες πιστεύσωσιν δι' αὐτοῦ. (8) οὐκ ἦν ἐκεῖνος τὸ φῶς, ἀλλ' ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός.
English (NIV)
(6)There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. (7)He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. (8)He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
I boldfaced a couple of words in each one, so that you could get a corresponding idea. I'm going to try and go into a little detail on what's going on in each word.
ἀπεσταλμένος -apestalmenos -Verb, taken from the stem ἀποστέλλω (apostellw), which means according to the Strong's Concordance, means "to send out." You see where we get the word "apostle?" GreekBible.com states "one who is ordered to go to a particular place."
Tense: Perfect, as in "has been sent"
Voice: Passive, equivalent to "was sent"
Mood: Participle, a "verbal adjective," if you will. Usually relates to duty, capability, quality, etc. "Loving," "caring," etc.
Case: Nominative, the case of the subject. In English, we might say in a nominative statement, "the one who was sent."
Number: Singular
Gender: Masculine
I see a few things in here. The mood interests me the most, as it's as if to say that John was the one to do this work, that he was made for it. He was fulfilling his God-given role.
ἦλθεν - Eelthen - Verb, from the stem ἐρχομαι, which means "to come," usually in reference to a person, and either coming or going from one place to another. My Stron'gs concordance says this verb is usually only used in the present and imperfect tenses.
Person: Third
Tense: Aorist, same as past indefinite, absolute fact. "He came."
Voice: Active, meaning the subject actively doing the verb.
Mood: Indicative, which would be like saying, "He comes."
Number: Singular
μαρτυρίαν - Marturian - Declension of the word μαρτυρία, which means to testify or give witness. The word is accusatively inclined, being like the case of the object. Think of it this way: In the same way we capitalize a letter "j vs. J," you see how the letter changes, and what it does. The accusative, in a way, is modifying "he" (οὑτος) in the verse, saying something about it. In other ways, it's the object of a preposition (ie., as a WITNESS, in the FIELD, for the CAUSE)
ἵνα - Hina - In order that, so that, to the intent (that), so as
πιστεύσωσιν -Pisteuswsin - Verb, from the word πιστεύω, which is where we get the word "faith." For more precise definition, (from GreekBible) "To be sure of, to think true, be persuaded of, to have confidence in a conviction." A good definition in here is, "the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul ," and also describes the ability to trust in either God or Jesus as being able to aid or do something.
Person: Third
Tense: Aorist, see ηλθεν
Voice: Active, see ηλθεν
Mood: Subjunctive, conveying a desire, wish or hope ("that they might," "in hopes that they might")
Number: Plural. The verb is referring to the preceeding word παντες which is translated as "all men."
I notice that GreekBible.com does not provide a case for it. The aorist, when combined with an indicative cast, represents a "pure and simple" action, but without a case, there's no such thing. I looked on a few other sites, and it's not given there either. I take this to mean that what John stated, the intended effects run through till today.
ἦν - Een - This is just the past form of the word "to be." It's third person, so it's the same as saying, "he was."
ἐκεῖνος - Ekeinos - "That one; often intensified by the art," according to Strong's Concordance. GreekBible.com, "he, she, it." I'm thinking that this is an intensified version of "he/she/it," so as to be translated "He himself."
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
Ἰωάννης 1.6-8
(6) Ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος ἀπεσταλμένος παρὰ θεοῦ, ὄνομα αὐτῷ Ἰωάννης: (7) οὗτος ἦλθεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν, ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός, ἵνα πάντες πιστεύσωσιν δι' αὐτοῦ. (8) οὐκ ἦν ἐκεῖνος τὸ φῶς, ἀλλ' ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός.
English (NIV)
(6)There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. (7)He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. (8)He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
I boldfaced a couple of words in each one, so that you could get a corresponding idea. I'm going to try and go into a little detail on what's going on in each word.
ἀπεσταλμένος -apestalmenos -Verb, taken from the stem ἀποστέλλω (apostellw), which means according to the Strong's Concordance, means "to send out." You see where we get the word "apostle?" GreekBible.com states "one who is ordered to go to a particular place."
Tense: Perfect, as in "has been sent"
Voice: Passive, equivalent to "was sent"
Mood: Participle, a "verbal adjective," if you will. Usually relates to duty, capability, quality, etc. "Loving," "caring," etc.
Case: Nominative, the case of the subject. In English, we might say in a nominative statement, "the one who was sent."
Number: Singular
Gender: Masculine
I see a few things in here. The mood interests me the most, as it's as if to say that John was the one to do this work, that he was made for it. He was fulfilling his God-given role.
ἦλθεν - Eelthen - Verb, from the stem ἐρχομαι, which means "to come," usually in reference to a person, and either coming or going from one place to another. My Stron'gs concordance says this verb is usually only used in the present and imperfect tenses.
Person: Third
Tense: Aorist, same as past indefinite, absolute fact. "He came."
Voice: Active, meaning the subject actively doing the verb.
Mood: Indicative, which would be like saying, "He comes."
Number: Singular
μαρτυρίαν - Marturian - Declension of the word μαρτυρία, which means to testify or give witness. The word is accusatively inclined, being like the case of the object. Think of it this way: In the same way we capitalize a letter "j vs. J," you see how the letter changes, and what it does. The accusative, in a way, is modifying "he" (οὑτος) in the verse, saying something about it. In other ways, it's the object of a preposition (ie., as a WITNESS, in the FIELD, for the CAUSE)
ἵνα - Hina - In order that, so that, to the intent (that), so as
πιστεύσωσιν -Pisteuswsin - Verb, from the word πιστεύω, which is where we get the word "faith." For more precise definition, (from GreekBible) "To be sure of, to think true, be persuaded of, to have confidence in a conviction." A good definition in here is, "the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul ," and also describes the ability to trust in either God or Jesus as being able to aid or do something.
Person: Third
Tense: Aorist, see ηλθεν
Voice: Active, see ηλθεν
Mood: Subjunctive, conveying a desire, wish or hope ("that they might," "in hopes that they might")
Number: Plural. The verb is referring to the preceeding word παντες which is translated as "all men."
I notice that GreekBible.com does not provide a case for it. The aorist, when combined with an indicative cast, represents a "pure and simple" action, but without a case, there's no such thing. I looked on a few other sites, and it's not given there either. I take this to mean that what John stated, the intended effects run through till today.
ἦν - Een - This is just the past form of the word "to be." It's third person, so it's the same as saying, "he was."
ἐκεῖνος - Ekeinos - "That one; often intensified by the art," according to Strong's Concordance. GreekBible.com, "he, she, it." I'm thinking that this is an intensified version of "he/she/it," so as to be translated "He himself."
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
Saturday, July 11, 2009
katalambanw (καταλαμβάνω)
καταλαμβάνω
Ἰωαννην 1.5 - ...καὶ ἡ σκοτία εν τῃ σκοτία φαίνει, καὶ ἠ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.
John 1:5 - That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.
Copied directly from greekbible.com:
1) to lay hold of 1a) to lay hold of so as to make one's own, to obtain, attain to, to make one's own, to take into one's self, appropriate 1b) to seize upon, take possession of 1b1) of evils overtaking one, of the last day overtaking the wicked with destruction, of a demon about to torment one 1b2) in a good sense, of Christ by his holy power and influence laying hold of the human mind and will, in order to prompt and govern it 1c) to detect, catch 1d) to lay hold of with the mind 1d1) to understand, perceive, learn, comprehend
As I look at this definition, and one of the reasons I like the idea of studying Greek, is the general essence of character that you could get from a word. Some translations will translate this as "overcome," the KJV translates it "comprehend." But do you realize how this is used to characterize darkness?
Darkness is a captor. It seizes opportunities to oppress. It doesn't just take opportunities to conquer, but takes prisoners. Yet all of a sudden, here comes this thing called LIGHT. Perhaps the forces of darkness were at first confident, gathering weapons and chains so as to oppress, capture and bind the intruder, yet much to their surprise, the light was far too powerful. The 4,000 years of practice and planning had come to nothing!
And when you think about it, this verse is a foreshadow of the rest of the Gospel. Jesus comes in; He heals the sick; He drives out demons; He nourishes people with truth; He gives up Himself so that men may be free from sins; He sends the Holy Spirit. Satan had done everything within His own power to subdue this light, by murder, by oppression, by persecution, by unnatural self-righteousness, and hoped in the end to have taken what would have been just a rather difficult prisoner, but this time He couldn't. People pursued righteousness. Demons fled instantly. People were wholly healed. To assist us, the Holy Spirit was given. When Jesus came, He showed this darkness for what it was; utterly powerless in the presence of God.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
Ἰωαννην 1.5 - ...καὶ ἡ σκοτία εν τῃ σκοτία φαίνει, καὶ ἠ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.
John 1:5 - That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.
Copied directly from greekbible.com:
1) to lay hold of 1a) to lay hold of so as to make one's own, to obtain, attain to, to make one's own, to take into one's self, appropriate 1b) to seize upon, take possession of 1b1) of evils overtaking one, of the last day overtaking the wicked with destruction, of a demon about to torment one 1b2) in a good sense, of Christ by his holy power and influence laying hold of the human mind and will, in order to prompt and govern it 1c) to detect, catch 1d) to lay hold of with the mind 1d1) to understand, perceive, learn, comprehend
As I look at this definition, and one of the reasons I like the idea of studying Greek, is the general essence of character that you could get from a word. Some translations will translate this as "overcome," the KJV translates it "comprehend." But do you realize how this is used to characterize darkness?
Darkness is a captor. It seizes opportunities to oppress. It doesn't just take opportunities to conquer, but takes prisoners. Yet all of a sudden, here comes this thing called LIGHT. Perhaps the forces of darkness were at first confident, gathering weapons and chains so as to oppress, capture and bind the intruder, yet much to their surprise, the light was far too powerful. The 4,000 years of practice and planning had come to nothing!
And when you think about it, this verse is a foreshadow of the rest of the Gospel. Jesus comes in; He heals the sick; He drives out demons; He nourishes people with truth; He gives up Himself so that men may be free from sins; He sends the Holy Spirit. Satan had done everything within His own power to subdue this light, by murder, by oppression, by persecution, by unnatural self-righteousness, and hoped in the end to have taken what would have been just a rather difficult prisoner, but this time He couldn't. People pursued righteousness. Demons fled instantly. People were wholly healed. To assist us, the Holy Spirit was given. When Jesus came, He showed this darkness for what it was; utterly powerless in the presence of God.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
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