All entries by this author

Mike Aubrey on Ephesians 5:21-22

Mike Aubrey at ΕΝ ΕΦΕΣΩ has written an excellent series of posts concerning Ephesians 5:21-22. As he explains in the first post:
Honestly, the division of these two verses, in my opinion, is a perfect example of Biblical scholars knowing little to nothing about how language functions holistically, particularly at the level of pragmatics and discourse – [...]



Keep Your Greek

Students, and more often pastors, occasionally ask me for advice about how to keep their Greek (and Hebrew) at a good level, while in the midst of demanding ministry work. They’ve spent hundreds of hours at college or seminary getting the biblical languages under their belt, so it’s a crying shame to then lose that hard-earned ability and knowledge through lack of use.



Validity in Interpretation by E.D. Hirsch

E.D. Hirsch’s book Validity in Interpretation is a classic work in the field of interpreting texts. His book is not specifically related to Koine Greek, nor is it specifically related to biblical interpretation. However, Hirsch’s discussion of authorial intent and genre are important for anyone attempting to interpret any text, including biblical texts.



Tutorial 1.4: More help for learning Greek letters and sounds

The best way to learn the Greek alphabet is to repeatedly draw the letter, pronounce the name, and say the sound of each Greek letter in order. When you can say the alphabet backwards, then you know you have learned it.
A website called “NT Greek in Session” may prove beneficial in your studies. For help [...]



What about the Byzantine Text?

A couple of weeks ago, Bill Mounce asked the question, “Which Greek text?” He compared the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece (27th edition, German Bible Society) to The Greek New Testament (4th edition, United Bible Society). He also mentioned a few “specialized Greek texts” including Zondervan’s A Reader’s Greek New Testament. The NA27 and UBS editions of the Greek [...]



The New Covenant Community: As The Eκκλησια

The term εκκλησια (ekklesia) or “church” is used to refer to the New Covenant Community of believers in Jesus throughout the New Testament (Matt. 18:17; Acts 11:22; 12:1, 5; 15:3f, 41; 20:17; Rom. 16:1, 23; 1 Co. 11:22; 14:12; 2 Co. 11:8; 12:13; Eph. 3:10; 5:23; Col. 1:18; 1 Tim. 3:5; Heb. 2:12; Jas. 5:14; 3 Jn. 1:6, 10; Rev. 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14).



Tutorial 1.3: Accents and Breathing Marks

Every Greek word that begins with a vowel or a diphthong will include a symbol called a “breathing mark” above the vowel, or above the second vowel of a diphthong. There are two different breathing marks: the rough breathing mark ( ‘ ) and the smooth breathing mark ( ’ ). When a rough breathing [...]



βαπτίζω in Philo

This is the second post in a series on baptism. Primarily, my concern is to determine the various meanings of the Greek verb βαπτίζω (baptizō), and how those meanings may be used in the New Testament. Although I originally planned to publish the posts in this series every two or three days, I decided to [...]



Early Church Texts

Early Church Texts is a great resource for those who want to study some of the early church writings in Greek and Latin. This is the description on the site:
This site gives you access to a vast amount of information on the Early Church (from the first to the fifth century) and a growing number [...]



Tutorial 1.2: Diphthongs, Iota Subscripts, and Diaeresis

Usually, each of the letters in a Greek word will be pronounced separately. However, when some combinations of vowels occur together, the two vowels join to form one new sound. These are called diphthongs. Here is a list of Greek diphthongs with their pronunciations: