LAN 401 BEGINNING GREEK i Prof. Esa Autero Th.D

I. Why Study Greek? “The languages are the sheath in which the sword of the Spirit is contained." Martin Luther

Why Study Greek? “What was originally expressed in Hebrew does not have exactly the same sense when translated into another language.” “…even the Law…differ not a little when read in the original.” Prologue to the Book of Sirach c. 180 BC

Why Study NT Greek? More accurate understanding of God’s word You (sg.) – you (pl.) Nuances and colors Misuse of Greek Historical distance Cross-Cultural experience

Why Study Greek? Greek does not solve all problems of interpretation  Limits the amount of interpretative possibilities! ‘bucket of iron’  Genitive of ‘material’ OR genitive of ‘content’

Why Study Greek? Example from the New Testament ἡ γὰρ ἀγάπη τοῦ Χριστοῦ συνεχέι ἡμᾶς (2 Cor 5:14) NKJV “For the love of Christ compels us” (2 Cor 5:14) ESV “For the love of Christ controls us” (2 Cor 5:14) Christ’s love for us? (subjective genitive) Our love for Christ? (objective genitive) Both? (plenary) Interpretative choice of NIV “For Christ’s love compels us” (2 Cor 5:14)

II. History of Greek Language Pre-Homeric (-1000 BCE) Indo-Europeans to Greece Classical Era (1000 BCE-330 BCE) 4 predom. dialects (Aeolic, Doric, Ionic, Attic) Attic = Plato, Thucydides, Xenophon Koine (330 BCE- 330 CE) Alexander the Great; lingua franca Byzantine (330 CE- 1454 CE) Constantine’s conversion Modern Greek (1453 CE to present) – literary & demotic

Koine and NT Greek Types of Koine: Vernacular/vulgar Literary E.g. papyri Literary E.g. Plutarch, Polybius Josephus, Philo Conversational E.g. New Testament, some papyri Atticistic (cf. KJV English) E.g. Dio Crysostom, Aristides

Aspects of NT Greek Language milieu: Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek Conversational Greek (not literary or vulgar) Spectrum: Hebrews to Revelation Hebraisms: And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin? [do not know a man]?“ (Luke 1:34). Latinisms: Lat. centurio – Gk. κεντυρίων (Mark 15:39) & Lat. legio – Gk. λεγιών (Mark 5:9)

Literary Levels of NT Authors Semitic/Vulgar Conversational Literary Koine Revelation Mark John, 1-3 John 2 Peter Most of Paul Matthew Hebrews Luke-Acts James Pastorals 1 Peter Jude

Greek alphabets Α α Β β Γ γ Δ δ Ε ε Ζ ζ Η η Θ θ Alpha Father (a) Beta Capital Small Letters Name Pronunciation Α α Alpha Father (a) Β β Beta Ball (b) Γ γ Gamma Gift (g) Δ δ Delta Debt (d) Ε ε Epsilon Met (e) Ζ ζ Zeta Zion (z, dz) Η η Eta Obey (eh) Θ θ Theta Theme (th)

Greek Alphabets Cont. Ι ι Κ κ Λ λ Μ μ Ν ν Ξ ξ Ο ο Π π Iota Pit (i) Capital Small Letters Name Pronunciation Ι ι Iota Pit (i) Κ κ Kappa Kit (k) Λ λ Lambda Long (l) Μ μ Mu Man (m) Ν ν Nu No (n) Ξ ξ Xi Relax (x) Ο ο Omicron Omelet (o) Π π Pi Pay (p)

Greek Alphabets Cont. Ρ ρ Σ σ, ς Τ τ Υ υ Φ φ Χ χ Ψ ψ Ω ω Rho Ring (r) Capital Small Letters Name Pronunciation Ρ ρ Rho Ring (r) Σ σ, ς Sigma Sing (s) Τ τ Tau Tale (t) Υ υ Upsilon Tube (u) Φ φ Phi Phone (ph) Χ χ Chi Chemical (ch) Ψ ψ Psi Taps (ps) Ω ω Omega Tone (o)

Vowels Vowels = (7): α ε η ι ο υ ω ε ο (short); η ω (long) α ι υ (short or long)

Pronunciation & Accents How was Greek pronounced in the NT era? Erasmian vs. hypothetical vs. modern Erasmian: widely used  distinguishes the sounds

Diphthongs αι αυ ει ευ οι ου υι Ai (aisle) Ai Au (kraut) Au Ey (hey) Pronunciation transliteration αι Ai (aisle) Ai αυ Au (kraut) Au ει Ey (hey) Ei ευ Eu (feud) Eu οι Oi (oil) Oi ου ou (group) Ou υι Ui (suite) ui

------Accents:------ Symbol Type Example , Smooth (not pronounced) ἀμήν ‘ Rough; smooth “h” sound ὥρα ----------- ------Accents:------ ------------------------ ά Acute; On any of the last 3 syllables ὰ Grave; ultimate only καὶ ᾶ Circumflex; Long syllables only πνεῦμα

The Consonant Classes λ μ ν ρ β γ δ θ κ τ φ χ σ ζ ξ ψ 17 consonants in 3 classes: Liquids: smooth & easy flow λ μ ν ρ Mutes: close & release β γ δ θ κ τ φ χ Sibilants: “s” sounds σ ζ ξ ψ

PUNCTUATION Punctuation in Greek is different from English Character Looks like Greek Meaning θεός,  comma comma θεός.  period period θεός;  semicolon question mark θεός  period above line semicolon

Textbook and Websites Visit the website for additional helps http://www.teknia.com/greek Supplementary info Videos Flash cards etc. ($$) Other useful websites: http://www.ntgateway.com/greek-ntgateway/greek- new-testament-texts/ http://unbound.biola.edu/ (Multilinear) http://www.kimmitt.co.uk/gnt/gnt.html (NA 26) http://sblgnt.com/ (GNT SBL Edition)