GK101 has been eye-opening and helpful in beginning to make sense of basic elements of Greek that I've encountered for years using Logos, but have not delved into until now. While I'm incalculably indebted to the language tools Logos offers and to the commentaries written by faithful scholars, understanding the elements of the language is incredibly useful in taking those resources and being able to use them with greater facility and accuracy to what God wrote in His Word.
I wish I had known ahead of time that GK101 would use the Koine pronunciation system, because it would have changed which alphabet and pronunciation course I chose. As Dr. Schwandt explained in GK092 that the Erasmian system is used by most seminaries, I assumed (incorrectly) that this would be the system used in GK101. Having finished the Erasmian pronunciation course, moving to the Koine has been confusing at points, especially in Unit 1.
What has begun to really be encouraging is recognizing the different elements of Greek verbs - roots, stems, and endings. Recognizing that each verb's root carries the meaning of the word enables me to make greater use of the Word Study tool in delving into key terms in a passage. Now I can see and greater appreciate the relationship of various words that all come from the same root. Stems are key to understanding the declension of the verb: first declension with alpha stems, second declension with omicron stems, and third declension with iota and upsilon stems.
Dr. Schwandt's treatment of the elements of verb endings has been very helpful. I had no clue that verb endings communicated so much: (1) person; (2) voice; and (3) time. While I have found the different sounds and vocalic elements of the Greek alphabet to be somewhat tedious (e.g., the square of stops, dentals vs. gutturals vs. labials, etc.), the endings are easy to memorize and to usefully employ: [Sing.} -ω (1st) , -εις (2nd), -ει (3rd); [Plur.]-ομεν (1st), -ετε (2nd), -ουσι (3rd). I'm looking forward to getting into my next exegetical study to be able to make use of this as I connect the word data from the exegetical guide with the Greek text.
Not surprisingly, given how much is communicated in verb endings, noun endings are equally useful in determining the meaning of words in their syntactical relationships. I had always heard that Greek word order was basically irrelevant, whereas English word order was paramount. For example, the sentence, "The woman rides a bike," makes no sense if it is re-written as, "A bike rides the woman." However, the Greek of either of these sentences would work equally. This is because of the significance of noun case endings. The declension of nouns is discernible by the type of stem along with the case ending. The first declension consists of Alpha-stems, the second declension consists of Omega-stems, and consonant stems form the third declension. There are five cases that can be paired with these stems - (1) nominative; (2) vocative; (3) accusative; (4) genitive; and (5) dative. The nominative and accusative case endings really unlock the meaning of a sentence by identifying the subject (nominative case) and the object of the action (accusative case). Regardless of where the subject and object are placed, their endings show what the meaning of the sentence is: The nominative noun always does the acting, and the accusative noun always is acted upon - is the subject of the action. The placement of the words in Greek has to do with what is being emphasized, not with who or what is the subject/object. Moreover, the verb(s) in a sentence will always agree with their subject(s) as to number and person.
I am grateful for the clarity with which Dr. Schwandt explained that while definite articles are short, they can have a broad range of meanings. It is easy to make the exegetical mistake of thinking that a lack of a definite article (there is no indefinite article in Greek) means that the subject is not specific. For example, in John 1:1, theos at the end of the verse lacks an article, but this does not mean that the meaning "a god" - as Jehovah's Witnesses maintain - is the best interpretive option. Broader context makes it an impossible option, especially when understanding what all of Scripture says about the logos in this chapter, namely Christ. Sometimes the grammar demands there be no article, such as instances when the subject and predicate are placed in different places. Remembering this will be a helpful guard against misinterpretation.
- I'm honored and encouraged by this post. Thank you for your engagement. I'm looking forward to when we can add original language courses to the master's programs at Redemption Seminary. (www.redemptionseminary.org) Blessings on your studies!
- Thank you so much, Dr. Schwandt!