• Hi guys! I was looking up on the word “Rhaka” in Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) and I found this entry: ῥακά (also written ῥαχά; so as an uncomplimentary, perh. foul epithet in a Zenon pap of 257 B.C.: Sb 7638, 7 ʼ Αντίοχον τὸν ῥαχᾶν [s. on this Colwell, JBL 53, ’34, 351–54; Goodsp, Probs. 20–23; MSmith, JBL 64, 1945, 502f]) a term of abuse/put-down relating to lack of intelligence, numskull, fool (in effect verbal bullying) Mt 5:22, a term of abuse, as a rule derived fr. the Aramaic רֵיקָא or רֵיקָה ‘empty one’, found (Billerb. I 278f) in the Talmud (EKautzsch, Gramm. des Biblisch-Aramäischen 1884, 10; Dalman, Gramm.2 173f; SFeigin, JNES 2, ’43, 195f; Mlt-H. 152 w. note 3), empty-head. Doubt as to the correctness of this derivation is expressed by Wlh. and Zahn ad loc.; FSchulthess, ZNW 21, 1922, 241–43. Among the ancient interpreters, the Gk. Onomastica, Jerome, Hilary, and the Opus Imperfectum p. 62 (MPG LVI, 690) take ῥ. as= κενός=Lat. vacuus=empty-head, numskull, fool. Chrysostom says (MPG LVII, 248): τὸ δὲ ῥακὰ οὐ μεγάλης ἐστὶν ὕβρεως ῥῆμα … ἀντὶ τοῦ σύ=‘ῥ. is not an expression denoting a strong put-down … but is used in place of σύ.’ The same thing in somewhat different words in Basilius, Regulae 51 p. 432c: τί ἐστί ῥακά; ἐπιχώριον ῥῆμα ἠπιωτέρας ὕβρεως, πρὸς τοὺς οἰκειοτέρους λαμβανόμενον ‘what is the mng. of ῥ.? It is a colloquial term of rather gentle cheek and generally used in familiar surroundings’. Sim., Hecataeus: 264 Fgm. 4 p. 13, 21f Jac. (in Plut., Mor. 354d) explains the name Ammon as coming fr. a form of address common among the Egyptians: προσκλητικὴν εἶναι τὴν φωνήν.—SKrauss, OLZ 22, 1919, 63; JLeipoldt, CQR 92, 1921, 38; FBussby, ET 74, ’64, 26; RGuelich, ZNW 64, ’73, 39–52; Betz, SM ad loc. S. the lit. s.v. μωρός.—TRE III 608. EDNT. M-M. TW. William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and It is a colloquial term of rather gentle cheek and generally used in familiar surroundings’.Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 903. Basilius the Great said this, “It is a colloquial term of rather gentle cheek and generally used in familiar surroundings’.” Can anyone tell me what does it mean by “rather gentle cheek”?

    1. Hi, It means slightly vulgar.
    2. Cheek, or cheekiness, means disrespect, rudeness, audacity, crassness, insolence, impudence, inappropriateness, etc., just to give some further depth.

  • Thank you for your many contributions to contemporary biblical studies. I have one question I'm hoping you can help with. In Basics of Biblical Greek: Grammar, ch. 22.1, you footnote the term "irregular verb" as "Also called a 'strong verb.'" Likewise, in Morphology of Biblical Greek, §33.7 and 33.8, you equate Weak verbs with regular verbs, and Strong verbs with "irregular" verbs. In this matter you seem to be at odds with Matthew S. DeMoss in his Pocket Dictionary for the Study of New Testament Greek. In that work, DeMoss defines "weak verb" as "Synonymous with irregular verb," and defines "strong verb" as "also called regular verb." In this DeMoss follows Hebrew scholarship with seems to consistently speak of a strong verb as one "that acts according to regular inflectional patterns." Has DeMoss got it wrong, or do Greek scholars indeed use the terms "strong verb" and "weak verb" in the opposite way that Hebrew scholars do? Thanks in advance for helping clear this up!

    1. Is Bill Mounce active with this Faithlife group? I just started taking his first year Greek classes online, and was wondering if was active here, as I use my Logos program for studying, reading, and such.

      1. How do you like the classes?

    2. Dr Mounce, I love your work and your insights into scripture. I have noticed that most good commentaries, including yours, make quotes from texts that are outside of the Bible. Could you tell me what is the value of these extra-biblical texts and how they help us understand the scripture. Thanks

      1. Hello, Dr Mounce it is truly humbling to sit under your teaching....i attend South African Theological Seminary through distance learning....my instructor has managed to take two full years and go over your course..I HAVE LOVED IT!! the course has been pretty in-depth. it seems as though my instructor will move into taking passages and doing exegetical work-i am truly excited about this. My question is, where would you normally suggest a second year student move into (even though i would technically be a 3rd year student), in terms of studying, course work, advancement in Greek...etc?

        1. Great idea!

        2.  — Edited

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