In this episode of the Biblical Languages Podcast, co-hosts Nick Messmer and Kevin Grasso discuss how our analysis of the biblical Greek verbal system actually impacts our interpretation of specific biblical texts.
https://youtu.be/8Es4r1P2zhc
Here’s a snapshot of what you can expect in this conversation:
- Overviews of tense, aspect, and Aktionsart in biblical Greek, and how these are reflected in biblical Greek verbal forms
- How to apply the semantics of these verbal forms to interpret specific verbs in actual biblical texts
- Why building intuitions about how biblical Greek works as a language is key for properly doing semantics
Show Notes
The following works are mentioned in this episode:
- “Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek” – Campbell
The following semanticists doing work in Ancient Greek are mentioned in this episode:
- Paul Kiparsky
- Corien Bary
- Von Stechow
The following biblical passages are discussed in this episode:
- Mark 1:11
- Greek: καὶ φωνὴ ἐγένετο ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν· σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν σοὶ εὐδόκησα
- English: ‘And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”’
- 1 Cor. 10:5
- Greek: Αλλ᾿ οὐκ ἐν τοῖς πλείοσιν αὐτῶν εὐδόκησεν ὁ θεός
- English: ‘But with most of them, God was not pleased’
- James 1:11
- Greek: ἀνέτειλεν γὰρ ὁ ἥλιος σὺν τῷ καύσωνι καὶ ἐξήρανεν τὸν χόρτον, καὶ τὸ ἄνθος αὐτοῦ ἐξέπεσεν, καὶ ἡ εὐπρέπεια τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ ἀπώλετο
- English: ‘For the sun rises with its scorching heat and twithers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes.’
- Matt. 8:9
- Greek: καὶ λέγω τούτῳ· πορεύθητι, καὶ πορεύεται, καὶ ἄλλῳ· ἔρχου, καὶ ἔρχεται, καὶ τῷ δούλῳ μου· ποίησον τοῦτο, καὶ ποιεῖ.
- English: And I say to this one, “Go” and he goes, and to another “Come” and he comes and to my servant, “Do this” and he does.
- Matt. 14:29
- Greek: ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· ἐλθέ. καὶ καταβὰς ἀπὸ τοῦ πλοίου [ὁ] Πέτρος περιεπάτησεν ἐπὶ τὰ ὕδατα καὶ ἦλθεν πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν.
- English: ‘He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.’
- Mark 13:19
- Greek: ἔσονται γὰρ αἱ ἡμέραι ἐκεῖναι θλῖψις οἵα οὐ γέγονεν τοιαύτη ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς κτίσεως ἣν ἔκτισεν ὁ θεὸς ἕως τοῦ νῦν καὶ οὐ μὴ γένηται.
- English: ‘For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be.’
- Acts 6:11
- Greek: τότε ὑπέβαλον ἄνδρας λέγοντας ὅτι ἀκηκόαμεν αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος ῥήματα βλάσφημα εἰς Μωϋσῆν καὶ τὸν θεόν.
- English: ‘Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”’
- Matt. 21:27
- Greek: καὶ ἀποκριθέντες τῷ Ἰησοῦ εἶπαν· οὐκ οἴδαμεν. ἔφη αὐτοῖς καὶ αὐτός· οὐδὲ ἐγὼ λέγω ὑμῖν ἐν ποίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ ταῦτα ποιῶ.
- English: ‘So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.’
The Biblical Languages Podcast hosts discussions and interviews related to learning the biblical languages and issues relevant to biblical exegesis. Episodes cover topics in 4 major categories: language acquisition, linguistics, cultural backgrounds, and exegesis.
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