Greek Grammar & Verbs Greek Grammar & Verbs
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ible school students are taught Greek grammar from textbooks which try to squeeze a live octopus into a shoe box. What does not t the living English verbal system gets cut out and the now-snking dead remains are squashed under the cover of Greek grammar textbook.Scholars recognize the problem, but the lively debate between taxidermists and biologists is never heard by textbook and shoe salesmen. Linguist Trevor Evans warns that false views about Greek verbs are being taught in Bible schools ―
“unl the severely dated descripons contained in so many of our standardseverely dated descripons contained in so many of our standard grammars are replaced
grammars are replaced””(Taylor, p. 206).
“…recent advances will take me to supplant the false comfort of tradionalsupplant the false comfort of tradional interpret
interpretaons to be aons to be found in found in the standard grammarsthe standard grammars””(Taylor, p. 200).
Yet Bible schools are totally out of touch with what S.E. Porter, author of Verbal Aspect in the Greek of the New Testament,calls “the ongoing debate over the nature of the Greek verbal system”(Taylor, p.
221). It seems that the “eld of Greek verb theory” is up for grabs with few reaching towards the oen toxic and highly debatable material presented in typical Greek grammars, such as the following sample list:
George Hadjiantoniou, A Basic Grammar of New Testament Greek(Spiros Zodhiates, AMG Internaonal).
Ray Summers and Thomas Sawyer, Essenals of New Testament Greek(Revised and Original edion) William H. Davis,The Beginner’s Greek Grammar of the New Testament
J. Gresham Machen , New Testament Greek For Beginners
H.E. Dana and Julius Mantey , A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament
A.T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research Blass, translated by DeBrunner and edited by Funk,Greek Grammer of the New Testament E.C. Colwell and E.W. Tune, A Beginner’s Reader Grammar for New Testament Greek Steven Cox,Essenals of New Testament Greek: A Student’s Guide
Nathan Han , A Parsing Guide to the Greek New Testament
Daniel Wallace,The Basics of New Testament Syntax ;Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics; A Workbook for New Testament Syntax
Trevor V. Evans presented a paper at the Society of Biblical Literature bemoaning the ―
“long-ignored problems which lie at the heart of the long-ignored problems which lie at the heart of the Greek verbal sysGreek verbal system and thustem and thus at the heart of the
at the heart of the Greek language itself Greek language itself . The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate thatwe have barely begun the process of unraveling these problemswe have barely begun the process of unraveling these problems…”(Taylor, pp.
199, 200).
If professional Greek grammarians recognize problems in Greek grammar textbooks, why are professors presenng such material as if it was woven from the veil of the temple? These men may not know God, but they know Greek. Evans warns of the “dangers” and says discussions about verbs ―
“…raise new quesons and demand reassessment of numerous long-accepted truths…”(Taylor, pp. 202, 203).
A.T. Robertson’s dictates concerning the acve, passive and the middle are now quesoned by scholars; among them is Professor Bernard Taylor, translator for the NETS edion of the Greek Septuagint, published by Oxford University Press (Taylor, pp. xii, 171 et al.). Greek professors who open Robertson’s sordid shoebox before they open the Holy Bible are being out-shouted from every direcon. Evans says,
“The days of explaining present and aorist forms in terms of durave and puncliar aspect-values are numbered (though they will persist unl the severely dated(though they will persist unl the severely dated descripons contained in so many of our standard grammars are replace) descripons contained in so many of our standard grammars are replace) (Taylor, p. 206).
Another ‘Aspect’ To Consider Another ‘Aspect’ To Consider
There also is a “contemporary debate about the nature of aspect in relaon to Greek verbs.”
Aspect is a category separate from tense and concerned with perspecve on the acon, not with
me. Dr. Randall Buth says the current method of teaching Greek verbs is “convoluted and does not necessarily reect basic structures of the language”(Taylor, p. 178).Out the window go terms such as
“present tense [nonindicave]” and “aorist tense [nonindicave]” to be replaced with “imperfecve aspect” and “perfecve aspect.” Linguists Stanley E. Porter and Buist Fanning clash on the details about “the Greek verbal structure,” “perfect,” “present and aorist” in Biblical Greek Language and Linguiscs”” (Taylor, pp. xiii, 177-221).
Chadwick admits that the understanding of ancient or Koine Greek verbs is evolving, “A fault of LSJ [Liddell-Sco-JonesGreek-English Lexicon] is failure to allow for the semanc value of the present-tense system, which was perhaps less well understood in the nineteenth century.” “Some of the problems raised by LSJ’s treatment” of verbs are “due to this failure to observe the component of meaning conveyed by the aspect of the verb…”(Chadwick, p. 21).
Trevor V. Evans wrote the textbookVerbal Syntax in the Greek Pentateuch for Oxford University Press.
Press. He admits the “ideas” and “contemporary theorists are sll in the process of impacng biblical Greek circles.” He says “shisshis” have occurred and yet “verbal aspect posessome of the most dicultsome of the most dicult puzzles
puzzles in Greek linguiscs…The history of aspectology is one ofchangingchangingconcepts.” Evans says “There isdisagreementdisagreementamong theorists on the number of abstract classes to be established…Fanning is an extremist, oering six subcategories of aconal types.” Even Fanning admits verbs “may have aconal force according to theircontextualcontextualmeaning”(Taylor, pp. 199, 204, 205 et al.). Evans says,
“Where the perfect tense ts into the picture of Greek aspect is becoming an increasingly sharpquesonqueson.. Tradional responses are under challengeTradional responses are under challenge. Does the perfect really manifest a third fundamental aspect? How accurate is the noon
that it essenally expresses a connuing state resulng from prior occurrence?
Comparison of Porter’s and Fanning’s approaches, which both mix conservasm and innovaon, will indicate the volality of current research into these maers.”(Taylor, p. 205).
Errors & Heresies in Greek Grammar Books &
Errors & Heresies in Greek Grammar Books & SowareSoware
To academics the Bible is a history book, not the living breath of God. New versions, such as the NKJV, copy their dead verb choices such as, “For by grace youhave beenhave been saved” instead of the KJB’s
“For by graceareare ye saved” (Eph. 2:8). The life of the Bible is shown in its verbs and Satan’s scribes have pointed their “hurul sword” at the Bible’s very heart. The errors, heresies, and faulty translaons in Greek grammars will be examined throughout this book. A few brief glances show:
Students no longer need to be perplexed by the variaon in the principal parts of Greek verbs.Books lisng the principal parts of verbs do not even agree. Laurence Vance, author ofGreek Verbs in the New Testament and Their Principle Parts observes that, “many of these lists containgrossgross errors
errors””(Pensacola, FL: Vance Publicaons, 2006, p. ix).
An herecal form of progressive works salvaon is taught in all Greek grammars. Their incorrectly translated marching orders, “youare beingare being saved,” instead of “youare saved,” have mustered a works salvaon army, enlisng religionists of every creed.
Students are also not taught that all Greek grammar books are based on the corrupt Nestle-Aland or the UBS Greek texts, with verb frequency counts and other parculars varying from theTextus Receptusand its historic translaon. For example, J. Gresham Machen’s New Testament Greek For Beginners followed “Moulton and Geden’s Concordance to the Greek Testament” which followed “Westco and HortWestco and Hort, Tischendorf andthe English Revisers [Revised Version]the English Revisers [Revised Version]””(Taylor, pp.
93, 91). Machen admits his English translaons come from “theGreek-English Lexicon of the New Testament of Grimm-ThayerThayer.” Machen also followed “MoultonMoulton, A Grammar of New Testament Greek .” See the individual chapters in this book on the heresies of Moulton and J.H. Thayer.
Machen also used theGermanGerman “Blass-Debrunner,Grammak des neutestamentlichen Griechisch””
(New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1923, p. x).
In their English translaon all Greek grammars ignore the inected endings on Greek verbs.
Why memorize these endings, if they are to be ignored. In Essenals of New Testament Greek Summers’ translaon ignores the inected endings on both the Greek second person singular and the Greek second person plural. He translates them both as “you,” instead of dierenang them as the Greeks and the KJB do by the singular “thou” and the plural “ye”(Summers, p. 36 et al.). In the KJB “you” is correctly used to express only the pluralobjecve case. Greek grammars ignore the various inected Greek endings and use the word “you” for plural nominave, plural objecve, singular objecve, and singular nominave. God has provided equivalent English words which are as specic as the Greek Bible, which these textbooks refuse to translate into English. The Bible is a legal document; the words in the KJB are not archaic words, they are Bible words (SeeIn Awe of Thy Word , pp. 446-452). If it is important to see that these Greek verbs are dierent in their endings for each person (I, thou, he, we, ye, they et al.), why do they not translate the endings.
They are so apt to say, “The Greek really says…” in other cases, why not with verbs?
The translaons in Greek grammars also do not express other aspects of the inected endings seen in Greek. For example, the KJB accurately translates the rst person, “I write” and second person,
“thou writest,” but the translaon of rst and second person in all Greek grammars is “write” for both rst and second person; this is not a reecon of the inected Greek verb endings.
Charges of ‘archaic’ language in the KJB (‘Ye,’ ‘thee’ et al.) can hardly be made by those who memorize monstrously archaic 2,000 years old Greek inected endings? The fruit of the Spirit will not be produced by pruning the KJB’s verbs.
Preposion Preview Preposion Preview
Errors in Greek grammars are not limited to verbs. Preposions provide another pathway away from the straight and narrow path. The English translaon of preposions can open the door to every heresy imaginable. For example, inEssenals of New Testament Greekby Ray Summersdia(by, through et al.) is incorrectly translated as “through” in John 1. ‘Through’ can mean ‘by means of’ and is best expressed succinctly in this context as ‘by.’ But Summers blasphemously translates it as “through”
and that denies Christ is God saying,
““The world was madethroughthrough him.” Here Christ is looked upon as the intermediate agent of creaon; God is the srcinal agent” (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1950, p. 36).
The verse clearly states that “the Word was God.” That is, Jesus is God. Summers is separang God and Jesus in a verse whose clear purpose is to teach that Jesus Christis God and he made the world.
Summers’ comment shows the herecal results of not translang contextually. This context demands the word ‘by.’
“In the beginning God createdGod created…” (Genesis 1:1)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word wasthe Word was God
God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things weremademade byby himhim;” (John 1:1-3)
(Elohim and “us” are plural (Gen. 1:1, 26), but Summers is wrong to separate Jesus from God.) Preposions will be covered fully in the chapter on Vine.
No One Agrees on
No One Agrees on Greek GrammarGreek Grammar
Should we wait for the latest A+ Greek grammar to spring up, like Aphrodite or Apollo from Hades, and solve the confusion? Hardly, since as long as there are dierent minds seeking to be “as gods,”
there will be dierent opinions. Man’s conicng ideas about tense, aspect, voice, mood, person, number, augment, themac vowels, reduplicaon, principle parts, tense formaves, reduplicaon, personal endings, and deponency are as endless as new versions which put them in print. Newer grammars hold no hope as Generaon X grammarians slide further and further from the ABC’s of the KJB (ABC =AAlwaysBBased onCContext). Evans closes showing the widely divergent disagreement among linguists. He says,
“By way of further contrast,my own views are somewhat dierent againmy own views are somewhat dierent again. I accept with Porter that the perfect essenally expresses stavity, but agree with Fanning that this is to be understood as an Akonsart value, not an independent aspect…
Suchcontradictorycontradictory responses clearly show the need for further study of the Greek perfect. It remains one of the verbal system’s most dicultproblemsproblems, and the new approaches just sketched raised their own share ofquesonsquesons””(Taylor, 206).
“The result is that contemporary theorecal models rest in places on a shakyshaky framework ofassumponassumpon”” (Taylor, pp. 202, 203).
He concludes,
“However, numerous keyquesonsquesons remain open”(Taylor, p. 206).
“Our aim must be…to aain the strongest grasp possible (at our remove of sopossible (at our remove of so many centuries)
many centuries) on the way in which aspect and the Ancient Greek verbal system funcon”(Taylor, p. 206).
What!...the “strongest grasp possiblepossible”! He is saying that Greek linguists and grammarians cannot really know how ancient or ‘Koine’ Greek verbs were used “at our remove of so many centuries” or how they might correspond to our present and very dierent system of English verbs. The babes with Holy Bibles can know, however.
“With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Ma. 19:26).
Scholars change their minds about Greek grammar as oen as verb tense stems change. Why waste God’s me memorizing variaons in the principal parts of Greek verbs? Today’s Greek grammarians put the standard Greek grammar through a paper shredder, add some linguisc confe and turn the fan on, blowing away much of what the standard Greek grammar states. The standard Bible school’s paint-by-numbers approach gives a jagged connect-the-dots picture of the New Testament. Greek grammars are like mummies when compared to the living, breathing photographic realism portrayed in the King James Bible.
Memorizing the misdirected English translaons of verbs in any current Greek grammar will be as fruiul as memorizing a medical textbook from the 1700s that calls for the bleeding of living paents.
George Washington died from such a doctor’s ‘cure’ and so will the Bible expire, by lancing the living oracles of God of their inected endings and correct contextual translaon. While medical textbooks wrien by fallible men of the 1700s were instrucng doctors to ‘bleed’ their paents, the Bible sat ignored as it said, “for the life of all esh is the blood” (Lev. 17:14).
Greek grammar makes dead believers, as well as dead Bibles. Buth’s denions of bapdzō as
“wash” and “dip” will have the same deadly results(Taylor, p. 195).
If you are ‘dipped,’ you drown because you are not brought up to “walk in newness of life…in the likeness of his resurrecon” (Rom. 6:4, 5).
If you are ‘washed’ only, youdo not go under to be (“buried with him by bapsm…planted together in the likeness of his death”).
Only the word ‘bapze’ means to put underand to bring back up.
The Conclusion The Conclusion
The harsh allegaons about the dated character of both lexicons and grammars proves only that there is no agreement among the last four centuries’ nest minds ― I said ‘minds’ not hearts. There are no authories, outside of God’s word, merelyopinions, like Adam’s, Eve’s, and Satan’s. The purpose of this rst secon of the book hasnot been to show that recent grammarians and lexicographers have discovered something valuable and new; the purpose is to show that the old ‘scholars’ do not agree with the new ‘scholars’ and the new ‘scholars’ do not agree with each other. This has been amply demonstrated. The conclusion is simple: toss your Bible remodeling tools. Do not replace them with the new chainsaw views of Generaon X, since their Nintendo-warped grandchildren will change them again and the cycle will connue.
“ProveProve all things; hold fast that which is good.” 1 Thes. 5:21
The remainder of this book will prove faulty the most used Bible Study tools and nd the reader
holding fast to the King James Bible. (Greek grammar and verbs will be discussed in detail in the chapters on Vine and Trench. See alsoThe Language of the King James Bible, pp. 108-109.)
Summary: Bruce Metzger Summary: Bruce Metzger
Lexical Aids For Students of the New Testament
According to Princeton’s Bruce Metzger 45% of the most oen used New Testament Greek words have English derivaves that will ‘ring a bell’ when heard.
These English words look and sound just like their Greek counterpart. When an English speaker hears these Greek words, his mind immediately recognizes them and their general meanings in English.
It is this recognion that tricks students of New Testament Greek into falsely believing that they have found a ‘nugget’ in their Greek studies.
The ‘nugget’ is simply a Greek word that isalready recognized, because italready exists in the English vocabulary. Nothing new has been learned!
Documentaon to follow.