A. Chadwick Thornhill - Greek for Everyone: Introductory Greek for Bible Study and Application

2016 by A. Chadwick Thornhill

Published by Baker Books

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakerbooks.com

Ebook edition created 2016

Ebook corrections 01.11.2017

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4934-0653-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Unless otherwise noted, all translations are the authors.

Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011

Scripture quotations labeled LEB are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.

Scripture quotations labeled MSG are from THE MESSAGE. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Scripture quotations labeled NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations labeled NIrV are from the Holy Bible, New International Readers Version. NIrV. Copyright 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations labeled NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations labeled NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations labeled RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

When youre facing a maze, its not only crucial to know the way to get out; you also need to know the way to get in. For many beginning students, Greek is indeed a foreign languagethe letters look strange; the pronunciation sounds strange; and just when you think youre getting the hang of it, somebody tells you that you are at a dead end. Chad Thornhill has provided an excellent guide through the maze of beginning Greek that will not leave you lost in the middle with no clear way out. Written in clear, easy-to-follow prose, this book is an excellent step-by-step guide to begin to learn the language of the New Testament. I commend this to every student who would like to finally stop saying Its all Greek to me!

Ben Witherington III , Jean R. Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary; doctoral faculty emeritus, St. Andrews University, Scotland

Many who have never taken courses in Greek feel they lack the skills to interpret the New Testament competently. For many the only thing more challenging than interpreting the New Testament without a working knowledge of Greek is actually learning Greek. Few people have hundreds of hours to memorize the thousands of words and grammatical forms that are the focal points of traditional courses in Greek. But without such an investment, how can students move beyond dependence on English translations? A. Chadwick Thornhills Greek for Everyone bridges this gap. Greek for Everyone solves the vocabulary problem by focusing on the use of interlinear tools and deciphering grammatical terms and concepts. The result is a readable resource for self-study that orients readers to the impact of the Greek language for interpretation, one that evades the sorts of obstacles that discourage Bible students.

Michael Heiser , scholar in residence, Logos Bible Software

In Greek for Everyone we have a great introduction to the Greek of the New Testament. What makes this book distinctive is that it is written especially for those who need help understanding language and grammar, things that most other grammars assume readers already know. Professor Thornhill provides helpful, transparent explanations of the grammar of the Greek New Testament. From participles to prepositions, from nouns to verbs, Greek for Everyone keeps it simple and clear. Students will love it.

Craig A. Evans , John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins and dean of the School of Christian Thought, Houston Baptist University

Dr. Chad Thornhill has done us a tremendous service in this useful book. By distilling his experience teaching Greek, he has given us a wonderful resource with a multitude of applications: pastors who have let their Greek slide or simply need a refresher, professors who would like to glean from another teacher of the language, students who could benefit from additional encouragement and insight as they grapple with Greek, and lay people who may not have had an opportunity to study the language formally but who would love nothing more than to grow in their understanding of the New Testament. There is something here for everyone. I cant recommend this resource highly enough!

Todd Wilson , senior pastor, Calvary Memorial Church; cofounder and chairman of the Center for Pastor Theologians

For my parents, Bobby and Darlene, who have invested so much in me

Contents

Preface

If youve ever wondered why our Bible translations differ (sometimes drastically), why pastors, theologians, and scholars differ on how to interpret the Gospels or the writings of Paul, what reading the original words of the New Testament might reveal, or how to better study the New Testament in order to better teach, preach, or live its message, this book was written for you. Studying the New Testament in Greek opens up a world of interpretation not possible without it. A colleague of mine often says its like going from black-and-white television to high-definition. This book will not make you a master of the Greek language, but it will enable you to understand its basics, interact with quality commentaries and research on the New Testament, and gain more confidence in rightly interpreting the Bible.

The resources available today for learning Greek and Hebrew are immense and incredibly helpful. With that in mind, I have written this book to focus solely on issues of morphology (how words are formed), grammar (how meaning is structured), syntax (how words and phrases are arranged), structural analysis (how ideas interact with one another), and introductory exegetical (i.e., interpretive) matters. The goal is to understand how language as a whole works, and in particular the Greek language, and to apply our findings to Scripture. Through this book we will not become experts in Greek, but we will become better students of the New Testament.

This book is dedicated to all of the students who have put up with my instruction in Greek grammar for nearly a decade now. Their interactions have helped to shape how I understand, teach, and appreciate the language of the New Testament. My goal for this book is to equip the reader with a working knowledge of Greek. This will not be equivalent to the experience most students receive in an undergraduate, seminary, or graduate program in Greek, where the emphasis is on memorizing numerous vocabulary words, conjugations, and declensions and translating large portions of the New Testament. Rather, this book aims to equip those who do not undertake that process. While other, more intensive approaches may result in a more extensive understanding of the language and more efficient interaction with texts, this approach will seek to equip the reader with the skills to work through a passage exegetically, knowing how to get the lay of the textual land and understand what features to give the most attention.