Almost Greek of the Week

I’m not going to look at a particular Greek word this week, but rather a section from Mounce’s “The Basics of Biblical Greek.”  Each chapter opens with a brief section entitled “Exegetical Insight” which gives practical examples of how the subject matter in that chapter plays out in Biblical exegesis.  As I review for a midterm tomorrow, this brief intro to chapter 19 (“Future Active/Middle Indicative”)stood out to me:

In English we think of the future tense as the tense of simple prediction. Greek often uses the future that way, too, but in many biblical passages it carries a different sense. Particularly when quoting the Old Testament (under the influence of a parallel Hebrew construction), the future is used to give a command. “Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery,” and so on, are not predictions about the behavior of God’s people, or we would have repeatedly proven God wrong! Rather they are commands, what grammarians often call the imperatival or volitive use of the future tense. We do this in English occasionally, particularly in casual speech. For example, the student insistently says to her friends about an upcoming party, “You will be there!” This is not a prediction but a demand!

An excellent New Testament example appears when both Jesus and Paul quote Genesis 2:24: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” In the context of the story of Adam and Eve, it is natural to take this as God’s prediction about how married life will proceed among the offspring of these first two human beings, and there may be a partially predictive element intended here. But when Jesus cites this passage to refute the Pharisees’ generally more lenient views on divorce (Matt 19:5), he knows full well that many of God’s people have violated and will continue to violate this creation ordinance. The same is true of Paul when he establishes the principles of a Christian marriage in the midst of the highly promiscuous pagan culture of Ephesus (Eph 5:31). Rather, both Jesus and Paul are using the future tense verbs of the Genesis text primarily in their imperatival sense–telling believers that God commands them to be faithful to their spouses for life.

That command remains crucial today, when Christians divorce for so many flimsy reasons that the Bible never condones. As the pastor who married my wife and me told us during premarital counseling, “There may be extreme instances in which divorce is biblically legitimate. But if you go into marriage looking for a way out, you will almost surely find it. Far better to commit to each other that you will never divorce, even if those extreme circumstances were to occur. Then you will have to turn to God, to Christian friends, and to each other to see you through the difficult times. And God will prove faithful.” We have heeded this advice for fourteen years now, and will continue to heed it for as long as we live. And in that period of time, while there have been struggles, there certainly has been nothing emerge to seriously threaten our marriage. God does remain faithful when we commit to his commands. And some of them come “disguised” in the future tense.

Craig L. Blomberg

Great insight from Dr. Blomberg, and a challenge to trust God.  Moreover, Dr. Blomberg has recently agreed to offer some input via a telephone interview regarding an issue my fellowship is working through right now, so I look forward to attending that interaction.

Greek of the Week: Episode 2

In our conversations, letters and emails we often say “God bless you” or something like that, but we rarely consider what that means.  “Bless” is such a whimsical word these days, tossed around with the same carefree insincerity as chucking out a “have a nice day” at the grocery store.  What does it mean when we ask for God’s blessing?  What does it mean when we are told to bless others.  Consider, if you will, Jesus command to “bless those who curse you” (Luke 6:28).  Jesus is telling his disciples to do the opposite of what is being done to them.  The opposite of “curse” is “bless” and once you take a look at the Greek word, you understand why.  Our Greek of the week is the word most translations render as “bless”:

ευλογεω

(eulogeo, pronounced “yu-loh-gey-oh”)  Most funerals feature a point when the pastor, spouse, family and/or close friends stand before the gathered mourners and speak of the cherished life and memories of the dearly departed.  We call this a “eulogy,” derived from the Greek ευλογεω.  Literally, the verb means “to speak favourably.”  The BDAG lexicon lists the primary meaning as “to say something commendatory, speak well of, praise, extol.“  Consider for a moment the meaning of the words, ”May God speak favourably of you.”

That is not to say that “bless” doesn’t also carry the meaning of “providing benefits,” but let us meditate on the primary meaning and the coming future.  On the day of the Lord, when all of us will stand before him, how shall God ευλογεω us.  The Creator of all things, the first and last, the only absolute, the only one who truly knows you is about to deliver your eulogy.  What will He say?

Greek of the Week: Episode 1

I’m starting a new series to further chronicle some of the awesome stuff I’m learning at seminary, but I don’t worry, I’ll get back to the “Particular/General Baptist” series soon.  I’ve been a little under the weather this week, so my get-up-n-go got up and went.  This little series will let me share a little bit about a Greek word that I’ve studied, where you’ll find it translated, and what the underlying meaning speaks to.  Today, our star is…

μονογενης

(monogenes, pronounced “mono-gennays” with a hard “g”)  It’s the word that’s translated “only begotten” in John 3:16, which the NIV translates as “one and only.”  It speaks to being “unique of its kind.”  Car companies might be tempted to claim that their vehicle is μονογενης, implying that it’s the “only car in its class.”  In the case of Jesus, it speaks to much more than simply being the only child – it proclaims a “unique uniqueness” which English is hard pressed to accurately translate, hence the different translation.  It can be used of a “only child” but “μονογενης son” is only used of Jesus in the New Testament.

Lord’s Prayer Practice

As part of our Greek class, we have to recite the Lord’s prayer from memory, so here’s the mp3s of it to help my classmates and I practice:

• Ken Penner (normal speed)
• Ken Penner (slower)
• Ken Penner (even slower)
• Marilyn Phemister from ccel.org (normal speed)
• Marilyn Phemister from ccel.org (slower)
• Marilyn Phemister from ccel.org (even slower)
• Alvin the Chipmunk (just because it’s funny)