Trenchard’s “The Complete Vocabulary Guide to the Greek New Testament”

Posted on October 15, 2013 by jacobcerone

Warren C. Trenchard, English Grammar to Ace New Testament Greek (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998); 352 pages, $13.98.

Building upon Bruce Metzger’s Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek, Warren Trenchard provides his readers with a comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the Greek New Testament. Trenchard divides his book into five sections.

Section One organizes vocabulary according to cognate word groups. Any word in the New Testament that has a “cognate relationship with at least one other word” is grouped together in the section. This section also includes a list of common prefixes and verb, noun, adjective, and adverb suffixes. The comprehensive nature of Trenchard’s guide is demonstrated by the fact that this first section alone is bigger than Metzger’s entire work.

Section Two is a complete frequency list of all words occurring in the UBS4 edition of the Greek New Testament. Unlike Metzger’s alphabetical arrangement within a range of frequencies, Trenchard organizes words according to the exact frequency. The list is divided into groupings of ten in order to allow for ease of memorization.

While Metzger’s Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek includes an appendix of the principal parts of important New Testament verbs, Trenchard’s list includes every principle part of every verb that occurs in the New Testament. Long forgotten are the days when you did not know that the fourth principal part of ἐρχομαι is  ἐλήλυθα.

Section Four is a list of all proper words in the New Testament. The list is arranged according to “Names of Persons,” “Names of Places,” and “Other Proper Words.” The proper nouns in these subsections are listed alphabetically with frequency information to the right in parentheses.

The fifth and final list is a potpourri of other lists (crasis forms, elision forms, proclitics, enclitics, postpositives, prepositions, improper prepositions, number words, masculine nouns of the first declension, feminine nouns of the second declension, masculine and feminine nouns of the second declension, masculine and neuter nouns of the second declension, etc.).

It is hard to offer any sort of critique of a volume like this. It succeeds in its claim to be a COMPLETE vocabulary guide. And yet…a few words must be said.

First, and this isn’t a criticism of the book, despite the excellence of this work, I sense that few professors would be willing to move away from Metzger. His work has become a standard in the field and the glosses he provides have become a common vernacular, if you will, among Greek scholars, professors, and students.

Second, Metzger’s work is trim. It is easily carried from class-to-class … or wedding ceremonies in a suit jacket pocket. (I’m not at all speaking from experience.)

Third, Trenchard’s work is intimidating. Sections one and two can be stand alone volumes. Furthermore, section three’s list of all verbs and their principle parts is unwieldy. It becomes a reference work instead of advice on which principal parts are most important for translating the New Testament. Metzger’s list of the principal parts of important verbs is a manageable list with which all students should become familiar.

Fourth, though Trenchard chunks his frequency list into groupings of ten, there is no good way to identify a specific grouping. With Metzger, one could easy create flashcards according to his labelled groupings (500+, 201-500, 151-200, etc.). In future editions of this volume, I would recommend putting words in groups of 20 with some heading to indicate the range of words within that group. (I recognize that this might mess with his overall organization wherein words occurring the same number of times are arranged alphabetically. Nevertheless, not being able to easily assign groups of words to students for weekly memorization is a substantial downside).

Despite these objections, this is definitely a resource you should have in your library. If you have mastered Metzger’s list of all words occurring 10+ times in the New Testament, then you are ready for Trenchard. Metzger demands that we go a mile, Trenchard exhorts us to go two.

Posted in Book Reviews, Greek, Greek Resources, NT Greek | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

English Grammar to Ace New Testament Greek

Posted on October 14, 2013 by jacobcerone

Samuel Lamerson, English Grammar to Ace New Testament Greek (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004); 110 pages, $8.99.

Ignorance of English grammar is one of the greatest stumbling blocks for students of New Testament Greek. Those who overcome often leave Greek Grammar claiming to have learned two languages: English and Greek. For others Greek becomes an impenetrable unknown because they cannot grasp the basic concepts of grammar. Having tutored Greek Grammar for several years, I have made it a personal policy to start by explaining the basic components of an English sentence and how they relate to the basic Greek sentence. In so doing, I have found that I lose at least half of my potential clients. The reason? We simply don’t know the grammar of our own language.

Enter Samuel Lamerson’s excellent resource for students of New Testament Greek. This short and inexpensive book is designed for first year students of New Testament Greek. Though it functions as an accompaniment to William Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek, it can also be used by students of other NT Greek Grammars.

The book is divided into 18 chapters covering the following grammatical concepts: Nouns, Inflection, The Article, Adjective, Pronoun, Verbs, Present, Contraction, Passive Verbs, Deponents, Future, Verbs Again, Aorist, Perfect, Participles, Conditional Sentences, Infinitives, and Imperatives.

Lamerson includes a devotional at the beginning of every chapter. The devotional provides a source of encouragement as the student progresses in the language, exegetical insight into particular New Testament passages, or reasons for studying the language. Each New Testament passage is chosen to illustrate, in some capacity, the concept under discussion.

Following the devotional, most chapters include a creative introduction to help that chapter’s concept stick. Take for example the Fiji Mermaid of chapter 15 (Participles). Lamerson writes,

P.T. Barnum is known even today as perhaps the greatest showman ever to have lived. One of his greatest publicity stunts was known as the “Fiji Mermaid.” It was billed as having once been a live mermaid, captured off the coast of the Fiji Islands. Visitors were treated to glimpse at a small mummified body that was half human and half fish, just as a mermaid would have been expected to look. Closer examination revealed that the “mermaid” was nothing more than half of a shaved monkey sewn to the lower half of the fish and mummified. Thus, the mermaid was nothing more than a cleverly constructed hoax, proving Barnum’s most famous saying, “There is a sucker born every minute.”

The Greek participle is much like the Fiji mermaid. It is half an adjective and half a verb “sewn” together in some sort of strange form. It is only by realizing that the participle can take the attributes of both a verb and an adjective that the participle can be fully understood. From some angles, the word looks more like a verb, but from other angles, it looks more like an adjective. Thus, it is the “Fiji mermaid” of the Greek world (80).

This allows Lameson to transition into a discussion of the adverbial and adjectival uses of the participle.

The third major component of each chapter is a general definition of the concept under consideration. While not all scholars will agree with his traditional definitions for aorist and deponent verbs, Lamerson does show awareness of scholarly dissension within these areas and urges the student to learn according to her teacher’s instruction.

The heart of the chapter, as far as the book’s overall aim is concerned, is his discussion of the similarities and differences between the English and Greek formulation of this and that grammatical construction. How does an English speaker know what the subject is in a sentence? How does the Greek speaker know what the direct object is, etc.?

The final component of the chapter is a list of exercises. The first half of these exercises are in English. The student is asked to identify all the nouns in the sentence, for instance. The second half of the exercises are in Greek with English translations. This allows students to make the transition from English to Greek.

While English Grammar to Ace New Testament Greek is written for first year students of New Testament Greek, this is not the only audience that can receive significant benefit from the insights it offers. Professors of New Testament Greek will find Lamerson’s mnemonic devices as a helpful means of alleviating the already heavy burden that is learning a new language. For instance, the nominative case “nominates the subject of the sentence.” The genitive case “generates a description of the noun.” With the dative case, “two or four people go on a date” (two signifying “to” and four signifying “for”). These are only a few of the many helpful devices contained in this helpful resource.

Despite all the good, the book has one glaring omission. There is no answer key. The book is designed for students who do not know English grammar. There was a time in high school when I couldn’t distinguish between nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Of what use are grammar exercises to students that don’t know grammar?

Otherwise, the volume is a helpful tool for all first year students and new teachers of New Testament Greek. As a matter of fact, I will be looking through the volume with each new lesson I teach to make sure there isn’t an illustration, mnemonic device, or clearer way of presenting the material that I might have overlooked.

Posted in Book Reviews, Greek, Greek Resources, NT Greek | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

The Case for the Psalms: A Review

Posted on October 8, 2013 by jacobcerone

N.T. Wright’s A Case for the Psalms: Why They Are Essential is a quick and pleasant read. Atypical of books written by scholars on  the Psalms, Wright does not spend time digging into the intricacies of Hebrew poetry, the nature of parallelism, the history of the book’s composition, or other such matters. Perceiving the church’s disheartening neglect of her ancient hymnbook, he, instead, pleads for her return to the emotional, aesthetic, and theological depth inherent in the Psalms. These poems/songs must become a part of the lifeblood of all Christians everywhere. They unite  the apostolic church, the early church, and the modern worldwide church. Singing these Psalms within our corporate contexts is one way (among others) that the church universal worships together. The worldview they express and to which they testify must be embodied and prayed. That worldview is articulated in the book’s core chapters (Chapter 3: At the Threshold of God’s Time; Chapter 4: Where God Dwells; and Chapter 5: All the Trees of the Forest Sing for Joy).

In chapter 3, Wright argues that the past faithfulness of God, the present suffering and uncertainness, and the promise of future vindication coalesce. As Christians we live as exiles in this world. We know that God has called a people to himself. We know that he has dealt faithfully with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We know that he sent his son, Christ, to die for our sins and the restoration of all creation. Nevertheless, we live in a world of sin and suffering. The Psalms call us to live in God’s time. A time when all three of these realities intersect. Wright says,

This is what poetry and music themselves are there to do: to link the present to the past, to say, “Remember,” to say, “Blessed be God,” even when the tide is running strongly in the wrong direction (72).

Chapter 4 moves in a progressive manner. Wright argues that the Psalms testify to sacred space. The original creation was a space where God met with Adam and Eve. The Temple, Israel’s holy place wherein YHWH himself dwelt, looks back to the garden. After the destruction of the Temple, Torah becomes a new temple. Through the love of, delight in, and adherence to the Torah, the people of God become his dwelling place. Christ becomes the ultimate expression of this truth. Wright notes that this is the theology John expresses when he writes in 1:14 that Jesus tabernacled with us. John further develops the concept of God dwelling/tabernacling among men in his conversation with the woman at the well. God is wherever he is worshipped in spirit/Spirit and in truth. Wright concludes this chapter with these remarks:

The psalmists’ notions of sacred space have not been abandoned. They have been translated into the mode of Messiah and Spirit. The “sacred space” of the Temple, the primary location for so many psalms, stood at the heart of God’s holy land. Paul has glimpsed a vision in which the whole world is now God’s holy land and is to be set free at last from its slavery to corruption, flooded at last (as the prophets had said) with the knowledge and glory of God.

And at the heart of that new land, we see not a sacred building of bricks and mortar but a sacred people, whose very hearts have become the dwelling place of the living God by his Spirit, enabling them to be conformed to “the model of the image of his son,” the one in whom the Psalms’ greatest promises have found their fulfillment. (115).

Finally, Wright argues that the Psalms articulate a distinct understanding of matter/the material world. The psalmists understand that God has created all things. His work was magnificent. It testifies to his glory. Though his creation has been marred by the tragedy of human sin, that does not negate the good work of God. Furthermore, the new creation will not be an entirely new work. He will not destroy all that is and start afresh. The new creation will be a transformation and restoration of this material world. This transformation and restoration is enabled through the glorious work of Christ and the Holy Spirit. It is not something for which we must wait. It is taking place now. The Spirit is working to transform hearts, minds, and souls. He creates new habits and ambitions, new love and acts of service in those he redeems.

Chapter six acts as a conclusion to the work.

Chapter seven is an afterword that allows the reader to peak into the life of N.T. Wright. How does this Christian scholar use the Psalms? How have they affected him?

Did Wright make his case for the Psalms? I believe he has. He opened my eyes to my deficient understanding of the Psalms. He convicted me of my negligence. He has made me envious of  other Christian traditions wherein the psalms are sung regularly and in their entirety. Because of this, and with the assistance of my wife, I immediately sought out music in the vein of such traditions. I found the the choir of King’s College Cambridge album of the Psalms of David, and haven’t stopped listening. I will leave you with a sampling . . .

[Edit: It occurred to me upon a rereading of this post that some may misconstrue Wright’s case for the Psalms as one framed entirely by the so-called “Worship Debates.” While this is a part of his discussion, it is but a small part. Wright desires that all Christians will read, pray, sing, know, embody, and love the Psalms. The worldview they portray (time, space, matter) is uniquely equipped to the task of guiding Christians through God’s world.]

Posted in Biblical Studies, Book Reviews, Life, Name That Author | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Learn to Read NT Greek

Posted on October 2, 2013 by jacobcerone

Dr. David Alan Black’s book, Learn to Read New Testament Greek, is currently on sale for $2.99 (Kindle version). There is no doubt the hard copy is preferable, but at $2.99 you would be crazy to pass up this deal.

Posted in Greek | 4 Comments

QOTD: Wright

Posted on September 23, 2013 by jacobcerone

This becomes more obviously true, and at a more serious level, when we try to talk about events in the past. Suppose, for example, we try to make a small but central claim about Jesus. If we say ‘Christ died for our sins’, it is not difficult to see an obvious element of interpretation: ‘for our sins’ is a theological addendum to the otherwise ‘historical’ statement. But even if we say ‘Christ died’, we have not escaped interpretation: we have chosen to refer to Jesus as ‘Christ’, ascribing to him a Messiahship which neither his contemporaries nor ours would universally grant. Very well: ‘Jesus died’. But we still have not escaped ‘interpretation’, and indeed at this point it looms larger than ever: three people died outside Jerusalem that afternoon, and we have chosen to mention only one. For that matter, thousands of Jews were crucified by the Romans in the vicinity of Jerusalem during the same century, and we have chosen to mention only one. Our apparently bare historical remark is the product of a multi-faceted interpretative decision. Nor is this unusual. It is typical of all history. All history involves selection, and it is always human beings who do the selecting.

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Rabanus Maurus on Esther 1:1-6

Posted on September 21, 2013 by jacobcerone

Rabanus Maurus was a Benedictine monk, the archbishop of Mainz, and a theologian living during the 8th and 9th century. His comments on the text of Esther, along with those of Nicolas of Lyra, comprise the majority of the material found in the Glossa Ordinaria. Rabanus’ work can also be found in volumes 113 and 114 of the Patrologiae Latina volumes misattributed to Walahfrid Strabo.

As far as I know, his comments on Esther have not been translated in full. Some of his comments can be found in the Ancient Christian Commentary Series on Esther. As I’ve been translating the full text, though, I find that the author/editor of that commentary includes, in my opinion, the boring bits, and leaves the meat of Rabanus’ comments. I thought that I might share some of my translations here. (What is included here are the comments I find most interesting, and for the most part, are not found in the ACCS volume). I will include the Latin text below for those interested. Feel free to correct my translations; be gentle, though, I know they are deficient.

The book of Esther which the Hebrews count among the Hagiographa, contain the sacraments of Christ and the church. Esther is a type of the church which frees people from danger. Haman, who is interpreted as iniquity, has been destroyed . . . .

The capital Susa. etc. Susa is a city in Persia, which historians say was founded by the brother of Memnon, and the name of the city was taken from the name of the river Susi. There is the royal house of Cyrus, white and various colored stones, golden columns, and a roof of distinct gems. It also contained a sculpture of the sky with shining stars, and many other incredible things. There Assuerus gave a great feast of his wealth, and he celebrated with great delicacies . . . .

In the third year. At that time, that is, the when the mystery of his incarnation, and the spiritual feast of preaching, and the abundant supply of his body and blood were revealed. The first [year of his reign] was before the law, the second under the law, the third under grace.

A great banquet for all the rulers. “the Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who made a wedding feast for his son” (Matt 22:2). And elsewhere, “a certain man made a great feast and he had called many” (Luke 14). The history of this party displays the parade of riches and the luxury of the king. But allegorically it signifies the spiritual delicacies of Christ which he dispenses to everyone. For Christ is the richest king. Who is his wife? It is the church, which delivers the Jews, that is the confessors [Christians], from the hand of danger by prayer, and she also condemns.

For it is not necessary that if the good things signify [Christ], that the bad of certain things must also agree with Christ. For Moses signified Christ in many ways, but not in this: that he doubted at the waters of Meribah. Neither does Aaron signify Christ when he fashions the calf, nor Solomon in his stain of lust. Thus Assuerus, in this judgment, signifies Christ in the liberal banquet, just as Isaiah indicates Christ in the form of king Cyrus of Persia, about which he later adds, “I equipped you, but you did not know me” etc.

For if the kings of iniquity signify the devil by their deeds, why should the good kings not reveal Christ by their good deeds? Nebuchadnezzar commanded those who had heard the sound of the harmony and music to worship the prostrate statue. And the devil of this world, with his charm, bends the human race from an upright mind to one that follows after avarice, which is idolatry . . . .

And there was hung. The silk signifies the mortification of the flesh; the purple the blood of the martyrs; the columns of marble the stability of the teachers. Therefore, it is well said that the hangings of various colored silk and purple ropes with ivory rings are suspended on marble columns, because the beauty of the church must shine in wise meditation, and in the ascent of virtue to the mortification of the flesh and chastity with the dignity of the martyrs, and by their word and example to attain to other knowledge, in order that from this instruction and strengthening they might merit to enter into the courtyard of the garden.

And they were held up by columns of marble That is, the teachers about which it is said, “I have confirmed its columns” (Ps 74:4). From elsewhere, “Its pillars he had made of silver, the couch he made of gold” (Cant 3:10).

Upon pavement It is called emerald from its excessive greenness. Parius is a white kind of marble. For by the greenness of faith and the whiteness of chastity is the foundation of humility built. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs” (Matt 5) and “Whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk 14:11), and elsewhere “Learn from me, because I am meek” (Matt 11:29) etc.

Some of you might shudder when reading allegorical interpretation. You might wonder why I find these portions fascinating. I do for a couple reasons.

  • First, Rabanus is aware of his hermeneutic (method of interpreting Scripture). He acknowledges that the historical significance of the feast was to display to riches and luxury of the king.
  • Second, he places constraints on his allegorical exegesis: the virtuous elements of an individual or event can be attributed to Christ and/or his kingdom, whereas, the evil cannot be transferred. The Gospel writers do exactly this. Christ is a king like David, without the sexual immorality. Christ is a prophet like Moses, without the disobedience etc. Furthermore, Jesus claims that the Pharisees lie because their father, the Devil, is the father of lies. This connection seems to be at the heart of Rabanus’ method (though he does not say as much). Wickedness is attributed to the father of wickedness. Virtue is attributed to the Father of virtue and virtue incarnate.
  • Third, there is a great deal of creativity in these interpretations. Take, for example, his interpretation of In the third year. Here we find his understanding of the economies of redemptive history: before the law, under the law, under grace. In the third year, under grace, there is the incarnation, the preaching of the Gospel, the out-poring of Christ’s body and blood. This is the feast that we, as Christians, partake in. 
  • Fourth, I struggle with how the book of Esther bears meaning for the Christian church. It is interesting to see how earlier commentators handled the text and applied it to their audience.

––––––––––––––––––––

Rabanus- Latin

Liber Esther quē Hebr. inter hagiographa numerant, Christi et ecclesiae continet sacramenta. Esther.n.m typo ecclesiae populum liberat de periculo, et interfecto Aman qui interpretatur iniquitas . . . .

Susan civitas etc. Susan metropolis est in Perside, quam aiunt historici Memnonis fratrem constituisse, et a Susi fluvio nomen accepisse. Ibi est regia domus Cyri lapide candido et vario, columnis aureis, et laquearibus gemmisque distincta: coeli continens simulacrum stellis  micantibus insignitum, et incredibilia multa. Ibi Assuerus convivium maximum divitiis, et copiosum deliciis celebravit.

Tertio igitur anno. Tempore, scilicet, istius saeculi incarnationis sua sacramentum patefecit, et spirituales epulas praedicationis, et corporis et sanguinis sui abundantissime ministravit. Primum tempus ante legem, secundum sub lege, tertium sub gratia.

Grande convivum cunctis principibus. Simile est regnum caelorum homini regi qui fecit nuptias filio suo (Matth. XXII). Et alibi Homo quidam fecit coenam magnam: et vocavit multos (Luc. XIV). Huius convivii historia, pompam divitiarum, et luxum regis ostendit: sed Christi spirituales delicias quas unicuique dispensat, allegorice significat. Christus enim est ille ditissimus rex, qui uxoris sua, id est Ecclesiae, precibus exoratus, Judaeos, id est confessores suos, de manu inimicorum liberat, atque ipsos iuste condemnat.

Neque enim necesse est, ut si aliquorum bona Christum significant, eorum quoque mala ipsi, scilicet Christo conveniant. Moyses enim in multis Christum significavit; sed non in hoc, quod ad aquas contradictionis dubitavit. Sed nec Aaron factura vituli. Sic Assuerus in isto iudicio, ut in liberali convivio Christum significat, sicut Isaias in Cyro rege Persarum Christum signat, de quo postea subjungit: “Accinxi te et non cognovisti me” (Isa. 45) etc.

Si enim reges iniqui in malefactis diabolum significant; cur non reges justi in benefactis, Christum demonstrant? Nabuchodonosor iussit populos audita symphoniarum et musicorum voce prostratos statuam adorare. Et diabolus saeculari dulcedine genus humanum inflectit a mentis rectitudine ad sequendam avaritiam quae est simulacrorum servitus.

Et pendebant Byssus mortificationem carnis significat. Purpura sanguinem martyrii. Columnae marmoreae, firmitatem doctorum. Bene ergo dicitur quod tentoria diversi coloris byssinis et purpureis funibus per circulos eburneos in columnis marmoreis suspendebantur; quia decor Ecclesiae in sapientiae meditatione et in virtutum ascensione per carnis mortificationem et castitatem cum martyrii dignitate in doctoribus debet effulgere; et ipsorum verbo et exemplo ad aliorum notitiam pervenire: ut ab his instructi et confortati, aulam paradisi mereantur introite.

Et columnis marmoreis fulciebantur Id est, doctoribus de quibus dicitur: “Ego confirmavi columnas eius” (Ps 74). Ex alibi: “Columnas fecit argenteas, reclinatorium aureum” (Cant III).

Super pavimentum Smaragdus a nimia viriditate sui sic vocatur. Parium, genus marmoris candidissimum. Per virorem enim fidei et candorem castitatis construitur fundamentum humilitatis. “Beati enim pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum” (Matt 5) Et: “Qui se humiliat exaltabitur” (Luke 14:11). Et alibi: “Discite a me, quia mitis sum” (Matt 11), etc.

Posted in Latin | 1 Comment

MIA?

Posted on September 19, 2013 by jacobcerone

I apologize to my faithful readers. I haven’t had much time to blog recently. Sometimes that means that I haven’t been very productive. That is not the case this semester. I have been busy working away on countless projects (personal, professional, studential?, and ministerial).

On the personal front, I’m enjoying watching our little boy Elijah grow up quickly. He’s growing up so fast. He’s only 2 months, and he is more mature than any baby I’ve ever seen. If you don’t believe me, get a load of this picture.

photo

His dad can’t even fill out a mustache like that in two months.

On the professional front, I’ve been helping with some of the editorial aspects of getting Dr. David Alan Black’s book The Authorship of Hebrews: The Case for Paul prepared for publication. It should be ready October 1st. Look for it here.

As a student, I’m working through the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin texts of Esther. The Hebrew and Greek texts are for class discussion. The Latin will be my major project for the semester. I will be translating the 28 page Glossa Ordinaria, which includes the Vulgate of Esther.

Glossa-Esther Page 1

That’s some small print. I better get a translating or I won’t make my deadline. Wish me luck as I relearn Ecclesiastical Latin! (A bit of a side-note: if anyone has a copy of the Oxford Latin Dictionary just laying around the house that you aren’t using, I’d be happy to take that $330 paperweight off your hands. Send me your email, I’ll send you my address, I may even pay for postage :P)

Greek Grammar II started up last night. You can see what is going on in the class here. Last night we reviewed the first thirteen chapters of Dr. Black’s Greek Grammar. Pray for us as we learn the language of the New Testament in order to better understand and serve our God.

I’m also teaching through the first 5 books of the Book of the Twelve with two good friends. Right now we are working our way through the book of Hosea. God rhetorically pulls out all the stops in accusing his people of rabid unfaithfulness. A weighty and convicting book. I only hope our class doesn’t get too downtrodden as we make our way through the rest of the book and the following prophets.

All of this is to say, I’m still alive!

Posted in Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Life | Leave a comment

QOTD: Melito of Sardis

Posted on August 27, 2013 by jacobcerone

Meltio of Sardis On Pascha 30-33

Such was the calamity which surrounded Egypt,
and made her suddenly childless.
Israel was guarded by the slaughter of the sheep,
and was illuminated by the shedding of blood,
and the death of the sheep was a wall for the people.

O strange and ineffable mystery!
The slaughter of the sheep was Israel’s salvation,
and the death of the sheep was life for the people,
and the blood averted the angel.

Tell me angel, what turned you away?
The slaughter of the sheep or the life of the Lord?
The death of the sheep or the type of the Lord?
The blood of the sheep or the spirit of the Lord?

It is clear that you turned away
seeing the mystery of the Lord in the sheep
and the life of the Lord in the slaughter of the sheep
and the type of the Lord in the death of the sheep.
Therefore you struck not Israel down,
but made Egypt alone childless.

Translation by Alistair Stewart-Sykes in the PPS series.

Posted in Early Church Writings | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

The Use of γράφω and its Compounds in Eusebius: Origen and Pauline Authorship of Hebrews?

Posted on August 19, 2013 by jacobcerone

David Alan Black is slated to release a new book contending that Paul wrote the book of Hebrews. It is sure to make some waves in the scholarly field. I highly suggest you read his thoughts on the matter. Even if you are not dissuaded from the entrenched position that Paul most certainly is not the author of Hebrews, it will challenge you.

Since we are talking about the issue of the authorship of Hebrews, may I humbly suggest you read my article, “The Use of γράφω and its Compounds in Eusebius“? In his 2001 article “Who Wrote Hebrews? The Internal and External Evidence Reconsidered,” Black argued that Paul was the author of Hebrews and Luke served as his amanuensis. Black uses Origen’s view, cited by Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History, as support for this position. Alan Mitchell, in his commentary on Hebrews in the Sacra Pagina series, responded to Black. He contends that Origen’s quote is found in Eusebius and that Eusebius prefers a compound form of γράφω (ὑπογράφω, συγγράφω, ἐγγράφω, ἀναγράφω, etc.) when he refers to the act of writing alone. This means that Origen, when he said “God alone knows who wrote ὁ γράφω Hebrews,” could not be referring to an amanuensis since he uses γράφω and not a compound form.

Bypassing the question as to whether or not Eusebius’s usage of γράφω and its compounds is relevant to Origen’s quote, I ask whether Mitchell’s analysis of Eusebius holds true. Is there a clear and fast distinction between γράφω and its compounds, or is there a greater degree of semantic overlap than Mitchell allows? The purpose of the essay isn’t to prove Pauline authorship or that Origen thought Paul used an amanuensis. Its purpose, however, is to ask whether Mitchell unnecessarily limits the semantic range of γράφω in Eusebius.

I hope you enjoy!

Posted in Early Church Writings, Greek | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Eusebius

Posted on August 7, 2013 by jacobcerone

I’ve recently been working through Eusebius and thought I might pass along a bit of advice that might help you. Eusebius is fond of separating the article from its noun and nestling a phrase inside. Take 5 Eusebius 16:3 for example:

Ἐκ πλείστου ὅσου καὶ ἱκανωτάτου χρόνου, ἀγαπητὲ Ἀυίρκιε Μάρκελλε, ἐπιταχθεὶς ὑπὸ σοῦ συγγράψαι τινὰ λόγον εἰς τὴν τῶν κατὰ Ἀλκιβιάδην λεγομένων αἵρεσιν,

Let’s begin by rearranging a little.

ἐπιταχθεὶς Ἐκ πλείστου ὅσου καὶ ἱκανωτάτου χρόνου ὑπὸ σοῦ, ἀγαπητὲ Ἀυίρκιε Μάρκελλε, συγγράψαι τινὰ λόγον . . .

Having been urged for a long and sufficient time by you, beloved Avircius Marcellus, to write a certain word/treatise. . .

That was . . easy . . . But here is where things get a bit tricky.

εἰς τὴν τῶν κατὰ Ἀλκιβιάδην λεγομένων αἵρεσιν

What are we to do with τὴν and τῶν?

εἰς τὴν τῶν κατὰ Ἀλκιβιάδην λεγομένων αἵρεσιν

τὴν goes with αἵρεσιν. Everything in between τὴν and αἵρεσιν modifies the prepositional phrase εἰς τὴν αἵρεσιν. Our translation now reads:

Having been urged for a long and sufficient time by you, beloved Avircius Marcellus, to write a certain word/treatise against the heresy . . .

We still need to decide what we are to do with τῶν.

τῶν κατὰ Ἀλκιβιάδην λεγομένων

τῶν is the article of the participle λεγομένων. Everything in between serves to modify τῶν λεγομένων. Our translation now reads:

Having been urged for a long and sufficient time by you, beloved Avircius Marcellus, to write a certain word/treatise against the heresy of those who are called. . .

Finally, we have κατὰ Ἀλκιβιάδην. Our final translation looks like this:

Having been urged for a long and sufficient time by you, beloved Avircius Marcellus, to write a certain word/treatise against the heresy of those who are called according to/after Alkibiaden.

If we were to rearrange the Greek to make “more sense” to us, it would look like this:

ἐπιταχθεὶς Ἐκ πλείστου ὅσου καὶ ἱκανωτάτου χρόνου ὑπὸ σοῦ, ἀγαπητὲ Ἀυίρκιε Μάρκελλε, συγγράψαι τινὰ λόγονεἰς τὴν αἵρεσιν τῶν λεγομένων κατὰ Ἀλκιβιάδην

I hope this was helpful. Happy translating!

Posted in Early Church Writings, Greek | Tagged | 4 Comments