Dec 16 2016 while I finish this year's ecards I'm bumping a few older posts
Saturday, 27 December 2014
Xmas greetings
Dec 16 2016 while I finish this year's ecards I'm bumping a few older posts
Saturday, 20 December 2014
House of Sand House of Rock
Matthew Chapter 7 Verses 24 - 29
literal translation
everyone therefore whoever hears my the words these
(notice how greek uses both a definite article and a demonstrative for emphasis)
and does them I will liken (say compare in modern english for homoioosoo ) him
to a man prudent who built his home upon the rock.
(the origin of the rock of faith metaphor also claimed by catholics to be a reference to Peter )
and came down the rain
and came the rivers (ie like a flash flood )
and blew the winds falling upon that house
and not it fell
for it was founded on rock
Note the parallelism
and everyone who hears (pas means each or every here) my the words these
parallelism again
and not doing them he shall / should be compared to a man foolish
who built the house his upon sand
and came down the rain
and came the rivers
andblew the winds
and striking that house
and it fell and was the fall of it great
Now a foolish person or a desperate farmer probably sometimes in low sandy valleys thinking it safe since floods and rain was rare but sensible people do not build on flood plains
what did his audience think of his preaching?
and it happened when had completely finished the jesus the words those astonished the crowds at his teaching
he was for teaching them as power having and kai not as the scribes
remember your "crowd" or mob are not scribes or scholars but "everyman"
This is the end of my hopefully helpful notes on the Sermon on the Mount.
Next Year I'll start by repeating some older grammar notes for beginners before moving onto a different section of the Gospels in Greek.
Catching Cerberos
THE FINAL #hercworks
#Heracles and #Cerberos
This myth seemed to have been used to promote the Eleusinian Mysteries and justify the rites expansion to include non Athenians.
Heracles was ordered to descend to the Underworld and return with
Before he could do so he had to be ritually cleansed of blood pollution.
Now Hades told his nephew he could borrow the dog if he could restrain and control it without using his club or arrows. Most versions of the story claim he wrestled or throttled the monstrous giant hound into submission and once again terrified his cousin but one Attic vase painter seems to have thought he took a gentler approach.
Sunday, 14 December 2014
I did not know you!
Matthew Chapter 7 21-23
Paraphrase and notes first
Not all who say to me Lord! Lord! will enter into the realm of the heavens
note eiseleusetai erkhomai future stem eleuso
but he who the will of the father mine in the heavens (will)
many will say ero future of lego to me in (during / on) that day Lord Lord
not in the your name / in your note did we not prophetize
and by / in your name demons cast out
and ny your name works of power many do ?
and then I will declare / state / to them
Never I knew you!
Get away from me
those working lawlessness
note not merely sinners but people who claim and think they are doing things in the name of the divine but actually work against divine law !
Anomia is the final word in greek and if there was such a word in english you could translate it as UNLAW ?
And what is the LAW ?
remember Jesus said the Law could be summed up as
Love the Divine and love your neighbour!
Wednesday, 10 December 2014
Poor Ladon Poor Heracles
Saturday, 6 December 2014
False Prophets and Bad fruit
Matthew Chapter 7 15 - 20
literal translation
15 beware of false prophets
(bear in mind prophets were also teachers not just seers or wonder workers )
who(ever) its hostis in greek ! comes towards you in clothing dative of enduma used of sheep probatoon inside but they are wolves ravagers
16 from the fruit of them you should know them!
future form of epiginooskoo
not you gather from thorns bunches of grapes or from nettles figs?
17 likewise so each good tree fine fruit makes
and the bad tree wretched fruit makes
note new word sapron
18 not it is possible tree good fruit bad to make
nor tree bad fruit fine to make
19 each tree not to make fruit fine it is cut up and into fire throw
20 surely from the fruit of them you will know them
Something to consider ?
Sick or poor quality trees can sometimes be improved of coppicing
removing dead or diseased wood and branches and old growth ?
Its late afternoon in my time zone and we've had yet another violent storm sweep over the city. Pray and HELP storm victims and bear in mind the Phillipines too where its hurricane season !
Friday, 5 December 2014
Geryon
#hercules #geryon #HERACLES
Good morning metousia followers !
I took a break over thanksgiving and then local storms and other problems disrupted my blogging schedule.
I simply couldnt find one good image I liked of the Geryon stories.
Its a odd one with a Celtic flaviur. Heracles shoots arrows at the sun and gets given a cup that can be used as a boat a kind of magical size changing coracle.
Coracles are NOT greek.
He also journeys to the mysterious West and steals cattle from a sacred guardian his dog. he guardian has 3 bodies and the dog 2 heads.
The Greeks seemed to have used this story to support colonization and trade with Spain and Southern France. A three bodied warrior suggests some kind of ritual combat and while most versions claim this took place in spain it could have been in a Celtiberian area!
Saturday, 22 November 2014
The Narrow Gate
Matthew Chapter 7 Verses 13 -14
you have undoubtedly noticed some people obsess on scriptural inerrancy and other people on textual criticism.
Here's the literal translation for study purposes
in-enter (compound verb where English uses a prep) thru the narrow gate
hoti as a causal particle so translated for rather than that
wide the gate and easy/broad the road the one away-leading into the destruction
and many they are those who income / enter thru it.
verse 14 starts with TI in some greek texts and oti in others!
this doesnt change the meaning in any major way so if you see people invalidating the bible because there is textual variants well avoid extremism ... read scripture sensibly ...
if the verse starts ti then it reads WHAT or HOW or
maybe this way
how narrow the gate and difficult the road that leads into or towards the life
and few they are the ones who are finding it.
if the verse starts oti then
for narrow the gate and ...
see don't get hung up on scriptural inerrancy or textual variants
most of the differences are minor
in this case some scribe probably dropped an o!
The meaning is simple
enter through the narrow difficult gate to life
Having said that though bear in mind the road widens beyond the gate and if you're on the wrong road its possible to detour and cut cross country onto the right one!
Next wednesday back to Heracles!
Wednesday, 19 November 2014
Heracles and the Amazons
oh @##@#$$% herc he didnt behave very well on this adventure
official version is Heracles sailed all the way to the black sea to get a jewelled belt for his cousin's daughter
unofficial version
hey thinks Eurystheneus Maybe the amazons will kill him for me
Lets just enjoy some pictures of Hippolyte ! Here's two versions one of her as a regal queen and the next as a warrior queen.
Saturday, 15 November 2014
Ask and you will be given
The Gospel of Matthew Chapter 7 Verses 7 - 12
Another mostly simple section with no unusual words but note the contrast to imperatives to future passive and the syntax in verses 9 and 10 and the parallelism too! Also note how Matthew uses accusative where other writers might use dative !
Verse 7 note the parallelism
a kind of rhyme prose influenced by Hebrew literature
Ask and to you will be given
Seek and you will find
Knock and it will be opened
verse 8
all for the person who aks he receives
and the seeker finds
and to for the knocker (on a door) it will be opened
verse 9
or who is of you a man / or is there any man of you or even amongst you
whom asks the son of him (for implied by accusative) bread arton
not he a stone gives to him = he does not give him a stone
do not be confused by mee the negative being at the beginning
Parallelism again ! Altered syntax for Rhetorical effect!
You can do this in Greek and still be "grammatical" !
verse 10
or and / also a fish accusative as object he will ask (for)
not a snake he will give to him ?
rhetorical question and next some irony ?
also note here how asking is linked to giving giving to others
not just asking for your self?
(by the way folks I'm breaking up the sentences
for the benefit of anyone reading on a small screen
less scrolling across)
verse 11
if therefore you wretched beings know gifts good to give to the children of you
how much more the father of you in the heavens will give good (things) to those who ask him
But this isnt just an invitation to ask for miracles for ourselves or trust in god
the section ends with a reminder we should take action ourselves!
verse 12
all therefore so what/ when / ever you wish
that they would do to you the people
so and you (should) this is a contract verb so this may not be a conditional subjunctive ? or if conditional a condition to be fulfilled) should do to them
this for is the law and the prophets
do good things for others of you want good things for yourself
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Wednesday, 12 November 2014
The Mares of Diomedes
Drat I couldn't find a good piece of ancient art for this one!
Heracles was next ordered by Eurystheus to bring the Mares of Diomedes the Thracian ruler of the Bistones to him. Now these horses were said to be man eaters or at least wild and dangerous.
This myth goes on to explain or rather claim that a man called Abderos was killed by the horses and that Heracles founded a city named after him.
There was certainly an Ionian colony there much later.
As for whether or not the mares were monsters horses wild or not can turn on humans and bite and kick.
I imagine these horses would indeed react violently if they were only used for breeding never ridden and suddenly lead away by strangers from their stables?
One version of the story mentions Heracles cutting a canal to form a lake to stop Diomedes pursuing him.
There is a lake nearby with a narrow entrance to the sea.
This is an explanation of myths used to explain origins.
The Greeks often used claims of settlements in the Mycenaean era to justify building colonies later though perhaps there could have been some kind of trading post before the Greek city was built?
a note for a reader
possibly it willnt let me post a reply cos the original post was last year ?
If you're following the blog thrinax is masculine!
Saturday, 8 November 2014
REVISION TIME The Beatitudes so far
What have I hopefully demonstrated to you about the importance of knowing some Greek?
Have I shown you why the aorist subjunctive is important in Greek?
Have my notes helped?
Sections I suggest you reread ... well reread the Beatitudes regularly anyway but
Chapter 5 summary 1 to 11 the blessings
21 to 26 anger rage violence avoiding hypocrisy
A general theme thru - out the chapter of avoiding violence and vengeance
Chapter 6
while 5:14 says good works can be seen if that adds to the glory of god we are warned to avoid false piety and what used to be called vainglory.
Chapter 6 is about piety prayer and worship up to 25 and then there's the section on avoiding anxiety
Don't forget to reread and revise as you study the Beatitudes and use a good commentary !
Wednesday, 5 November 2014
Heracles and the Cretan Bull
#greekmyths
The Labours of Heracles 7
You've heard of Theseus and the Minotaur but Theseus wasn't the only Greek hero into bullfighting or ritual acrobatics or men wearing bull marks or whatever possible historical events or Minoan rituals underlie the story about the Minotaur.
Minos ruler of Crete had a sacred bull allegedly fire breathing which had escaped and was ravaging farms and orchards tearing down fences damaging crops and reaking havoc.
Heracles managed to capture this bull and ship it to the mainland where it was turned loose.
Saturday, 1 November 2014
The Narrow Gate Matthew 7: 13 - 14
Matthew Chapter 7 Verses 113 -14
First a literal translation.
Verse 13
into + enter compound verb thru the narrow gate for wide the gate and open the way away+leading compound verb into destruction and many are those who intogo thru it.
Note how Greek uses compound verbs where we might use prepositions in English. I have used OPEN to translate eurukhoora rather than easy because the word means wide open and I choose to stress the contrast between narrow and wide .
Leads the word used in most English translations omits the sense of diversion of being diverted from the right path of the Greek verb apo+ago.
Verse 14
for narrow the gate and "pressing" the road leading into life
and few they are those who find it.
Greek uses a Perfect Passive participle tethlimmenee from the verb thliboo.
This isnt just press as if you are ironing or opening a door. Its oppressive distressing pressure!
There is legend that this is a reference to a gate at Jerusalem so narrow only one person at a time could use it so there's humor and irony in this verse as well as a message.
Don't look for the easy path. Don't get diverted onto the wrong way.
Thursday, 30 October 2014
The Cranes of Stymphalos
#laboursofheracles #heracles #greekmythology #greekmyths
(My apologies this is later than usual having trouble with the wifi on the laptop)
The CRANES OF STYMPHALOS.
Saturday, 25 October 2014
Active and Actions Matthew 7 7 - 12
This is one of those sections that some translators tend to makeover into English thats maybe a bit too modern. Why?
Read on and there's a lovely ethics zinger at the end.
A very famous verse.
Literal translation with notes inserted in brackets
verse 7
Ask and it will be given(Future passive to you
(Greek often uses passive and future where English uses Active voice)
Seek and you will find
Knock and it will be opened (Another future passive) to you.
verse 8
all for he who is asking receives
all pas and a participle makes more sense in Greek so it has to be changed !
The sense of each person who asks as an individual but there is no equivalent to everyone in Greek ... well no ACTUAL equivalent pas panta can be all or every.
and the one who is seeking finds
and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Some people think Jesus was being very Zen like and referring to enlightenment but this verse seems ot be just as much as prayers and answers?
Most importantly given the end of the passage about TAKING ACTION.
Verse 9
or what (Man / person) is of you (the group listening an appeal to both the group as a whole and individuals) if should ask the son his for bread not a stone he will give to him (instead)?
Good practical necessities are asked for. Dont repay evil for good is a theme that appears elsewhere.
Verse 10
and if a fish he should ask for not a serpent will he give him?
Verse 11
if therefore you evil being know gifts good to give to the children of you
how much more the father who in heaven (is) will give good things to them asking him?
Now the closer or the zinger that ties it all together!
Verse 12
All things therefore whatever you wish that people should be done to you
likewise so and you do to them.
this for is the law and the prophets!
Note prophets as teachers not prophecies !
Do good things to others human or divine if you want good things to happen to you ... treat people right do unto others as an older translation puts it
Spiritual grace and insight and pracitcla necessities can be sought and prayed for but acts of faith must be balance by ACTION "random acts of kindness" or foreplanned charity .... whatever but the right thing is to do good!
And keep on doing it!
The Beatitudes Verses have so much we can learn from!
Mid week back to the Labours of Heracles !
If you have just discovered Metousia.
Sundays I comment on the Greek New Testament.
Midweek on Classical Greek culture.
Do visit and share some of my prior posts!
Wednesday, 22 October 2014
THE STABLES OF AUGEIAS
The #Labors of #Heracles 5
Apparent ancient Roman and Greek artists didn't find cleaning out stables an inspiring subject. I did manage find one image. This is an example of a type of Roman mosaic using what we might call a "Stick image" that depicts Heracles digging through rock. We know it is meant to depict the Augeian Stable Labor since similar iamges often appear as part of a sequence depicting all 12 labors.
I suspect farmers further downstream were probably extremely pleased to get their fields fertilized for free?
Sunday, 19 October 2014
PIGS and PEARLS
Gospel of Matthew Ch 7 Verse 6
People tend to cite the middle of this verse and ignore the rest.
Literal translation
Not give (aor subj) the holy to the dogs.
Nor throw (aor subj again) pearls yours in front of the the swine
lest they tread down / trample katapateoo upon them in the feet of them
and having turned around strephomai aor part they rend (another aor subj) you.
note this verse is not just about pigs seen as unclean animals.
While the Jews didn't eat pork they may have farmed pigs for the bristles and leather from their hides or seen local Greek colonists farming pigs or had wild pigs coming down form the highlands and forests wandering the area eating waste.
This verse isnt just about waste but about avoiding danger?
I wonder if Jesus was referring to some local recent event during which someone was silly enuff in Galilee to actually throw low grade pearls into a pig sty to demonstrate how pigs will eat anything and the pigs being intelligent animals got really offended.
Note the use of en as a dative agent ... the pearls were crushed into the pigs "feet" which are very sensitive probably irritating them so enraged they turned on the human attacking them?
Perhaps we could also read this as not only don't waste but do feed or offer people the correct food or don't try to test and fool people so they don't get angered by your extravagance and turn on you?
Thursday, 16 October 2014
HOG HUNTING
The Boar of #erymanthios
Erymanthios is a real mountain in the NW Peloponnese and its lower slopes did have Mid Helladic and Mycenaean settlements and those fertile slopes and farms were once ravaged by a enormous wild boar.
Perhaps this is a scene from an Attic satyr play?
Saturday, 11 October 2014
Matthew 7: 3-5
Matthew Chapter 7 Verses 3 -5
Here's a word for word translation of the Greek.
why you look at the mote the object in the eye of the brother of you the but in the of you eye beam / log not percieve / notice.
how you will say to the brother of you
Let me cast out the mote from the eye of you
Behold the beam in the the eye of you
Hypocrite cast out first the beam out of the eye of you
and then you will clearly to cast out the mote out of the eye of the brother of you.
Nows what noteworthy in the greek that differs from the English and can add to your insight without removing wood be it dust or huge chunks!
Mote is karphos something small wooden and dry splinters chaff sawdust
Dokos by contrast is a log or plank a large length of timber used as a roof support or bar or shaft.
Many translations say look or see but the verb is katanoew perceive notice understand THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE SEEING thoughtful observation?
Verse 4 seems to contain a quote? Perhaps from another preacher regarded as a hypocrite by some?
Was some one talking about spiritual blindness or comparing sin to dust ?
Note also that every form of ekballoo cast out / throw away in these verses is spelt with a single L which means they are AORIST!
Finally we have another form of Blephoo see look but with dia added.
This gets translated as see clearly in English but can also mean to look through something or focus and give special attention while looking.
I hope these notes have added to your understanding and pleasure while studying the Beatitudes!
Thursday, 9 October 2014
The Labors of Heracles 3 - the Ceryneian Hind
The Hind of Ceryneia was sacred to Artemis with golden horns and hooves of bronze and could not be hunted by ordinary men.
Possibly it was just some priestess' spoilt pet helping itself to local crops and gardens and just making a general nuisance of itself damaging gardens however it be have been sacred for other reasons too!
Legend and some historians speak of "Hyperboreans" visiting the shrines of Greece particularly Delphi following the Amber trade route.
Perhaps this deer was a reindeer hence its special status.
Now Ceryneia was the name of both a settlement and a river now called the Vouraikos, and this river that flows through a narrow gorge which is now notable for a scenic railway called the Kalavrita.
Due to the local geology the valley is broader up near Kalavrita and narrows to a gorge before reaching the narrows coastal plain.
Deer raiding gardens and farms near could have retreated into the safety of the narrow gorge and hidden in forested slopes difficult for even the most skilled hunters to access.
Heracles has said to have taken a year to catch the beast which may seem odd to modern hunters but remember he had to catch it alive to avoid offending the goddess or breaking a taboo. Also no infra red scope!
I can also see some one saying
"How can we avoid breaching the taboo on that pesky deer?
Oh hey that Guy over at Mycenae whats his name Heracles the one already working off a curse ..."
Some versions claim Eurysthenes was going to add the deer to his private collection but Heracles either arranged its escape or first returned it to his half sister depending on which author you read.
The vase painting I selected shows Heracles between Athena and Artemis.
He is shown breaking off a horn so perhaps there is a lost variant of the story in which he does that?
Saturday, 4 October 2014
Judge NOT Matthew 7 : 1-2
are the opening words of #matthew #gospel 7:1-2
#biblestudy #jesus
Krinoo the verb which appears 4 times in these 2 verses is a cognate of latin Cerno
So Not you plural judge so that or in order that as a consequence or result cos the secondary clause has a subjunctive verb form
Judge not lest you are judged!
For by the judgements you make you will be judged!
And in what measure you made you will be judged in turn.
Note Anti as a prefix appears in Greek and its not just meaning against but in response the payback or balance of one action leading to another.
He's not saying to not judge but to bear in mind as we may make decisions and judgements about others like judgement is made about us.
This leads in to the next passage which makes it clear he's talking about human sins and how humans judge each other in an unbalanced way.
One of the symbol for justice are scales for a good reason and perhaps while visiting one of the Greek cities in the area Jesus had seen a depiction of blind Justice holding scales?
krima krimati is a cognate of Latin crimen but means judgement not crime.
Metreoo is a contract verb related to metrov measure.
Next week Spots and Blocks!
Thursday, 2 October 2014
The Labours of Heracles Two - The Hydra of Lerna
I have written about this before but that post focused more on Lerna as a whole.
Sunday, 28 September 2014
More on Matthew 6: 25 - 34 Body and Soul
This is a beautiful passage of powerful prose in in any language!
I'm going to do a loose paraphrase and break up the sentences to show you the parallelism in the greek text and shorten the lines so it works better for those of you using a phone app to read this?
First a note on psyche lie in verse 24 is psykhe not zoee probably to strengthen the parallelism yet contrast between spiritual and physical needs.
Causal marker dia
this I say to you
not be worried for the life of you
(about implied by dative)
what you eat and what you drink
nor for = in regard to the body what you put on / wear.
Not the life / soul more is
( than used in English cos its a comparision)
of the food and the body (more than) of the wearing?
(the clothes you wear)
Look at the birds of heaven
that they not sow nor harvest nor gather into storage
and the father of you in heaven feeds them!
Not you much different are from them?
which and of you while worrying is able to add upon his stature / adult size and shape cubit one?
and about clothes why are you worrying?
observe / learn from the lilies of the field how they increase / grow
no they toil nor they spin
I say then to you that
not Solomon in all the glory of him was clothed like one of them
if then the grass of the field today being
and tomorrow into an oven is thrown
the god so arranges
not many much more for you (do) little faith ones ?
not therefore be concerned saying
what shall we eat ?
or What shall we drink?
or What will we wear?
All for these things the nations / pagans seek after
knows for the father of you the heavenly
that you use / need od these thing all.
Seek then first the realm of god and the righteousness of him
and these things all shall be added / placed use provided ? to you
Not therefore worry into = about ? the next day
for the next day will be anxious about itself
(ironic personification?)
Sufficient / enough to the day the evil of it.
I help that breakdown shows you something about the syntax of the Greek?
Notice how you change to use different prepositions in English because a preposition can change meaning in Greek depending on what case the adjective and noun are!
Now go back and enjoy reading the whole passage in Greek or English!
Wednesday, 24 September 2014
The Labors of Heracles ONE The Nemean Lion
Apollodorus Hesiod Pindar and many others mention him.
Like Arthur perhaps a real historical person underlies the myths and legends and worship that have centered around this character over the centuries.
There are dozens of stories associated with Heracles but I'm going to focus on the 12 labors and look also at geographical and historical aspects. What they possibly tell us about Mycenaean society at its peak?
Heracles was a descendant of Perseus allegedly a son of Zeus and had a twin brother.
There were several legends about royal twins with claims of one being divine and the other human. Possibly this means one twin the older of a fraternal pair was placed under the special protection of a god. Curiously there is little mention of female twins?
Most of the stories agree Heracles killed or captured monsters and wild animals who were dangerous to humans and that he fathered a great many children in and outside of his marriages however one aspect overlooked is that he was also a civil works engineer building wells drainage canals fountains for natural springs roads and city walls. He seems to have been seen as a defender of commoners despite his being prone to fits of rage since most of the victims of those psychotic moments were other aristocrats . Possibly he was bipolar which may explain why the Greeks thought his madness was inflicted on him by the gods given the cyclical nature of that illness?
THE NEMEAN LION
His first official Labor was that of the killing of the nemean Lion a maneater attacking people in the area around Nemea.
I wonder if the last of the Greek lions were possibly cave lions or a different sub species from those of Africa. They are never recorded as living in packs.
Ancient Nemea is near Ayios Yeorgios between Mycenae and Corinth on a plateau and was also the site of the Nemean games and a temple to Zeus.
That temple and the site of the games overlies a Helladic settlement and the cave said to be that of the Lion was the site of discovery of Neolithic artifacts.
Now this lion it is claimed had an inpenetratable skin that no blade could cut.
At first Heracles is said to have tried to use a sword or spear down its throat then he clubbed it and throttled it choking it to death and using the lions own razor sharp claws to skin the beast and then wearing its head and hide to protect himself.
Sunday, 21 September 2014
mee merinate no anxiety
Saturday, 13 September 2014
Serving God and Mammon
#Gospel #biblestudy #Beatitudes
Matthew 6: 24 - 25
word for word translation
no-one is able 2 masters to serve
notes dative follows dunamai hence duo becomes dusi
either for the one s/he will hate
and the other will love
note the use of the future other is hetero -
miseoo hate source of miso-
or one s/he will hold fast to and the other despise
anthekhsetai is the future middle of antekhomai
this verb changed meaning in NT koine Greek
it is still anti so literally against hold but against the same way we may say in English I am going to hold a tissue up against to my face or lips
katephroneesei look down on think of with disdain despise
not you can be able to / for god serve and mamon
a note on ma(m)on this is a loan word from Aramaic.
It means money wealth property
regardless of what some commentaries state there is no evidence for Mammon being a Semitic God or a demon. The personification here is rhetorical.
We have to chose which to serve and love God or Money.
Try not to mistake one for the other!
Sunday, 7 September 2014
METOUSIA IS 200
Saturday, 30 August 2014
The Light and the Dark
see also #Luke 11. 33 - 36
word for word translation
the lamp of the body is the eye
if therefore is (note subjunctive / conditional ) the eye of you open/ sincere/ simple (2nd declension adjective with multiple meanings) whole the body of you bright /shining will be.
if but the eye of you evil is whole the body of you dark will be.
if therefore the light to you dark is the dark how much !?
Note the parallelism and the subjunctives.
Lamp often gets translates as Light but the greek is luknos!
Here is the ancient concept of the eye being a gate or link to the soul.
I think however given the subjunctives our Lord is talking as much about spiritual as physical perception. Letting in the light? He is not linking physical disability to sin as a cause or effect!
This is light as an energizing force as much spiritual as physical?
Think of those verses in which he or others spoke of the Light of the World?
A note for fellow Whovians. Last week the Doctor spoke of never seeing paradise and this week he's into the darkness! We joke What would the Doctor do?
It would seem this season our favorite Gallifreyan is seeking redemption and healing for himself and others.
We don't need a Tardis for that and have a Companion and Friend to call on for help!
Tuesday, 26 August 2014
Heracles and Athena An Image
with the new Heracles movie coming soon I thought for my middle week post I might look at some images of Heracles. Here's the son of Zeus and his half sister.
Notice he's not the pumped up wrestler of later Hellenistic and Roman art but more svelte! That lion skin is suppose to act as armor as the Nemean lion allegedly had a hide so thick Heracles had to spear or stab it down its throat to kill it.
MMM no one ever dares suggest Mycenaean aristos may have been such lousy hunters they celebrated lion hunts cos they weren't very good at catching them?
Saturday, 23 August 2014
Iatros Tis
Sunday, 17 August 2014
Where's your Treasure?
Where's Your Treasure ?
Word for word translation
not make treasure for you plural treasures upon the earth
where moth and corrosion / rust "eating" spoil
and where thieves dig through and steal
make treasure and / but for you plural treasures in heaven
where neither moth nor rust spoil
and where thieves not dig through nor steal
where for is the treasure of you
there will be and / also the heart of you.
Why did I type make treasure ?
the greek verb has a izoo suffix its theesaurizoo
note also what digging through means ... many of the people listening would have had homes made of sun dried brick or stucco or clay over a wooden frame or stone loosely packed
for them no gold just coins of metal that might tarnish or a valuable item might be a chest full of high quality linen or wool or an embroidered festival robe
again consider making treasure
we attribute value to various material objects but we need to invest in spiritual treasures as well ?!
Saturday, 9 August 2014
Jesus on Fasting
#Jesus on #Fasting #Biblestudy #greeknewtestament #gospel
Neesteuoo fast or abstain
Judging from the pair of verses here jesus is talking from ritual fasting perhaps for funerals?
Word for word
whenever and you plural are fasting not become like the hypocrites adjective sullen angry sad faces they hide for the faces of them so that they appear / are obviously to humans / people to be fasting.
So do not "make a song and dance" of fasting.
Note the use of ginesthe in Greek this verb ginomai in late greek seems to be used in a way that overlaps or replaces more classical poieoo or prassoo. Its like the English usage of do particularly here.
Do not become / be / act like / behave like ...
Notice how Jesus focuses on actions ? !
skuthroopoi to look sullen angry sad resentful
aphanizoo may refer to covering one's face making it unseen unclear by covering it with ashes or dirt or letting your face hang loose
In verse 17 Jesus asks us to instead when fasting to do it in private
you and when fasting anoint of you the head and the face of you wash ...
if you're doing it for god and not appearances sake then god will see !
notice the emphasis and contrast once again between public and private rituals and behaviour a theme throughout this chapter.
What are modern parallels?
Perhaps the person who insists on telling everyone about their new "healthy" diet or the vegetarian or vegan who thinks dieting makes them spiritually or ethically superior?
You don't fast to be superior or get praised?
Yes you can encourage people to try a limited fast for health reasons but don't make a performance of it!
Finally and off topic don't forget to pray for peace and healing for everyone in gaza israel iraq or syria Christian Muslim Yazidi or Jew !
Saturday, 2 August 2014
Hallowed be your name
HALLOWED BE THE NAME OF YOU
Hallowed be holy. Hagiasthoo. Make Sacred.
Its a command to respect and KEEP on respecting the Holy Name.
the stem of this *Hag is related distantly to English AWE which was spelt in a g in the Middle Ages and Gothic has a word agis. Note also Latin Sacer *SAK.
So the Divine is awesome! We know that or should? How do we show it?
Ritual Prayer Forgiveness of others Action COMPASSION
Remember jesus ends this section after moving onto the topic of fasting by reminding us about forgiveness an ACTION?
At the VERY least try to refrain from any outbreaks of obscenity or oath taking and breaking that "Disses" the Holy Name?
Saturday, 26 July 2014
Pray for peace
Yes I blogged on this verse before but given this week's events we all need the reminder.
Friday, 25 July 2014
Greek Verb Key One
Saturday, 19 July 2014
Greek AORIST IMPERATIVE a useful link
You don't have to to take my word only for it.
Check out this site
http://www.preceptaustin.org/new_page_40.htm
You might want to also check out the TEXTKIT site and do a general Google search?
No new translation this week!
I need to catch up on prepping new material for next week!
Saturday, 12 July 2014
HOW TO PRAY
Friday, 11 July 2014
The Good Shepherd
Here's a Roman era painting from a CHRISTIAN TOMB.
We have to acknowledge our classical heritage.
Sunday, 6 July 2014
STAMMER SPEAK
Thursday, 3 July 2014
More on the History of Halos From Sun God to Saviour.
Note there are seven rays within a flat circle.
I suspect the use by romans of circles to outline images within mosaics may have contributed to the development of halos.
Now some Byzantine mosaics show Christ with a halo with 3 rays but these date to several centuries later so it is possible they are an independent development?
Here's one of them from the Hagia Sophia :
Its as much a circle as a halo and may have been used more to emphasize that this figure is Christ?
Finally a classic 4th century Byzantine mosaic :