Passive secrets

#greeknewtestament #biblestudy #futurepassive #classicalgreek #luke #gospel

LUKE 12:2

A lot of people are fascinated by this verse because they think it hints at Gnostic mysteries or encourages mysticism or is about prophecies and various other explanations.

Another aspect of interest are the verb forms

ouden de sugkekalmmenon estin ho ouk apokaluphtheesetai kai krupton ho ou gnoostheesetai

nothing (there) is and which has been hidden perfect passive participle of sugkaluptoo

note the the removal of too and the change and doubling of the p to m
note that pi + mu becomes double mu

then ho with an accent so who or which not FUTURE PASSIVE will be revealed
teh pi changes again to a phi befor ethe theta that marks passive
and  secret which will be known ginooskoo has a sigma before the passive marker as the actual stem is gnoo

Note which in Greek not that

Note the future passive

Lets reverse that without changing the meaning more than slightly

If Jesus had spoken modern English he might have said everything that is hidden or covered up or secret will become revealed or known.

I think Luke was not just bilingual or multilingual and not only retains the parallelism we see in Hebrew texts but enhances this with prose rhythm being a speaker of Koine Greek who probably also read some classical Greek literature.

So this verse tells us something about secrets and about posibly about Luke as a person and writer.

Consider next what verse 3 says that things said in the dark will be heard in the light and private whisperings proclaimed in public.

No more secrets.

and 3 very good examples of the passive and sound changes caused by adding theta to a stem

he who is lesser

#biblestudy #greeknewtestament #luke

LUKE 9:48

ὁ γὰρ μικρότερος

ἐν πᾶσιν ὑμῖν ὑπάρχων

οὖτός ἐστιν μέγας

For he who lesser amongst all you being this one is great 

Note Greek uses comparative - teros where English uses superlative 

for he the (is) the lesser 

en is in the group of you the disciples he is addressing 

hyparkhoon is translated being but has multiple means inlcuding beginning doing kindness taken for granted ... the lesser or least among you are great - megas !

Luke's History Mary's Story

ADVENT and time to think about the Xmas Story.
and yes links to the influence of Greek literature

So how do I explain the differences between Matthew and Luke's versions of the Xmas Events.

Matthew's descriptions suggest stories he heard from people who were in Jerusalem at the end.
He talks about the visit to Herod's court of the 3 Magi and the disturbances that caused.

Luke however ...

Luke seems to be influenced by reading Greek History.

He starts with a prologue declaring his method and intents like a Greek History writer however he needs his readers apart from Theophilos will include Hellenized Jews so he includes a genealogy like Matthew and emphasizes Mary's links to Priestly families before he gets to the Birth.

Unlike a certain Christmas carol Lukes says PLACE NOT ROOM in the inn and focuses on the Shepherds and I do wonder could he have had a relative working as a scribe or some kind of official  in Bethelhem who was an eyewitness or interviewed the shepherds?

We also have verification of a later tradition that Luke had some kind of connection to Mary.

Luke 2:19 says that Mary .."all she remembered the events these thinking about them in her heart

suneteerei and sumballoo are the verbs.

If you're teaching Greek here's a great opportunity to show how adding sun as a prefix changes the meaning of a verb!

So Mary thought about what happened and how to tell the story later.

We have Mary's version  but also someone apparently talked to the innkeeper and the shepherds hence Luke's saying he used eyewitnesses.

Your choice if you think its all fiction but what a story!

Words of Authority

#luke #gospel #greeknewtestament #biblestudy #exousia #didache #expleessoo

LUKE 4:32 
"and they were astonished at his teaching 
for his word was with authority"

Let's look at 3 key words in this verse!

first a transliteration ...

kai eksepleessonto epi teei didakheei autou hoti en eksousiai een ho logos autou

and they were "outstruck" / struck at imperfect passive  of ekpleessoo
upon / by / after  epi plus dative
the teaching of him that in authority / power was the word / speech of him

Struck at sounds too strong in English yet that is what this verb means.

So one of the reasons Jesus' teaching had such an impact on the eyewitnesses Luke mentions at the beginning of his gospel is that his word had power, exousia which can be personal spiritual or political.

Those who heard it were struck by the teaching didakhee what you learn from teaching.
Didakhee became doctrina in Latin hence our doctrine but teaching is its meaning.
Not Luke emphasizes the TEACHING over PREACHING

We use for in English where Greek starts a secondary clause with hoti that as a clause marker and we would say with in English where Greek uses en.

The power was within him and coming out of him as expressed as speech.

LUKE not Skywalker the Evangelist

While I was "convalescing" from a nasty bout of sinusitis and its usual side effects and symptoms I was translating the preface of Luke's Gospel and let me tell you ... its even wierder in Greek!

#NTgreek #newtestamentgreek #luke #gospel

Matthew starts his Gospel with over a dozen verses listing Jesus' ancestors from Abraham to Joseph.

Mark starts with the source of the goodnews of ... cites one of Isiah's prophecies and then its straight to the action of the Baptism.

John is in the beginning was the word ...

Luke however is SO VERY HELLENIC YET STILL JEWISH !

Legend has it that Luke was a physician but Jewish or Hellenic ?

I think both !

He opens with a very greek epeideeper epei+dee+per ..since indeed or in asmuch as  or
I'll stick to the simplest translation since ... since many things I did attempt to arrange (in) a narrative about the and here's a Perfect Passive Participle of all things! ... not even a common term in Hellenisitic greek pepleerophoreemenoon his narrative is about matters pragmatoon that amongst us have been fullfilled events that happened.

He's saying this is history not a story or essay a narration based on ... verse 2 eyewitnesses those who saw the events themselves and "attendants" people who were nearby at the time 

Like Herodotus and other historians he did an enquiry before he wrote a report

Like a doctor he's asked about what happened and taken notes.

Luke also tells us and Theophilos at the beginning of Acts that his previous writings or first words were made about all the things which Jesus began to both do and teach.

Getting back to that wierd perfect passive the things and events and actions he wrote about needed to be expressed in the Perfect tense rather than Aorist because they to him were a sequence of events not one single action.

I should note some translate pepleerophorew as fully believe but note it is a compound of pleerow and phorew something fully carried out FULFILLED

Its as if he's both referring to prophecies being fulfilled but wants to stress they were actions that have consequences and are still having results.

His target audience apart from Theophilos seems to be Greek speaking Literate Jews similar to both Historical literature and the Old Testament and he is said to have come from Antioch a Greek colony.

Unlike the other apostles he feels to the need to emphasize this is history.

and this formal declaration's strength comes across in English and Greek

Next time I may look at some other prefaces ... if my wretched sinusitis finished clearing up and I don't have another relapse into being surrounded by tissue boxes and alternating coughing with sneezing.

Starting Luke and a little sociolinguistic mystery

While the next mid week post will feature Apollo our Sunday posts will be on the Gospel of Luke and New Testament Greek therein.

LOUKAS seems to be an attempt to write a Latin name in Greek as the Greeks wrote the Roman U and V with the two letters OU as U in Greek at that time was a different vowel sound.

Its not Lucius the Greeks would have spelt that as Loukios !

A lot of scholars think its a shortened form of Lucanus? 

Eusebius the historian claims Luke was a physician and a Syrian from Antioch.
But a Syrian Greek or Jew ? Perhaps the answer is that local Syrian Greeks and Jews had a usage of spelling Lukios and Lucanus and similar names as Loukas or of changing i to a and vice versa.
There is no other record of such a practice but it would explain why Loukas in its Greek Latin and Aramaic forms rapidly became a popular name. I could see people using the well known gospel writer's name as a support for using a colloquial form and it than spreading beyond Antioch to other parts of the empire.

It also shows how much interchange there was between various ethnic and language groups,

This is reflected in Luke's writings.

While I usually focus in what Jesus said the Preface to Luke's Gospel is worth a close look as an example of that cultural exchange I mentioned. 

So coming up next Apollo midweek  then Luke !

Join me!

Light not to be hidden

#biblestudy #greeknewtestament
Matthew 4:21-22

and he said to them
not comes the lamp so that under the bushel measure/container it is to be placed
nor under the bed and not (does one not) upon the lampstand it is to be placed ?
not for is hidden unless not so that translate as but rather (placed ) to be seen
nor made / become secret but so that comes into visibility

Meeti is emphatic
a modiov is a container or measure of a bushel of dry goods
Mark uses tethee an aorist subjunctive passive whereas Luke uses titheesin
phanerootheei is another aorist subjunctive

So the two verses are a linked rhetorical question

A lamp is (surely) not brought to be placed under a basket/container or a bed
 and not upon a lampstand!?
Some scholars think this is a reference to hanukkah lights?
for not is a thing hidden unless / rather to be revealed
and nothing is secret but to be made seen!

Basically Don't Hide your light use it! 

See Matthew 5:15-16 and Luke 8:16 and 11:33-36

And the Angels SPOKE

THE ANGELS SPOKE

One Christmas cliché is a choir of angels hovering over the Stable at Bethlehem or the shepherds out in the fields and their herds but this didn't happen.

Read Luke Chapter 2 carefully.

Luke tells us that first a messenger of the Lord appeared glowing περιλαμψεν in the night bringing the Shepherds a message about a very special child and where to find him … then …

πλῆθος στρατιᾶς οὐρανίου pleeethos stratias ouraniou

a large undefined number of heavenly troops appeared

why did the shepherds think or perceive the angels looked like an army or warriors?

Did something or someone have to be chased away from Bethlehem that night?

Luke also says that the heavenly host were praising god αἰνέω a Greek verb translated into Latin as Laudo and here I think is how the idea of singing angels started with so many Psalms and later Hymns using the phrase Praise God?

Luke then states the angels were speaking praise not singing using λέγω

Δόξα ἐν ὑψίστοις θεῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς εἰρήνη ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκίας

A literal translation from the Greek

Glory in highest to God and upon earth peace at this time or perhaps its adverbial moreover especially now to men good will

But then again the Speech of Angels is Music to mere mortals !

Enjoy Christmas