Common Errors for New Testament Greek Students

Learning and Sharing

It is exciting to learn something new and even more exciting to share what we learn. But sometimes what we learned was incorrect or incomplete. I teach New Testament Greek 1, 2, and 3. Bible languages are not my field of study. The truth be told, I am not very good at them. It is hard for me to learn. My background and passions are systematic theology and preaching. By teaching New Testament Greek, I am improving my own understanding of the topic. I am thankful for the opportunity.

When I first taught Introductory Greek, I shared a story about my experience when I learned a Greek word. I was having lunch with a friend and a Presbyterian pastor. We were discussing the differences between the Baptist and Presbyterian doctrines. The pastor said that most Baptists were “ignorant” and that is why they held the positions they do. My friend and I were both puzzled. He then asked us, “What does agape mean?” In my foolishness, I spoke first. I said, “Agape refers to the love of God. It means ‘God’s love.’” He smiled condescendingly and said, “You heard someone say that, and you are just repeating it. Look it up.”

I could not wait to get home. I knew I was right. Likewise, I heard my pastor use this word many times. I also heard other preachers say this. Imagine my surprise when I looked in my unabridged copy of Strong’s Concordance and found that not only were there several definitions for the word, but not one of them referred to the deep, special love of God. The word agape was just a generic word. With this in mind, I offer some of the common mistakes I see people making. It could be that the person was like me in the example above. They don’t know and are just repeating what they have heard. I also see beginning Greek students and those who have never studied Greek making these same errors.

I. Root Word Fallacy

This is, perhaps, the most common mistake. This is most common with people who have not studied Greek. They will go to a Greek dictionary for word study. And from this, they are convinced that they have received a new or deeper insight.

A classic example of this fallacy is found in 1 Corinthians 4:1 “This is the way any person is to regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”

The word rendered “servant” in English is the Greek word ὑπηρέτας (hypereretas). It is a form of the word ὑπηρέτης (heperetes). Strong’s Concordance notes that the word is a compound of two original words, “hypó, ("under") and ēressō, ("to row")—properly, a rower (a crewman on a boat), an 'under-rower' who mans the oars on a lower deck; (figuratively) a subordinate executing official orders, i.e., operating under direct (specific) orders.”

No doubt, someone stumbled across this compound word and began to wax eloquent on how the ministry of Christ is like the one who is the lowest rower on the boat.

“Think of those large galley ships, and on the bottom deck would be the ‘under rowers.’ They were slaves…”

When viewed in this way, the word paints a very vivid picture. It would be easy to draw out graphic details of these lower-deck slave rowers and the conditions they were forced to work in. But there is a serious problem. A word is not necessarily defined by the compound parts that compose it. D.A. Carson points out that the word "servant" is never used in classical literature in this way. The word is used in the New Testament as a synonym for servant or slave.

J.P. Louw said that using the Greek word in this way would be akin to determining that the meaning of the word “butterfly” is “butter” and “fly,” or flying butter, or a "pineapple" is the apple of a pine tree.In these cases, the sum is greater than its parts.

2. Ignoring the Context

John 1:11 "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God." (NIV, 2011)

Both the KJV and the NASB use the phrase “nor of the will of man” in place of the NIV’s use of “a husband’s will.”

At question here is the word ἀνδρὸς. Both Strong’s Concordance and Thayer’s say that the word means “man, male.” There are occasions in the New Testament where the word has been used for husband.

Example: “Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband (ἄνδρα) of Mary…” (Matthew 1:16)

The word translated in English for "husband" here is the same Greek word for "man."

How then do we determine whether this word should be used as "husband" or "man," given that the New Testament uses both? The answer is context. In Matthew 16, we have a relationship being expressed that clearly shows that Jacob is related to Mary as her husband. Whereas, in John 1, there is nothing in the context regarding marriage or any relationship between people. The context in that verse is universal.

3) The aorist tense is “completed action, once and for all.”

An elementary Greek student knows that the verbs of New Testament Greek emphasize the kind of action and not necessarily the time of the action. Time is secondary, if at all, in importance. While the Greek aorist can be used for punctiliar sense (referring to a point or location of action), it is most often used in the generic sense. The aorist tense simply states an action that has occurred, without further reference. It is not the aorist alone, but the context that will give us clues to the kind or time of action.

Example: 1 John 5:21 “Little children, guard yourselves from idols.”

If we look at a resource, such as an online parsing guide, we see that the word “guard” (φυλάξατε) is “Aorist Active Imperative 2nd Person Plural.”

Does this mean that John intends his listeners to put on their guard, and they will be protected “once and for all times”? Of course, it cannot mean that.

4) First and Second Aorist

Of all the errors, this one is the most amusing. It has been taught that when one finds a verb in the aorist tense and it is in the first aorist form, the reader should find a corresponding second aorist verb. This is utter nonsense. "First" and "second" only refer to the forms of the verbs. The “first aorist” is the normal form that most aorist verbs take. There is another form that is not as common, and they are labeled as “second.” The meanings and uses of both forms are the same.

5) Parse every verb

This is a preaching error. In the construction of a sermon, there is research. I call this homework. We might research many aspects of a text: the historical context, cultural considerations, and word studies. However, not all of our research should go into the sermon. Like constructing a building, once the building is complete, the scaffolding is removed. Filter your homeword to distill a clear, pointed, and direct sermon. Remove any unnecessary elements that do not further support your point. Nothing says "novice" or "first-year Greek student" more than getting into the pulpit and parsing every verb. Spare us your ignorance and simply do not do it.

Conclusion

I offer this article in complete humility. I have shown at the beginning that I am as guilty as anyone of these mistakes. These errors show that a little Greek is a dangerous thing. But neither do I condemn thee; go and learn some more.