Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, June 6th, 2024
the Week of Proper 4 / Ordinary 9
the Week of Proper 4 / Ordinary 9
video advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
Attention!
We are taking food to Ukrainians still living near the front lines. You can help by getting your church involved.
Click to donate today!
Click to donate today!
Language Studies
Greek Thoughts Archives
April 15, 2012
This week let us consider the Greek construction "ou me". When I first discovered this construction, I was left spellbound. The construction ou me is the combination of two negative particles, both as a mere lexical entry, meaning not. ou is used most frequently with the indicative mood, but occasionally, with the subjunctive…
April 8, 2012
Our word this week is hegeomai, which means "to lead, to guide." The Hebrew writer in his closing remarks introduces a term that continues to evoke debates. The term is the substantive participle of the deponent verb hegeomai, "to lead, to guide." The word is used three times by the writer in this chapter, verses 7,17,24.…
April 1, 2012
This week we will consider three compound verbs used by Paul in Ephesians 2:5 and 6: sunzoopoieo, sunegeiro, and sugkathizo. These three compound verbs begin with the preposition sun, "with." When use as a preposition proper, sun takes the dative case. Reflecting on these three compound verbs, James Montgomery Boice notes,…
March 25, 2012
There is only one reference of this Greek word found in the New Testament Scriptures. The inspired apostle Peter uses it when he declared, "For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:" (1 Peter 2:21 NKJV). Here the word "example" is from the…
March 18, 2012
Paul's first correspondence to the Corinthians is one of my favorites of the Pauline corpus. In this intriguing book, yes, intriguing from many vantage points, Paul seeks to correct numerous problems that existed among the Corinthian Christians. This concept of correction is all too obvious. A cursory reading of this letter…
March 11, 2012
Our word this week is a hapax legomenon, that is, used only once in the Greek New Testament, the word skolops σκολοψ (Strong's #4647) (2 Corinthians 12:7, translated "thorn"). Concerning this word, Thayer notes that from the time of Homer down skolops meant "a pointed piece of wood, a pale, a stake."F1…
March 4, 2012
Our word this week is the Aramaic abba αββα (Strong's #5). Thayer affirms that its equivalent is the Greek ho pater, a customary title of God in prayer.F1 Abba was a term of endearment, later used as a title and personal name; rarely use in reference to God. Also, it was used in prayer and in the family…
February 26, 2012
prosagoge - 'the act of bringing to, a moving to access, approach' προσαγωγη (Strong's #4318) kauchaomai - 'to glory (whether with reason or without), to glory on account of a thing, to glory in a thing ' καυχαομαι (Strong's #2744) This week we will consider three Greek terms used by the…
February 19, 2012
This week our word comes from the pen of the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:22: "Who has sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge." The Greek word arrabon translated "pledge," is a commercial termF1, which literally, means "a payment of part of a purchase price in advance, first installment, deposit,…
February 12, 2012
This week our Greek word study examines the eighth and last beatitude of the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10). The Greek word δεδιωγμενοι translated "persecuted," is derived from the Hebrew verb 'dachaq'…
February 5, 2012
This week we continue our word study of the beatitudes by examining the seventh beatitude of the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9). The Greek word ειρηνοποιος (Strong's #1518) is an obscure word found only here in the Greek New Testament.…
January 29, 2012
This week our word study comes from the sixth beatitude of the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). The Greek word καθαρος (Strong's #2513) translated pure, literally means: "free from the admixture or adhesion of any thing that soils, adulterates or…
January 22, 2012
eleeo - 'kind or compassionate treatment; the power to forgive or be kind; clemency' ελεαω (Strong's #1653) This week we continue our word study from the beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount by examining the fifth beatitude: "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7).…
January 15, 2012
This week we continue our word study from the beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount by examining the fourth beatitude: "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6). The phrase "hunger and thirst" is a biblical idiom and the metaphorical meaning of the verbs is that…
January 8, 2012
For the last couple of weeks we have been examining the beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount. This week our word study will come from the third beatitude: "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5). This beatitude by the Lord is a quotation from Psalms 37:11. The kingdom truth in this beatitude…
