Oh-oh Σωζω

Χαρις ὑμιν,

Yesterday was stuffed full o’ good stuff!

Because of our day off the previous week, we ended up cramming two lessons into one class, as well as a quick review of the adjectival attributive & predicate position from L12’s. But everyone must have been enjoying it because we ran 15 minutes over our time and didn’t even notice!

There was also a bit of speed-bump, pedagogically-speaking. During the teaching on the final stem mute/future sigma combination section of L13, Trish asked, “What about ζ? What’s the future of σωζω?”

I was immediately thrown aback. I knew it was σωσω, but when I couldn’t find the reason it was σωσω in my lesson notes, my brain did a little synaptic Jitterbug! “Yeah,” I thought, “What about ζ?

Well, we took a frantic moment or two to find the 3rd person singular form in Trish’s Greek NT and, yes, the ζ definitely drops out—but I simply could not remember why! I knew I’d come across it in my preparation for the class, but just could not understand why it wasn’t in the notes.

Well, not to worry, everyone, it’s in there now! Here’s what happened: The Wenham’s grammar I used for the template of my lesson discusses the future forms of the non-mute stem consonants in a separate chapter (disguised as a discussion on “present stems” and “verbal stems”—eww), so I didn’t included it. But I’d listened to a much more satisfying lesson on it on my iPod! I’ve got Dr James Voelz’s Fundamental Greek Grammar iTunes lecture series on there and I always try to hear his take on the particular topics I’m teaching; helps give me a much deeper understanding of the material.

So, the upshot is, I’ve rewritten that section of L13 and will be posting it soon. I’ll also email everyone the corrected version (along with the similarly corrected L13 future table). And the new L14, too.

I’ll also mail out the last couple of WLG’s. Not sure why, but it seems a couple of people didn’t get them—or, more probably, I forgot to send them.

Okay, all for now—oh, except to say I’m working on a slightly different format for the L14 Practical Exercise. Should be finished tomorrow, so you’ll have by tomorrow night.

God bless,
Ἰακωβος

Auxiliary Information

Χαρις ὑμιν,

There are a couple of things I wanted to mention that aren’t in the Lesson notes.

Firstly, Colleen noticed that there were two spellings for John in Greek:

Ἰωαννης and Ἰωανης

Both of these spellings are correct. In fact, there is a note to this affect on pg 199 of the Wenham textbook scans.

The reason there are two is, I believe, due to the syllabification of Hebrew. There are many instances in Hebrew where a single consonant is used in two adjacent syllables; ending one then beginning the next one. When translating Hebrew into another language, this dual consonantal role is indicated by duplicating the consonant. For example the word Sabbath (שבת), which in Hebrew has only one letter for the B-sound (ב—the letter bet), but when translated into English (and Greek: σαββατον), it is given two. When it came time to write the Hebrew form of the name John, יוחנן (Yochanan), into Greek, there was some uncertainty as to whether the penultimate N was playing this dual role, so some writers duplicated it and others didn’t.

Secondly, Lesson 13 deals with the future tense. In English we use the auxiliaries “will” and “shall” to form the future tense. For simplicity’s sake, we are only going to use “will” in our class translations, but you will encounter both “shall” and “will” when reading the various English translations of the NT. For that reason, I think it will be helpful if I explain the proper, Oxbridge (combination of Oxford & Cambridge) usage of the two.

“Shall” is meant to be used in the first person singular and plural; “will” is meant to be used in the second and third person singular and plural. For example:

Singular: I shall see him tomorrow. You will see him tonight. She will see him next week.
Plural: We shall see him tomorrow. They will see him tonight.

However, if the sentences are emphatic, then the auxiliaries are reversed:

Singular: I most certainly will see him tomorrow! You shall indeed see him tonight!
Plural: We definitely will see him tomorrow! They shall certainly see him tonight!

These same rules of use apply to “should” and “would”.

Outside of British academia, these distinctions have largely disappeared from modern English, where “will” is used exclusively. Any future emphatic forms needed are indicated by special formatting (bold, capitalization or italicization) or punctuation (exclamation point).

Isn’t language a blast!

God bless,
Ἰακωβος

Reading Practice

Χαρις ὑμιν,

I've just emailed everyone the following reading practice in MSWord format. However, I know at least one of you can't open Word docs, and I can't convert it to pdf right now, so here it is on the blog!

ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 10

Ἀμην ἀμην λεγω ὑμιν, ὁ μη εἰσερχομενος δια της θυρας εἰς την αὐλην των προβατων, ἀλλα ἀναβαινων ἀλλαχοθεν, ἐκεινος κλεπτης ἐστι και λῃστης· ὁ δε εἰσερχομενος δια της θυρας ποιμην ἐστι των προβατων. τουτῳ ὁ θυρωρος ἀνοιγει, και τα προβατα της φωνης αὐτου ἀκουει, και τα ἰδια προβατα καλει κατ᾽ ὀνομα και ἐξαγει αὐτα. και ὁταν τα ἰδια προβατα ἐκβαλῃ, ἐμπροσθεν αὐτων πορευεται, και τα προβατα αὐτῳ ἀκολουθει, ὁτι οἰδασι την φωνην αὐτου· ἀλλοτριῳ δε οὐ μη ἀκολουθησωσιν, ἀλλα φευξονται ἀπ᾽ αὐτου, ὁτι οὐκ οἰδασι των ἀλλοτριων την φωνην. Ταυτην την παροιμιαν εἰπεν αὐτοις ὁ ᾿Ιησους· ἐκεινοι δε οὐκ ἐγνωσαν τινα ἠν ἃ ἐλαλει αὐτοις. Εἰπεν οὐν παλιν αὐτοις ὁ ᾿Ιησους· ἀμην ἀμην λεγω ὑμιν ὁτι ἐγω εἰμι ἡ θυρα των προβατων. παντες ὁσοι ἠλθον προ ἐμου, κλεπται εἰσι και λῃσται· ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἤκουσαν αὐτων τα προβατα. ἐγω εἰμι ἡ θυρα· δι᾽ ἐμου ἐαν τις εἰσελθῃ, σωθησεται, και εἰσελευσεται και ἐξελευσεται, και νομην εὑρησει. ὁ κλεπτης οὐκ ἐρχεται εἰ μη ἵνα κλεψῃ και θυσῃ και ἀπολεσῃ· ἐγω ἠλθον ἵνα ζωην ἐχωσι και περισσον ἐχωσιν. ἐγω εἰμι ὁ ποιμην ὁ καλος. ὁ ποιμην ὁ καλος την ψυχην αὐτου τιθησιν ὑπερ των προβατων· ὁ μισθωτος δε και οὐκ ὢν ποιμην, οὑ οὐκ εἰσι τα προβατα ἰδια, θεωρει τον λυκον ἐρχομενον και ἀφιησι τα προβατα και φευγει· και ὁ λυκος ἁρπαζει αὐτα και σκορπιζει τα προβατα. ὁ δε μισθωτος φευγει, ὁτι μισθωτος ἐστι και οὐ μελει αὐτῳ περι των προβατων. ἐγω εἰμι ὁ ποιμην ὁ καλος, και γινωσκω τα ἐμα και γινωσκομαι ὑπο των ἐμων, καθως γινωσκει με ὁ πατηρ κἀγω γινωσκω τον πατερα, και την ψυχην μου τιθημι ὑπερ των προβατων. και ἀλλα προβατα ἐχω, ἃ οὐκ ἐστιν ἐκ της αὐλης ταυτης· κἀκεινα με δει ἀγαγειν, και της φωνης μου ἀκουσουσι, και γενησεται μια ποιμνη, εἷς ποιμην. δια τουτο ὁ πατηρ με ἀγαπᾳ, ὁτι ἐγω τιθημι την ψυχην μου, ἵνα παλιν λαβω αὐτην. οὐδεις αἰρει αὐτην ἀπ᾽ ἐμου, ἀλλ᾽ ἐγω τιθημι αὐτην ἀπ᾽ ἐμαυτου· ἐξουσιαν ἐχω θειναι αὐτην, και ἐξουσιαν ἐχω παλιν λαβειν αὐτην· ταυτην την ἐντολην ἐλαβον παρα του πατρος μου.

Σχισμα οὐν παλιν ἐγενετο ἐν τοις ᾿Ιουδαιοις δια τοὺς λογους τουτους. ἐλεγον δε πολλοι ἐξ αὐτων· δαιμονιον ἐχει και μαινεται· τι αὐτου ἀκουετε; ἀλλοι ἐλεγον· ταυτα τα ῥηματα οὐκ ἐστι δαιμονιζομενου· μη δαιμονιον δυναται τυφλων ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀνοιγειν;

᾿Εγενετο δε τα ἐγκαινια ἐν τοις ῾Ιεροσολυμοις, και χειμων ἠν· και περιεπατει ὁ᾿Ιησους ἐν τῳ ἱερῳ ἐν τῃ στοᾳ του Σολομωντος. ἐκυκλωσαν οὐν αὐτον οἱ ᾿Ιουδαιοι και ἐλεγον αὐτῳ· ἑως ποτε την ψυχην ἡμων αἰρεις; εἰ σὺ εἰ ὁ Χριστος, εἰπε ἡμιν παρρησιᾳ. ἀπεκριθη αὐτοις ὁ ᾿Ιησους· εἰπον ὑμιν, και οὐ πιστευετε· τα ἐργα ἃ ἐγω ποιω ἐν τῳ ὀνοματι του πατρος μου, ταυτα μαρτυρει περι ἐμου· ἀλλ᾽ ὑμεις οὐ πιστευετε· οὐ γαρ ἐστε ἐκ των προβατων των ἐμων, καθως εἰπον ὑμιν. τα προβατα τα ἐμα της φωνης μου ἀκουει, κἀγω γινωσκω αὐτα, και ἀκολουθουσι μοι, κἀγω ζωην αἰωνιον διδωμι αὐτοις, και οὐ μη ἀπολωνται εἰς τον αἰωνα, και οὐχ ἁρπασει τις αὐτα ἐκ της χειρος μου. ὁ πατηρ μου, ὃς δεδωκε μοι, μειζων παντων ἐστι, και οὐδεις δυναται ἁρπαζειν ἐκ της χειρος του πατρος μου. ἐγω και ὁ πατηρ ἑν ἐσμεν.

᾿Εβαστασαν οὐν παλιν λιθους οἱ ᾿Ιουδαιοι ἵνα λιθασωσιν αὐτον. ἀπεκριθη αὐτοις ὁ ᾿Ιησους· πολλα καλα ἐργα ἐδειξα ὑμιν ἐκ του πατρος μου· δια ποιον αὐτων ἐργον λιθαζετε με; ἀπεκριθησαν αὐτῳ οἱ ᾿Ιουδαιοι λεγοντες· περι καλου ἐργου οὐ λιθαζομεν σε, ἀλλα περι βλασφημιας, και ὁτι σὺ ἀνθρωπος ὢν ποιεις σεαυτον Θεον. ἀπεκριθη αὐτοις ὁ ᾿Ιησους· οὐκ ἐστι γεγραμμενον ἐν τῳ νομῳ ὑμων, ἐγω εἰπα, θεοι ἐστε; εἰ ἐκεινους εἰπε θεους, προς οὓς ὁ λογος του Θεου ἐγενετο, και οὐ δυναται λυθηναι ἡ γραφη, ὃν ὁ πατηρ ἡγιασε και ἀπεστειλεν εἰς τον κοσμον, ὑμεις λεγετε ὁτι βλασφημεις, ὁτι εἰπον, υἱος του Θεου εἰμι; εἰ οὐ ποιω τα ἐργα του πατρος μου, μη πιστευετε μοι· εἰ δε ποιω, καν ἐμοι μη πιστευητε, τοις ἐργοις πιστευσατε, ἵνα γνωτε και πιστευσητε ὁτι ἐν ἐμοι ὁ πατηρ κἀγω ἐν αὐτῳ.

᾿Εζητουν οὐν παλιν πιασαι αὐτον· και ἐξηλθεν ἐκ της χειρος αὐτων.

Και ἀπηλθε παλιν περαν του ᾿Ιορδανου, εἰς τον τοπον ὁπου ἠν ᾿Ιωαννης το πρωτον βαπτιζων, και ἐμεινεν ἐκει. και πολλοι ἠλθον προς αὐτον και ἐλεγον ὁτι ᾿Ιωαννης μεν σημειον ἐποιησεν οὐδεν, παντα δε ὁσα εἰπεν ᾿Ιωαννης περι τουτου, ἀληθη ἠν. και ἐπιστευσαν πολλοι ἐκει εἰς αὐτον.

God bless,
Ἰακωβος

Another Classless Sunday

Due to illness, vacation and sundry unforseen events, the class has dwindled to one and a half students—but not permanently! Just last Sunday and this Sunday. So, for that reason, there will be no class this week—the 12th of September.

However, that being said, we’ve only got 8 weeks left and I don’t won’t us to fall too far behind, so there will still be a lesson—it’ll just be delivered by email instead of taught in class (somehow seems appropriate that Lesson 13 should be different, eh!). It’ll be on the forms of the future case verbs—regular and irregular.

Ah, but not to worry; I’ll do a review at the beginning of class the following week.

For those who missed lesson 12, I’ll be posting it here along with L11 sometime today—I’ve already posted the last two Why Learn Greek’s. I’ll also email all the relevant material to everyone—including book scans and WLG’s. Please read these carefully, too—there is a fair bit of information on these that hasn’t necessarily made it into the Lesson notes. If you think I’ve forgotten to send something, or have any questions about any of the stuff I do send, just let me know and I’ll get back to you a.s.a.p.

Oh, and to Colleen and Raewyn, if there was anything particularly instructive that we mentioned in class that isn’t in the material I send, could you please let me know and I’ll post it here for everyone? I seem to recall there was something that came up that I wanted to advise everyone about, but can’t for the life of me remember what it was!

Okay, all for now. See everyone in two week’s time.

God bless,
Ἰακωβος

Been a While

It’s been a while since my last posting…

I’ve been very busy with my day job, Sandy leaving for Alaska on business, my son David’s visit, and getting the next lesson ready. Whew!

Two Sundays ago, we had the infamous Test 2 and the results were as varied as the writing times. Due to unforseen circumstances, we ended up having only TWO people write the test in class! The others wrote it at home on the honour system. A trustworthy bunch.

Last week, although I didn’t post, I did add the last two Why Learn Greek illustrations. We had another one yesterday before Lesson 10, but that hasn’t been posted yet—will be soon; when I post the L10 notes.

Okay, that’s it for now. See you next Sunday.

God bless,
Ἰακωβος

Getting Testy

Hope you’re all studying for the vocabulary test on Sunday the 15th of August!

What? Test? When did this happen?


Since I last updated this blog, we’ve had one day of review and two Sundays off. Ostensibly, the two weeks without lessons was in order to study for the big Vocabulary Test coming this Sunday, but, actually, the main reason was that my son is visiting me from Scotland and I needed some time away from preparing for lessons and writing blog posts so I could spend it with him. Which I’ve done now—So let the games begin!

About the Test: There are 167 words—verbs and nouns—on the vocabulary list we used for the last review. All of these words will be on the test. However, you will only be asked to provide one correct meaning for each of these words and, for the nouns, the correct article.

Easy-peasy? Yes indeedy!

See you Sunday.

God bless,
Ἰακωβος

Regroup, Reorganise and Review

We’ve regrouped!

We had a full class for Lesson 9 last Sunday. Trish was back from her marvellous (and highly successful) mission to Fiji, there weren’t any walk/runs for Colleen, and Larry and Joc were not baptising half a dozen young people. It was great having everyone altogether again.

As for L9, it has now been posted on the blog. In fact, all the reorganising of the Pages Tabs I mentioned before is now complete. I’ve grouped all the lessons so far into pairs and posted the pairs on individual pages. For example, Lesson One has been combined on the same page with Lesson Two to give Lesson 1 & 2. This gives us room to post five more lessons before we have to re-reorganise again.

I’ve also added the latest Why Learn Greek illustration—we’ve got 10 of them on there now. Schweet!

As for next class, everybody—including me—thought it was about time for another review. It’s been many months since the first one (way back before Lesson 4!) and we’ve covered a fair bit of ground since then; especially with regard to vocabulary. So, next Sunday is Number Two Review Day!


God bless,
Ἰακωβος