A Syntax Guide

for Readers of the

Greek New Testament
 A Syntax Guide
for Readers of the
Greek New Testament

Charles Lee Irons

Kregel
Academic
A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament
© 2016 by Charles Lee Irons
Published by Kregel Publications, a division of Kregel, Inc., 2450 Oak Industrial
Dr. NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505-6020.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a re-
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the publisher, except for brief quotations in printed reviews.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good
News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard
Bible®. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by
The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org
Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International
Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by
permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version
Bible, copyright © 1989 by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in
the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Hebrew font NewJerusalemU and the Greek font GraecaU are available
from www.linguistsoftware.com/lgku.htm, +1-425-775-1130.
Nestle-Aland, Novum Testamentum Graece, 28th Revised Edition, edited by
Barbara and Kurt Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, and
Bruce M. Metzger in cooperation with the Institute for New Testament Textual
Research, Münster/Westphalia, © 2012 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Used by permission.
ISBN 978-0-8254-4382-4
Printed in the United States of America
16 17 18 19 20 / 5 4 3 2 1
 Contents
Introduction / 7
Works Cited / 13
Abbreviations / 17

Chapter One: The Gospel of Matthew / 21

Chapter Two: The Gospel of Mark/ 81
Chapter Three:The Gospel of Luke / 123
Chapter Four: The Gospel of John / 199
Chapter Five: The Acts of the Apostles / 249
Chapter Six: The Epistle to the Romans / 333
Chapter Seven: The First Epistle to the Corinthians / 369
Chapter Eight: The Second Epistle to the Corinthians / 397
Chapter Nine: The Epistle to the Galatians / 423
Chapter Ten: The Epistle to the Ephesians / 437
Chapter Eleven: The Epistle to the Philippians / 449
Chapter Twelve: The Epistle to the Colossians / 459
Chapter Thirteen: The First Epistle to the Thessalonians / 467
Chapter Fourteen: The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians / 475
Chapter Fifteen: The First Epistle to Timothy / 481
Chapter Sixteen: The Second Epistle to Timothy / 489
Chapter Seventeen: The Epistle to Titus / 495
Chapter Eighteen: The Epistle to Philemon / 499
Chapter Nineteen: The Epistle to the Hebrews / 501
Chapter Twenty: The Epistle of James / 533
Chapter Twenty-One: The First Epistle of Peter / 543
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Second Epistle of Peter / 557
Chapter Twenty-Three: The First Epistle of John / 567
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Second Epistle of John / 575
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Third Epistle of John / 577
Chapter Twenty-Six: The Epistle of Jude / 579
Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Revelation of John / 585

Index of Subjects / 607

 Introduction

T his Syntax Guide is intended to assist readers of the Greek New

Testament by providing brief explanations of intermediate and ad-
vanced syntactical features of the Greek text. It also provides suggested
translations to help the reader make sense of unusual phrases and difficult
sentences. Many tools are readily available for students wanting to read
continuous portions of the Greek New Testament. For example, there are
numerous parsing tools, both print editions and widely used electronic
Bible software packages. There are also reader’s lexica and reader’s editions
of the Greek New Testament that provide contextual glosses for vocabu-
lary occurring under a certain number of times and in some cases parsing
of select verbs and verbal forms.1 This Syntax Guide does not duplicate
the help provided by such tools. Rather, it picks up where these other
tools leave off, presupposes their use, and moves on to more complex is-
sues of syntax, translation, some textual criticism, and limited exegesis.
The intent is to provide concise notes enabling the reader to make sense
of the Greek text at a level of linguistic communication one step higher
than the word to the syntactical level of the phrase, clause, or sentence.

1. The best reader’s lexicon is Michael H. Burer and Jeffrey E. Miller, A New
Reader’s Lexicon of the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Kregel,
2008). The two main reader’s editions are Richard J. Goodrich and Albert
L. Lukaszewski, A Reader’s Greek New Testament (3rd ed; Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2015), and Barclay M. Newman and Florian Voss, The Greek
New Testament: A Reader’s Edition (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2015). This
Syntax Guide can be used in conjunction with any of these tools.

7
 Introduction

One of my aims in creating this Syntax Guide is to encourage stu-

dents, pastors, and others to devote themselves to reading large portions
of the Greek New Testament and, ideally, all of it. This can be a challenge
given the disconnect between the necessarily simplified grammar learned
in elementary Greek and the actual, real-life Greek of the New Testament.
This disconnect can be overcome only by immersing oneself in the actual
text. The best way to improve one’s facility in biblical Greek is to read the
text continuously and synthetically with minimal interruption.2 By elim-
inating the need to stop and look up intermediate, advanced, or unusual
grammatical features of the Greek text, I have sought to streamline the
reader’s experience so that true learning of New Testament Greek can
occur organically through familiarity with the actual text in extenso. When
used together with a reader’s edition and/or a parsing guide (whether
print or electronic), this Syntax Guide will enable students of the Greek
New Testament to read large portions of text at a time, thereby strength-
ening their ability to read the New Testament in the original.
Although this Syntax Guide provides some lexical information
and very limited parsing in select cases, glosses and parsing are not
the focus. The primary aim is to provide concise explanations of syn-
tactical, clause-level features that may not be immediately obvious to
the beginner. Such features may be something as simple as the genitive
absolute, which occurs frequently in the Greek New Testament, or the
fact that in Greek neuter plural subjects take singular verbs. In a great
number of cases, there is no specific grammatical rule to be noted, but
rather suggested translations of difficult phrases, clauses and verses
are given to assist the reader. These translations are usually taken from
English versions familiar to evangelicals. The New American Standard
Bible, the English Standard Version, and the New International Version
are employed most frequently, but other English versions are also
quoted on occasion when they prove helpful.
In addition, it is surprising how the various particles, preposi-
tions, and common utility words like καί are used in a variety of ways,

2. Philip H. Towner, “Preface,” The UBS Greek New Testament: A Reader’s

Edition.

8 A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament

 Introduction

including some that are unusual and quite unexpected. The preposition
ἐπί has 18 different uses according to the standard lexicon of the Greek
New Testament.3 Rather than spending precious time hunting down
explanations for less common or non-standard usages in a lexicon or
grammar, the work has been done for the reader. In most cases, citations
have been given pointing the student to the standard Greek grammars
and lexica for further study. In some cases, lengthier notes are provided
in which a number of exegetical or interpretive options are listed. The
goal has been to be as objective as possible in setting out the range of
scholarly views. However, a certain degree of subjectivity is unavoid-
able. The options are listed from least likely to more or most likely, so
that the last option listed is the one I regard as most likely.
Analysis of syntax often entails making judgments about the various
uses of a certain grammatical form, giving rise to a particular meaning in
that context. This Syntax Guide uses the traditional categories of usage as
given in the standard grammars of New Testament Greek.4 However, I
recognize that more recent linguistic approaches to Greek grammar have
challenged the traditional categories. Many contemporary scholars prefer
not to use labels such as “the objective genitive” or “the ingressive aorist,”
for they seem to imply that the genitive or the aorist actually contains
within itself an entire range of discrete meanings. It is argued, rather,
that “the objective genitive” and “the ingressive aorist” are really only dif-
ferent ways in which the genitive or the aorist form can be used, and that
the various meanings are not inherent to the form itself but arise from
its use in particular contexts. Another way of putting the matter is that
these categories should not be taken as semantic values but as pragmatic

3. Walter Bauer, Frederick W. Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W. Gingrich, A

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian
Literature (3rd ed.; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000).
4. For categories of usage, I rely mainly on Friedrich Blass, Albert
Debrunner, and Robert W. Funk, A Greek Grammar of the New
Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1961), and Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond
the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1996).

A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament 9

 Introduction

functions.5 I defend my use of the traditional terminology, not because

I reject this important insight, but because new reference grammars in-
corporating the insights of modern linguistics have yet to be written.
Inventing new terminology would be inappropriate in a work of this na-
ture. Linguistically sophisticated users may mentally gloss the traditional
labels as descriptors of context-conditioned pragmatic functions.
I have chosen to continue using the term “deponent,” even though
I am agnostic about whether it is a genuine syntactical category in
Greek. I use the term merely because I believe it is helpful for the begin-
ning student to note when verbs that are middle or passive in form are
best translated with an active verb in English.6
With regard to the contentious debate over tense and aspect in the
Greek verb system, it is not necessary to defend a particular position for
the purposes of this Syntax Guide. My own view is that the Greek verb,
in the indicative mood, generally communicates temporal distinctions in
addition to aspectual ones. With regard to the aorist, my working assump-
tion is that it is generally used to indicate that the action is being viewed
as a simple event in the past, with the notion of pastness being communi-
cated as a semantic value by the augment. Occasionally, the aorist indica-
tive does not denote a past event but an action viewed as a fact without
regard to time; such instances are noted in the Syntax Guide using tradi-
tional categories such as “constantive/global aorist” or “gnomic aorist.” Of
course, the aorist when used in the imperative or subjunctive mood, or as
a participle, lacks the augment and therefore does not communicate past
time as part of its semantic value, although aorist participles often have a
past meaning due to the pragmatics of their use in historical narratives.7

5. For the distinction between semantics and pragmatics, see Constantine

R. Campbell, Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2008), 22–24.
6. For the case against deponency as a genuine syntactical category in
Greek, see Jonathan T. Pennington, “Deponency in Koine Greek: The
Grammatical Question and the Lexicographical Dilemma,” Trinity
Journal 24 (2003): 55–76.
7. Some scholars argue that tense is not a semantic value of the Greek verb,
even in the indicative mood, although they do recognize that temporal

10 A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament

 Introduction

A notable feature of this work is the extent to which I have at-

tempted to recognize Hebraic constructions, Semitic interference, and
Septuagintisms in the syntax of the Greek New Testament, noting,
where applicable, representative passages in the Septuagint where the
syntactical feature can be seen in the Bible of Greek-speaking Judaism.
This Syntax Guide closely follows the critical edition of the
Greek New Testament presented in the 27th and 28th Editions of the
Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece published by the Deutsche
Bibelgesellschaft (Stuttgart). However, significant textual variants, es-
pecially those which appear to have arisen in connection with perceived
syntactical difficulties, are also discussed.

reference can, and often does, appear at the pragmatic level. For a helpful
overview of the history of the debate, see Campbell, Basics, 26–33.

A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament 11

 Works Cited

The following is a list of abbreviations of the reference works and

commentaries cited. Those indicated in bold below are the “constant
witnesses” cited with great frequency throughout. Users of this Syntax
Guide need not consult any of these reference tools in order to under-
stand the notes. However, those engaging in more detailed exegetical
study will benefit from consulting the works cited.

Aune Aune, David E. Revelation 1–5. WBC 52A. Dallas: Word

Books, 1997.

Barrett Barrett, C. K. A Commentary on the First Epistle to the

Corinthians. HNTC. New York: Harper & Row, 1968.

BDAG Bauer, Walter, Frederick W. Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W.

Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2000.

BDF Blass, Friedrich, Albert Debrunner, and Robert W. Funk.

A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early
Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1961.

13
 Works Cited

Beale Beale, G. K. The Book of Revelation. NIGTC. Grand

Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.

Black Black, Matthew. An Aramaic Approach to the Gospels and

Acts. 3rd ed. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1998.

Burton Burton, Ernest de Witt. The Epistle to the Galatians. ICC.

New York: Scribner’s, 1920.

Carson Carson, D. A. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids:

Eerdmans, 1991.

Charles Charles, R. H. The Revelation of St. John. 2 Vols. ICC.

Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1920.

Cranfield Cranfield, C. E. B. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary

on the Epistle to the Romans. ICC. 2 Vols. Edinburgh:
T&T Clark, 1975, 1979.

Cremer Cremer, Hermann. Biblico-Theological Lexicon of New

Testament Greek. Fourth English Edition. Translated by
William Urwick. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1895.

Fee Fee, Gordon D. The First Epistle to the Corinthians.

NICNT. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987.

Fitzmyer Fitzmyer, Joseph A. The Acts of the Apostles. AB 31. New

York: Doubleday, 1998.

Geldenhuys Geldenhuys, Norval. The Gospel of Luke. NICNT. Grand

Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983.

Green Green, Joel B. The Gospel of Luke. NICNT. Grand Rapids:

Eerdmans, 1997.

14 A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament

 Works Cited

Harris Harris, Murray J. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians.

NIGTC. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005.

Hawthorne Hawthorne, Gerald F. Philippians. WBC 43. Waco: Word

Books, 1983.

Hodge Hodge, Charles. Commentary on the Epistle to the

Romans. Rev. ed. Philadelphia: William S. & Alfred
Martien, 1864.

HR Hatch and Redpath. Concordance to the Septuagint. 3 vols.

Clarendon: Oxford, 1897, 1906.

Lane Lane, William L. Hebrews. WBC 47AB. Waco: Word

Books, 1991.

Lincoln Lincoln, Andrew T. Ephesians. WBC 42. Dallas: Word

Books, 1990.

LSJ Liddell, Scott, Jones, and MacKenzie. A Greek-English

Lexicon. 9th ed. Oxford, 1996.

M Moule, C. F. D. An Idiom Book of New Testament Greek.

2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1959.

Marshall Marshall, I. Howard. The Gospel of Luke. NIGTC. Grand

Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978.

Metzger Metzger, Bruce M. A Textual Commentary on the Greek

New Testament. Second Edition. Stuttgart: Deutsche
Bibelgesellschaft, 1994.

Moo Moo, Douglas J. The Epistle to the Romans. NICNT.

Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.

A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament 15

 Works Cited

Thayer Thayer, Joseph H. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New

Testament. 4th ed. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1896.

W Wallace, Daniel B. Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An

Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1996.

Z Zerwick, Maximilian. Biblical Greek Illustrated By

Examples. Trans. by Joseph Smith. Rome: Pontifical
Biblical Institute, 1963.

ZG Zerwick, Max and Mary Grosvenor. A Grammatical

Analysis of the Greek New Testament. 3rd ed. Rome:
Pontifical Biblical Insitute, 1988.

16 A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament

 Abbreviations

1s First person singular

2s Second person singular
3s Third person singular
1p First person plural
2p Second person plural
3p Third person plural
abs. Absolute
acc. Accusative
adj. Adjective
adv. Adverb(ial)
alt. Alternative translation given in margin or footnote
bec. Because
ch. Chapter
cp. Compare
dat. Dative
ESV English Standard Version
fem. Feminine
fig. Figurative(ly)
gen. Genitive
hapax Hapax legomenon (occurring only once)
Heb. Hebrew
Hebr. Hebraic
impf. Imperfect
impv. Imperative

17
 Abbreviations

indef. Indefinite
indic. Indicative
inf. Infinitive
intrans. Intransitive
KJV King James Version
lit. Literal(ly)
LXX Septuagint
masc. Masculine
mid. Middle
mng. Meaning
mod. Modified
MS(S) Manuscript(s)
NA Nestle-Aland, Novum Testamentum Graece
NASB New American Standard Bible
neg. Negative
neut. Neuter
NIV New International Version
nom. Nominative
NRSV New Revised Standard Version
NT New Testament
OT Old Testament
pass. Passive
perf. Perfect
pl. Plural
plupf. Pluperfect
prep. Preposition(al)
ptc. Participle
ref. Reference
sc. Scilicet – it is permitted to understand
see See notes or commentary
sg. Singular
subj. Subjunctive
s.v. Sub verbo/voce – under the word
trans. Transitive
v./vv. Verse/verses

18 A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament

 Abbreviations

voc. Vocative
vs. Versus
Vulg. Vulgate
w/o Without
w.r.t. With respect to

A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament 19

 Chapter One

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 1
1:1 | βίβλος γενέσεως Ἰ. Χρ. – nom. abs. (W 49–50); allusion to
“the book of the generations” (LXX Gen 2:4; 5:1)

1:2 | Ἀβραὰμ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰσαάκ = LXX 1 Chron 1:34 – note

the unexpected definite article τόν before the name of the person be-
gotten, and so throughout vv. 2–16. Formula used in the LXX genealo-
gies: x ἐγέννησεν τὸν y (see LXX Gen 5:6ff; 10:8ff; 1 Chron 2:10ff )

1:6 | ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Οὐρίου = “by the [wife] of Uriah” (highlighting

David’s adultery) (cp. ἡ τοῦ Κλωπᾶ, John 19:25)

1:11 | ἐπί + gen. = “at the time of ” (BDAG ἐπί 18a) | μετοικεσία (“de-
portation”) is from μετοικέω < μετά + οἰκέω = “change one’s abode”

1:16 | ἐγεννήθη – in contrast with the active form ἐγέννησεν used

repeatedly in vv. 2–16a, the sudden pass. in ref. to Jesus stands out –
Jesus is begotten by God.

1:18 | δέ = “now” (W 674) | οὕτως ἦν = “took place in this way”

(ESV), “was as follows” (NASB), adv. functioning as adj. (BDF §434(1);
BDAG οὕτως 2) | μνηστευθείσης … gen. abs. (“after his mother

21
1:18 Mat t he w 2:1

Mary had been betrothed to Joseph”) | Subject of εὑρέθη is same as

the noun of the gen. abs. (Mary), which is unusual (BDF §423(4)) |
πρὶν ἤ = “before,” the Ionic/Koiné equivalent of πρίν in Attic (see
BDAG); on πρίν + inf., see BDF §395; W 596 (cp. Matt 26:43, 75);
“before they came together [in marriage]” (BDAG συνέρχομαι 3)
| εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα = “she was found to be with child,”
εὑρίσκω + supplementary ptc. (BDF §416(2))

1:18, 23 | ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχω (2x) = “be pregnant” (BDAG γαστήρ 2;

LXX Gen 16:4)

1:19 | ἐβουλήθη aorist of βούλομαι; takes complementary inf., “de-

cide to” | λάθρᾳ = “secretly,” adverbial dat. (W 161 n59)

1:20 | ἐνθυμηθέντος – pass. in form but active in mng. (deponent);

gen. abs., “after he had reflected on these things” | ἄγγελος κυρίου =
“an (or the) angel of the Lord” (cp. 1:24; 2:13, 19; 28:2) (see discussion
at W 252) | κατ’ ὄναρ = “in a dream” (cp. 2:12, 13, 19, 22; 27:19) |
φοβηθῇς – deponent | τὸ γεννηθέν = lit. “the thing [child] that has
been begotten,” divine pass. (see v. 16)

1:21 | Ἰησοῦς – in LXX “Joshua” (Yahweh is salvation) is spelled

Ἰησοῦς, probably an intentional allusion to the OT Joshua

1:22 | τοῦτο ὅλον = “all this”

1:23 | ἕξει – future of ἔχω | ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον = “which

when translated means” (BDAG εἰμί 2cα; μεθερμηνεύω [< μετά +
ἑρμηνεύω]) | μεθ’ ἡμῶν = μετὰ ἡμῶν

1:25 | αὐτήν = “her” (= Mary) | ἕως οὗ = “until” (BDAG ἕως 1bβ‫)א‬

(cp. 13:33)

Matthew 2
2:1 | τοῦ δὲ Ἰησοῦ γεννηθέντος = “now after Jesus was born,” gen.

22 A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament

2:1 Mat t he w 2:14

abs. | παραγίνομαι εἰς = “become present in” a place (BDAG παρ.

1a; εἰς 1aδ)

2:2 | αὐτοῦ τὸν ἀστέρα = τὸν ἀστέρα αὐτοῦ (“his star”) – on po-
sition of gen. pronoun, see BDF §284

2:4 | ἐπυνθάνετο – verbs of asking tend to prefer impf. tense (BDF

§328) | ποῦ ὁ Χριστὸς γεννᾶται = “where the Messiah is [to be]
born,” present retained in indirect discourse (W 537–9)

2:6 | ἡγούμενος = “ruler,” anarthrous substantivized adjectival ptc.

(BDF §264(6))

2:7 | τὸν χρόνον … ἀστέρος = “the time of the star’s appearing”

2:8 | ἐπάν (< ἐπεὶ ἄν) + aorist subj. = “when,” “as soon as” (BDF
§455(1)) | κἀγώ = καὶ ἐγώ = “I too”

2: 9 | οἱ = “they” (= the magi); οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες = “now when they

heard” | ἐπάνω οὗ = “over [the place] where” (BDAG ἐπάνω 1b); οὗ
= “where,” gen. of ὅς that has become an adv. of place

2:12 | χρηματίζω – since verb has connotation of a divine message

or oracle, could be translated “being warned by God” (NASB) (see v.
22) | κατ’ ὄναρ = “in a dream” (cp. vv. 13, 19, 22; 1:20; 27:19) | μὴ
ἀνακάμψαι – complementary inf. with verb of commanding (BDF
§392(1)(d)) | δι’ ἄλλης ὁδοῦ = “by another [ἄλλος, η, ον] way”
(ὁδός is fem.)

2:13 | ἀναχωρησάντων αὐτῶν – gen. abs. | μέλλω + inf. = “be

about to” | τοῦ ἀπολέσαι – gen. articular inf. expressing purpose (“in
order to kill”)

2:14 | ὁ = “he” (= Joseph); ὁ δὲ ἐγερθεὶς παρέλαβεν = “then he got

up and took” (see v. 21) | νυκτός – gen. of time (“at night”)

Chapter One: The Gospel of Matthe 23

2:16 Mat t he w 3:9

2:16 | ἐμπαίζω – lit. “mock,” here “trick” – “Then Herod, when he

realized that he had been tricked by the magi, became very angry” |
ἀποστείλας ἀνεῖλεν = “sent [soldiers who] killed,” Semitic graphic
ptc. (Z §363) (cp. Mk 6:17; Acts 7:14; Rev 1:1) | παρὰ τῶν μάγων
= “from the wise men” (BDAG παρά A3aγ).

2:19 | τελευτήσαντος = “when Herod died,” gen. abs.

2:20 | οἱ ζητοῦντες – categorical pl. referring to Herod (W 404)

2:22 | βασιλεύω + gen. of region ruled | ἐκεῖ ἀπελθεῖν = “to go

there” (BDAG ἀπέρχομαι 1b)

2:23 | εἰς = ἐν (cp. 2:1; 4:13) | Ναζωραῖος – see BDAG for

possibilities

Matthew 3
3:2 | ἤγγικεν = “has drawn near, is on the verge of arriving” (cp. 4:17)

3:3 | βοῶντος = “of (some)one crying out,” anarthrous substantival

ptc. (cp. Mk 1:3; Lk 3:4)

3:4 | ἀπὸ τριχῶν καμήλου = “[made] from the hairs of a camel”

3:5 | περίχωρος, ον = “neighboring,” here as subst., “the neighboring

region”

3:5–6 | ἐξεπορεύετο, ἐβαπτίζοντο – distributive iterative impfs.

(W 547); note switch from sg. to pl.

3:7 | ἐπὶ τὸ βάπτισμα = “for baptism, to get baptized,” ἐπί + acc. as

marker of purpose (BDAG ἐπί 11) | ἡ μέλλουσα ὀργή = “the wrath
to come” (cp. Luke 3:7) (BDAG μέλλω 3)

3:9 | μὴ δόξητε λέγειν = “do not presume to say” (NRSV)

24 A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament

3:10 Mat t he w 4:4

3:10 | κεῖμαι πρός = “is lying at,” ready to fell the tree | ποιοῦν (neut.
present ptc.) καρπόν = “producing fruit” (BDAG ποιέω 2g)

3:11 | μέν … δέ = “on the one hand … on the other hand” (BDAG μέν
1a) | ὁ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος = “the one coming after me” | ἐν (2x)
= “with,” Hebr./instrumental ἐν (BDF §219; BDAG ἐν 5b)

3:13 | τοῦ βαπτισθῆναι = “in order to be baptized,” gen. articular inf.

3:14 | διεκώλυεν = “was trying to prevent,” conative impf. (W 550)

3:15 | ἄφες ἄρτι = “let it be so now” (ESV, NIV) | πρέπον ἐστὶν

ἡμῖν + inf. = “it is fitting for us to” | πληρῶσαι πᾶσαν δικαιοσύνην
= “to bring about the fulfillment of all righteousness,” i.e., all the good
fruit (vv. 8, 10) and obedience (4:1–11) that God demanded through his
law but failed to find in Israel (cp. 7:19; 15:13; 21:19, 34, 41).

3:17 | ἐν ᾧ εὐδόκησα (cp. Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22) – possible interpre-

tations of the aorist: (1) “on whom my pleasure has just now fallen,” im-
mediate past aorist (W 564–5; M 11) (unlikely, bec. same statement is
made both earlier and later; cp. 12:18; 17:5; 2 Pet 1:17); (2) “on whom
my electing pleasure has fallen,” referring to the eternal decree of God by
which he foreordained his Son to be the Messiah (Benjamin W. Bacon,
“Supplementary Note on the Aorist εὐδόκησα, Mark i.11,” JBL 20
[1901]: 28–30); or (3) “with whom I am well pleased,” constative/global
aorist, stressing the fact of God’s pleasure w/o regard to time (W 557)

Matthew 4
4:2 | ἡμέρας … τεσσαράκοντα – acc. for extent of time (W 202) |
ὕστερον = “afterwards,” adv. acc.

4:3 | λέγω ἵνα = “order that,” with ἵνα used in attenuated sense
(BDAG ἵνα 2aδ; λέγω 2c)

4:4 | ζάω ἐπί + dat. (2x) = “live on” (BDAG ἐπί 6a)

Chapter One: The Gospel of Matthe 25

4:6 Mat t he w 4: 24

4:6 | ἐντέλλομαι – deponent; implied subject is God (v. 7): “To his
angels he will give orders concerning you” (LXX Ps 91:11–12)

4:10 | ἐὰν πεσὼν προσκυνήσῃς μοι = “if you fall down and worship
me,” attendant circumstances ptc.

4:13 | εἰς Καφ. τὴν παραθαλασσίαν = “in Capernaum which is

by the sea.” τήν identifies adj. παραθαλασσίαν as modifying Καφ.
attributively (W 306–7). τήν agrees with Καφ. in case, gender, and
number. Note fulfillment of Scripture: παραθαλασσίαν (v. 13) →
ὁδὸν θαλάσσης (v. 15) → παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν (v. 18)

4:15 | ὁδὸν θαλάσσης = “toward the sea” (LXX Isa 9:1), lit. trans-
lation of Heb.; ὁδός effectively functions here as preposition (BDF
§§161, 166; BDAG ὁδός 1)

4:16 | τοῖς καθημένοις … αὐτοῖς – pleonastic pronoun; anacolu-

thon (BDF §§297; 466(4)) (cp. 5:40)

4:17 | ἀπὸ τότε = “from then on” | ἤγγικεν (see 3:2)

4:18, 20, 21 | ἀμφίβληστρον (< ἀμφί + βάλλω = “cast on either

side”) = “casting-net,” whereas δίκτυον = generic “fishing net”

4:20, 22 | οἱ = “they”

4:21 | ἄλλους δύο ἀδελφούς = “two other brothers” | Ἰάκωβον τὸν

τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου = “Jacob/James, the [son] of Zebedee”

4: 24 | ἡ ἀκοὴ αὐτοῦ = “his fame” (ESV), “news about him” (NASB)

(cp. 14:1; BDAG ἀκοή 4a) | τοὺς κακῶς ἔχοντας ποικίλαις
νόσοις = “those sick with all kinds of diseases,” κακῶς ἔχειν = “to
be sick,” οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες = “those who are sick” (BDAG ἔχω
10b) | [τοὺς] βασάνοις συνεχομένους = “those suffering with
pains/torments” | σεληνιάζομαι (< σελήνη = “moon”) = lit. “be

26 A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament

4: 24 Mat t he w 5:20

moonstruck,” presumably bec. epileptic seizures were thought to be

caused by the moon (cp. 17:15)

Matthew 5
5:1 | καθίσαντος αὐτοῦ = “after he sat down,” gen. abs.

5:3 | οἱ πτωχοί – cp. 11:5; LXX Isa 61:1

5:3–10 | Note emphastic position of αὐτοί/αὐτῶν (8x): “for it is

they who …” (ὅτι αὐτοί, vv. 4–9), or “for to them belongs …” (ὅτι
αὐτῶν, vv. 3, 10)

5:11 | κατά + gen. = “against” (BDAG κατά A2bβ)

5:13 | μωραίνω normally means “make foolish” but here context re-
quires “make tasteless” (cp. Lk 14:34); John Lightfoot: “Μωρανθῇ
suits very well with the Hebrew word ‫תפל‬, which signifies both un-
savoury and a fool” (quoted by Black 166) | ἐν τίνι = “with what?”
| εἰ μὴ βληθὲν ἔξω καταπατεῖσθαι – difficult, possibly corrupt;
other MSS have εἰ μὴ βληθῆναι ἔξω καὶ καταπατεῖσθαι (“ex-
cept to be cast out and trampled”)

5:15 | Subject of καίουσιν and τιθέασιν is indef. “they” or “people”

5:16 | οὕτως = “in the same way,” pointing to moral of figure (BDAG
οὕτως 1b) | ὑμῶν τὰ καλὰ ἔργα – on word order, see comment at 2:2

5:19 | ὃς ἐάν (or ἄν) = “whoever” (and throughout ch. 5); ἐάν some-
times used in place of ἄν after relatives (BDF §107; BDAG ἐάν 3) | ὃς
ἐὰν λύσῃ = “whoever annuls” (BDAG λύω 4), subj. in indef. relative
clause; the potential element belongs to the subject rather than the verb
(W 478–9) (and throughout ch. 5)

5:20 | πλεῖον (adv. acc.) + gen. of comparison = “more greatly than”

(BDAG πολύς 2bβ)

Chapter One: The Gospel of Matthe 27

5:21 Mat t he w 5:34–36

5:21 | τοῖς ἀρχαίοις (cp. v. 33) could be translated “by the ancients,”
but probably “to the ancients” | οὐ φονεύσεις – imperatival future,
usually employed in LXX quotations of OT categorical injunctions
(BDF §362; W 569; M 178–9) (cp. vv. 27, 33, 43)

5:22 | ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν (also vv. 28, 32, 34, 39, 44) = “but I say
to you,” emphatic ἐγώ of messianic authority – as the crowds per-
ceived (7:28–29) | ἔνοχος εἰς τὴν γέενναν = “guilty [enough
to go] into the fiery hell” (NASB), pregnant construction (BDAG
εἰς 10d)

5:23 | κἀκεῖ = καὶ ἐκεῖ = “and there”

5:24 | ὕπαγε πρῶτον διαλλάγηθι = “first go and be reconciled”

(NIV), asyndeton: the impv. ὕπαγε is almost always followed by an-
other impv. w/o a connective (BDAG ὑπάγω 2a; BDF §461(1))

5:25 | ἕως ὅτου + indic. = “while” (BDAG ἕως 2c) | μήποτε +

aorist subj. = “lest”

5:28 | πρὸς τό + inf., indicating intent (BDF §402(5)) (cp. 6:1;

13:30; 23:5)

5:29–30 | ἵνα – final sense attenuated; functions as inf. (BDAG ἵνα 2)

5:32 | παρεκτὸς λόγου πορνείας = “except on the ground of sexual

immorality” (ESV) (BDAG λόγος 2d) | ποιέω + inf. = “cause
someone to do something” (BDAG ποιέω 2hα) | ἀπολελυμένην
= “a divorced woman”

5:33 | ἀποδίδωμι = “perform” (ESV), “fulfill” (NASB), “keep” (NIV

1984) (BDAG ἀποδίδωμι 2c)

5:34–36 | ὀμνύω ἐν = “swear by,” ἐν replacing acc. under Hebr. influ-

ence (BDAG ὀμνύω; BDF §149; W 204–5) (cp. 23:16–22)

28 A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament

5:34 Mat t he w 6:3

5:34 | μή … ὅλως = “not … at all”

5:35 | ὀμνύω εἰς = “swear by” (BDAG εἰς 6)

5:37 | τὸ περισσὸν τούτων = “anything more than these,” with

τούτων as gen. of comparison (BDF §185(1)) | ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ – if
masc. (ὁ πονηρός), “from the evil one” (NIV), i.e., the devil (BDAG
πονηρός 1bβ); if neut. (τὸ πονηρόν), “of/from evil” (NASB, ESV),
i.e., from evil motives (BDAG πονηρός 1bγ)

5:39 | τῷ πονηρῷ – masc. (ὁ πονηρός) (BDAG πονηρός 1bα), “the

evil person” as a class (generic article; W 227) | τὴν ἄλλην [sc. σιαγόνα]

5:40 | αὐτῷ – pleonastic pronoun; anacoluthon (BDF §§297; 466(4));

lit. “to the person wishing [τῷ θέλοντι] to sue you and take your shirt,
give to him [αὐτῷ] your coat also” (cp. 4:16)

5:43 | ὁ πλησίον = “the one who is near,” “neighbor,” extremely common

in LXX; substantivized adverb/preposition (W 232; BDF §266)

5:46–47 | οὐχί = “Do not … ?” (expects affirmative answer) | τὸ αὐτό

= “the same” (BDAG αὐτός 3b)

5:47 | τί περισσὸν ποιεῖτε; = “what are you doing that is remark-

able?” (BDAG περισσός 1), “what more are you doing than others?”
(ESV, NASB)

Matthew 6
6:1 | προσέχω + μή + inf. (ποιεῖν) = “take care not to” | δικαιοσύνη
= “righteous deed, charity” (BDAG δικαιοσύνη 3b) | πρὸς τό + inf.
– see 5:28 | αὐτοῖς = “by them”

6:2 | δοξάζω (pass.) = “be praised, honored”

6:3 | σοῦ δὲ ποιοῦντος = “but when you give alms,” gen. abs. | ἡ

Chapter One: The Gospel of Matthe 29

6:3 Mat t he w 6:19

ἀριστερὰ/δεξιὰ [χείρ] – ellipsis of substantive with adj. attributives

(BDF §261(6))

6:5 | ἔσεσθε – imperatival future not in OT quotation – quite rare (W

569; BDF §362)

6:6 | τῷ πατρί σου τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ = “to your father who is in

secret” (cp. v. 18)

6:7 | βατταλογέω = “meaningless repetition” (NASB), onomatopo-

etic | ἐν = “because of ” (BDAG ἐν 9a)

6:8 | ὧν χρείαν ἔχετε = “the things of which you have need” | πρὸ
τοῦ + inf. = “before” | ὑμᾶς – acc. subject with inf. (αἰτῆσαι)

6:9 | πάτερ – voc.

6:10 | ὡς … καί = “as … so” (BDAG καί 2c; ὡς 2a) (cp. Acts 7:51; Gal
1:9; Phil 1:20)

6:11 | ἐπιούσιος, ον – mng. uncertain; unattested in extra-biblical

Greek; could be translated (1) “necessary for existence,” (2) “for today,”
(3) “for the following day,” (4) “for the future,” (5) “coming,” i.e., escha-
tological (see BDAG ἐπιούσιος and commentaries for discussion) |
σήμερον (adv.) = “today”

6:13 | τοῦ πονηροῦ – as in 5:37, could be masc., “the evil one,” or

neut., “evil” (cp. 2 Thess 3:3)

6:19 | σής, ἡ = “moth” (here as larvae) | βρῶσις, ἡ = “eating, con-

suming” “The interp corrosion, rust finds no support outside this pas-
sage” (BDAG βρῶσις); “moth and eating” = hendiadys for “larvae
that eat clothing” | διορύσσω – Since houses were typically made
of earthen bricks, thieves would “dig” a whole in the wall in order to
break in.

30 A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament

6:22 Mat t he w 6:34

6:22 | ὁ λύχνος … ὁ ὀφθαλμός = “the eye is the lamp of the

body” | ἁπλοῦς = “single, without guile, sincere, straightforward”
(BDAG ἁπλοῦς), simplex (Vulgate); opposite of διπλοῦς = “two-
fold” (LSJ)

6:23 | τὸ σκότος πόσον = “how great is that darkness!”

6:24 | δυσί = dat. of δύο | ἤ … ἤ = “either … or” | μισήσει and ἀγαπήσει

– gnomic futures (W 571) | ἀντέχομαι and καταφρονέω take gen.

6:25 | τῇ ψυχῇ ὑμῶν = “for your life,” dat. of advantage (BDF §188(1))
| τῆς τροφῆς and τοῦ ἐνδύματος – gens. of comparison

6:26 | ὅτι can be left untranslated: “Look at the birds of the air: they
…” (ESV); prolepsis (cp. v. 28), i.e., anticipation of the subject of the
subordinate clause by making it the object of the main clause (BDF
§476(2)) | καί = “and yet” (BDAG καί 1bη) | οὐχ ὑμεῖς μᾶλλον
διαφέρετε αὐτῶν = “are you not much more valuable than they?”
(NIV); μᾶλλον is pleonastic (BDAG μᾶλλον 1) and heightens
the comparative (BDF §246); αὐτῶν, gen. of comparison (BDAG
διαφέρω 4)

6:27 | μεριμνῶν = “by means of worrying” (W 628–30)

6:28 | καταμάθετε τὰ κρίνα τοῦ ἀγροῦ πῶς αὐξάνουσιν = “con-

sider the lilies of the field, how they grow” (ESV), prolepsis (cp. v. 26)

6:29 | οὐδέ = “not even”

6:30 | Subject is ὁ θεός, and direct object is τὸν χόρτον …

βαλλόμενον (“the grass of the field which exists today and tomorrow
is cast into the furnace”)

6:34 | μεριμνάω + εἰς = “be anxious for” (BDAG εἰς 2aβ); + gen.
(BDF §176(2))

Chapter One: The Gospel of Matthe 31

7:2 Mat t he w 7:17–19

Matthew 7
7:2 | ἐν ᾧ (2x) = “with whatever”

7:3 | τί δὲ βλέπεις; = “why do you look at?” | τήν goes with δοκόν
(fem.)

7:4 | πῶς ἐρεῖς; = “how can you say?” | ἄφες ἐκβάλω = “let me
take out,” impv. of ἀφίημι reinforces hortatory subj. to form single
idiomatic phrase; leave ἄφες untranslated (BDAG ἀφίημι 5b; BDF
§364(1–2); W 464–5) (cp. 27:49)

7:6 | μήποτε + future indic. and aorist subj. = “lest” | ἐν = “with,”

Hebr./instrumental ἐν (BDF §219; BDAG ἐν 5b) | ῥήγνυμι = “tear
in pieces” (with their teeth)

7:9–10 | Anacolutha (BDF §469) | μή = “he will not …, will he?”

7:11 | οἶδα + inf. = “know how to” (BDAG οἶδα 3)

7:12 | πάντα ὅσα ἐάν = “all things whatsoever” (KJV); on ἐάν for ἄν,
see 5:19, 32 | ἵνα – final sense attenuated; functions as inf. (BDAG ἵνα 2)

7:14 | τί = “how!” (BDAG τίς 3)

7:15 | ἅρπαξ (adj.) = “ravenous, rapacious, greedy for prey” (< ἁρπάζω
= “seize, steal, make off with”)

7:16, 20 | ἀπό = “by” with verbs of perceiving (ἐπιγινώσκω) (BDAG

ἀπό 3d)

7:16 | μήτι … “Surely they do not gather … do they?” (BDAG μήτι)

7:17 | οὕτως – cp. 5:16

7:17–19 | ποιέω (5x) = “produce, yield” (BDAG ποιέω 2g)

32 A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament

7:20 Mat t he w 8:7

7:20 | ἄρα γε = “so then” (NASB)

7:21–22 | κύριε (4x) – voc.

7:23 | ὅτι recitative – marker of direct discourse, rendered with quo-

tation marks (BDAG ὅτι 3; BDF §397(5)) | οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι =
“you workers,” articular ptc. with implied 2p from impv. ἀποχωρεῖτε
(BDF §412(5)) | τὴν ἀνομίαν = “lawlessness,” article with abstract
noun (W 226)

7:24, 26 | μου τοὺς λόγους τούτους (2x) = “these words of mine”

7:25, 27 | προσ -πίπτω/-κόπτω – prefix takes dat. object (BDF §202

s.v. προσ-)

7:28 | καὶ ἐγένετο ὅτε = “and it came to pass, when” (KJV),

Septuagintism (BDF §§4; 442(5); BDAG γίνομαι 4f ) | ἐπί after
verbs which express feelings = “at” (BDAG ἐπί 6c)

7:29 | ἦν διδάσκων = “he was teaching,” impf. periphrastic (W 648)

Matthew 8
8:1, 5 | καταβάντος/εἰσελθόντος αὐτοῦ = “when he came down/
entered,” gen. abs.

8:3 | ἥψατο αὐτοῦ – verbs of touching take gen. object (W 132)

8:4 | ὅρα + μή + aorist subj. = “see to it that you do not” (BDAG

ὁράω B2; BDF §364(3)), though here with μηδενί (dat. of μηδείς)
| ὕπαγε σεαυτὸν δεῖξον = “go and show yourself,” asyndeton (see
5:24) | BDAG εἰς 4f

8:6, 14 | βάλλω = “lie on a sickbed” (BDAG βάλλω 1b) (cp. 9:2)

8:7 | ἐγὼ ἐλθὼν θεραπεύσω αὐτόν = “I will come and heal him.” The

Chapter One: The Gospel of Matthe 33

8:7 Mat t he w 8:29

aorist ptc. ἐλθών takes on a future mng. bec. of the tense of the con-
trolling verb, but still refers to action antecedent to that of the main verb.

8:8 | ἵνα for epexegetical inf. (BDAG ἵνα 2cβ; W 476) | μου ὑπὸ τὴν
στέγην = ὑπὸ τὴν στέγην μου (BDF §473(1)) (cp. Lk 7:6) | εἰπὲ
λόγῳ = “say the word,” cognate dat. (W 168)

8:9 | καὶ γὰρ ἐγώ = “for I too”

8:10 | παρά + dat. = “with” (BDAG παρά B4)

8:13 | BDAG ὡς 1bβ

8:15 | ἥψατο + gen. (see v. 3)

8:16 | οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες = “those who are sick” (see 4:24; 9:12)

8:18 | εἰς τὸ πέραν = “to the other side” (v. 28)

8:19 | εἷς functions here as an indef. article (BDAG εἷς 3) | ὅπου

ἐάν = ὅπου ἄν = “wherever” (see 5:19)

8:20 | οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ + subj. = “has nowhere to” (BDAG ποῦ 1b)

8:23 | ἐμβάντι αὐτῷ – unusual; it looks like gen. abs. changed to dat.
case by attraction with the second αὐτῷ (“when he got into the boat,
his disciples followed him”) (cp. 9:27–28)

8:27 | ποταπός ἐστιν οὗτος = “what kind of [a man] is this?”

8:28 | εἰς τὸ πέραν (see v. 18) | δύο δαιμονιζόμενοι = “two de-

mon-possessed men” | μὴ τινά = “no one”

8:29 | τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί; – variety of translations: “what have you to do

with us?” (ESV), “what business do we have with each other?” (NASB),

34 A Syntax Guide for Readers of the Greek New Testament