Koine Greek grammar
Encyclopedia
Koine Greek grammar is a subclass of Ancient Greek grammar
peculiar to the Koine Greek
dialect which includes many forms of Hellenistic era Greek, and authors such as Plutarch
and Lucian
, as well as many of the surviving inscriptions and papyri.
Koine texts from the background of Jewish culture and religion have distinct features not found in classically-rooted writings. These texts include the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament
with Apocrypha
), New Testament
, Josephus
, Philo of Alexandria, the Greek Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, and early Patristic writings.
:
(toû) before it (as a verbal noun
).
pronouns. This means that the middle voice verbs which remain are less likely to be true reflexive voice than in Attic Greek, and the majority of New Testament middle voice verb usage comes into other categories. Among those other uses is the use of middle voice as an approximation to causative
.
, is also often classed as a semitism, but is also found in Homer
. Likewise the repetition of nouns with distributive force, e.g. sumposiai sumposiai (by groups Mark 6:39) could be Semitism, but it is also current in vulgar (common) Greek. Many aspects of New Testament word order, such as avoiding the "Atticist" affectation of placing the verb at the penult of the sentence, are simply natural 1st-century Greek style.
. Less evident Semitisms occur in vocabulary usage, and semantic content (range of meaning). Numerous words in the New Testament are used in ways which derive from the Septuagint rather than secular or pagan usage. In particular, there is religious vocabulary peculiar to Judaism and monotheism. For example, angelos more frequently means "angel
" than "messenger", and diabolos means Job's "devil
" more often than mere "slanderer".
Ancient Greek grammar
Ancient Greek grammar is morphologically complex and preserves several features of Proto-Indo-European morphology. Nouns, adjectives, pronouns, articles, numerals and especially verbs are all highly inflected. This article is an introduction to this morphological complexity.-Diacritics:The...
peculiar to the Koine Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
dialect which includes many forms of Hellenistic era Greek, and authors such as Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
and Lucian
Lucian
Lucian of Samosata was a rhetorician and satirist who wrote in the Greek language. He is noted for his witty and scoffing nature.His ethnicity is disputed and is attributed as Assyrian according to Frye and Parpola, and Syrian according to Joseph....
, as well as many of the surviving inscriptions and papyri.
Koine texts from the background of Jewish culture and religion have distinct features not found in classically-rooted writings. These texts include the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
with Apocrypha
Apocrypha
The term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
), New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
, Philo of Alexandria, the Greek Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, and early Patristic writings.
Similarities to Attic grammar
The commonalities between Attic and Hellenistic era Greek grammar are far greater than the differences. Where divergences became too wide the focus was attracted of the "Atticists", language purists, who sought in their writing to leave the lingua franca of the market place for the classical style.Differences from Attic grammar
James Morwood in Oxford Grammar of Classical Greek lists "some key features of New Testament grammar", many of which apply to all Koine texts:Grammatical forms
Simplification of accidence with difficulties and irregularities reduced:- fewer irregular comparativeComparativeIn grammar, the comparative is the form of an adjective or adverb which denotes the degree or grade by which a person, thing, or other entity has a property or quality greater or less in extent than that of another, and is used in this context with a subordinating conjunction, such as than,...
s - third declension adjectiveAdjectiveIn grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
s become rarer - monosyllabic nounNounIn linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
s with irregular declension become rarer - verbs in -mi are given the endings of verbVerbA verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
s in -o - 1st regular aoristAoristAorist is a philological term originally from Indo-European studies, referring to verb forms of various languages that are not necessarily related or similar in meaning...
endings often replace 2nd aorists
Syntax
The following changes occur in syntaxSyntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
:
- ina ("that") is now used for "[with the result] that..", "[he said] that", and command forms.
- some prepositions are used more where case declensionDeclensionIn linguistics, declension is the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles to indicate number , case , and gender...
makes this strictly redundant in Attic - pronounPronounIn linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun , such as, in English, the words it and he...
s are supplied more where the sense is still clear without them - diminutiveDiminutiveIn language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
s are used more often, but also do not always carry any diminutive meaning. This is particularly true in Jewish texts, e.g. "[little] wing of the temple" - conjunctions are used with differing frequencies from natural Greek. For example, the ratio of καί to δέ at the beginning of sentences is higher in Greek, influenced by Semitic languages.
- τότε 'then' as a common narrative conjunction reflects Aramaic influence from the Second Temple period (5th century BCE to 1 century CE).
Infinitive of purpose
The infinitive is now used for "[in order] to do", either as a plain infinitive or with the genitive of the definite articleDefinite Article
Definite Article is the title of British comedian Eddie Izzard's 1996 performance released on VHS. It was recorded on different nights at the Shaftesbury Theatre...
(toû) before it (as a verbal noun
Verbal noun
In linguistics, the verbal noun turns a verb into a noun and corresponds to the infinitive in English language usage. In English the infinitive form of the verb is formed when preceded by to, e.g...
).
Middle voice
In Hellenistic era Greek, middle voice is often replaced by active voice with reflexiveReflexive
Reflexive may refer to:In fiction:*MetafictionIn grammar:*Reflexive pronoun, a pronoun with a reflexive relationship with its self-identical antecedent*Reflexive verb, where a semantic agent and patient are the same...
pronouns. This means that the middle voice verbs which remain are less likely to be true reflexive voice than in Attic Greek, and the majority of New Testament middle voice verb usage comes into other categories. Among those other uses is the use of middle voice as an approximation to causative
Causative
In linguistics, a causative is a form that indicates that a subject causes someone or something else to do or be something, or causes a change in state of a non-volitional event....
.
Semitisms in "Jewish Greek"
The comments above that also apply to the New Testament are generally true for Koine texts with no "Jewish Greek" influence. The following comments, however, apply to texts influenced by a knowledge of either Jewish literature or Jewish oral traditions:Semitic phraseology
Numerous semitisms in grammar and phraseology occur, e.g. impersonal egeneto "it came to pass" introducing a finite verbal clause, representing the impersonal Hebrew ויהי structure.Semitic word order?
The use of the inverted AB-BA structures found in Hebrew poetry, known as chiastic structureChiastic structure
Chiastic structure is a literary device for chiasmus applied to narrative motifs, turns of phrase, or whole passages. Various structures of chiasmus are commonly seen in ancient literature to emphasize, parallel, or contrast concepts or ideas...
, is also often classed as a semitism, but is also found in Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
. Likewise the repetition of nouns with distributive force, e.g. sumposiai sumposiai (by groups Mark 6:39) could be Semitism, but it is also current in vulgar (common) Greek. Many aspects of New Testament word order, such as avoiding the "Atticist" affectation of placing the verb at the penult of the sentence, are simply natural 1st-century Greek style.
Semitic vocabulary
Although vocabulary does not truly count as grammar, other than in irregular declension and plurals, it is mentioned here for completeness. A small number of easily identifiable items of Semitic vocabulary are used as loanwords in the Greek of the Septuagint, New Testament and Patristic texts, such as satanas for Hebrew ha-SatanSatan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
. Less evident Semitisms occur in vocabulary usage, and semantic content (range of meaning). Numerous words in the New Testament are used in ways which derive from the Septuagint rather than secular or pagan usage. In particular, there is religious vocabulary peculiar to Judaism and monotheism. For example, angelos more frequently means "angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
" than "messenger", and diabolos means Job's "devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
" more often than mere "slanderer".