Monday with Mounce

One of the problems of memorizing word glosses in first year Greek is that it is possible to miss the richness of a word’s meaning, especially its breadth of meaning (“semantic range”). 

I was reflecting on the NIV translation of Psalm 1:1, which reads: “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take (ἐν ὁδῷ ἁμαρτωλῶν οὐκ ἔστη, LXX) or sit in the company of mockers.”

Part of the challenge of teaching first year Greek is to simplify, but not too much. I remember when I started second-year Greek, it felt like I had to start relearning first-year Greek all over. My teacher had oversimplified in an attempt to help us understand the basics of Greek, but had not done so with an eye to the nuances of second-year Greek.

Today's blog is more a comment on our exegetical method, how we come to a conclusion on what passage means. This morning I was reading 1 Corinthians 10 and came across the well-known verse 13. “No trial has overtaken you that is not common to mankind. And God is faithful: he will not let you be tested beyond what you can bear, but with the trial will also provide the way through, so that you will be able to endure it.”

Every once in a while we come across the verse where almost everything seems to be out of order. In these cases, it is important to think grammatically and to phrase the verse. ὁ λέγων ἐν αὐτῷ μένειν ὀφείλει, καθὼς ἐκεῖνος περιεπάτησεν, καὶ αὐτὸς οὕτως περιπατεῖν.