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New Testament Greek Online

Lesson 2

Winfred P. Lehmann and Jonathan Slocum

The first gospel clearly had a Jewish author, as may be noted from his stress on the genealogy of Jesus given in his first chapter and from his many references to Old Testament prophecies, such as the quotation in verse 6 of this text as well as others in this chapter and later. By tradition the author was Matthew (a.k.a. Levi), the tax collector whom Jesus called to be a disciple in Chapter 9, verse 9 of the book. But modern scholars consider the identification unlikely because nowhere throughout the book does the disciple provide evidence that he was its author. Rather it is assumed that the author was a Jew who wrote the book for Christians outside Israel. Because there are passages that seem to be based on Mark's account, such as the baptism of Jesus by John, it is assumed that the Gospel according to Matthew was written after that of Mark, possibly in the eighties.

Reading and Textual Analysis

Matthew 2:1-12, and Mark 10:14b (memory verse)

The Gospel according to Matthew has been especially valued, as indicated by its position as the first gospel, and also because of its remarkable passages. Among these are realistic accounts of the life of Jesus, such as his baptism by John in Chapter 3 and his temptation by the devil in Chapter 4. These are followed by passages that have been central to Christian worship ever since--the Sermon on the Mount, which includes the Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer. And his exhortation in Chapter 10 to his disciples when he sent them out as well as his instructions in Chapters 18 and 19 are readily applicable to the life of his followers at the time and later. The selection here, which also illustrates the author's literary capabilities, is a central part of the annual celebration of his birth at Christmas.

2:1 - Tou de Iêsou gennêthentos en Bêthleem tês Ioudaias en hêmerais Hêrôdou tou basileôs, idou magoi apo anatolôn paregenonto eis Hierosoluma legontes,

2:2 - pou estin ho techtheis basileus tôn Ioudaiôn?

eidomen gar autou ton astera en tê anatolê, kai êlthomen proskunêsai autô.

2:3 - akousas de ho basileus Hêrôdês etarachthê, kai pasa Hierosoluma kat' autou.

2:4 - kai sunagagôn pantas tous archiereis kai grammateis tou laou epunthaneto par' autôn pou ho christos gennatai.

2:5 - hoi de eipan autô

en Bêthleem tês Ioudaias. houtôs gar gegraptai dia tou prophêtou,

2:6 - kai su Bêthleem, gê Iouda,
        oudamôs elachistê ei en tois hêgemosin Iouda

ek sou gar exeleusetai hêgoumenos,
        hostis poimanei ton laon mou ton Israêl

2:7 - Tote Hêrôdês lathra kalesas tous magous êkribôsen par' autôn ton chronon tou phainomenou asteros.

2:8 - kai pempsas autous eis Bêthleem eipen

poreuthentes exetasate akribôs peri tou paidiou.

epan de heurête, apaggeilate moi, hopôs kagô elthôn proskunêsô autô.

2:9 - hoi de akousantes tou basileôs eporeuthêsan.

kai idou ho astêr, hon eidon en tê anatolê, proêgen autous heôs elthôn estathê epanô hou ên to paidion.

2:10 - idontes de ton astera echarêsan charan megalên sphodra.

2:11 - kai elthontes eis tên oikian eidon to paidion meta Marias tês mêtros autou.

kai pesontes prosekunêsan autô, kai anoixantes tous thêsaurous autôn prosênegkan autô dôra, chruson kai libanon kai smurnan.

2:12 - kai chrêmatisthentes kat' onar mê anakampsai pros Hêrôdên, di' allês hodou anechôrêsan eis tên chôran autôn.

Mark 10:14b (memory verse) -

        Aphete ta paidia erchesthai pros me,
        mê kôluete auta;
        tôn gar toioutôn estin hê basileia tou theou.

Lesson Text

2:1 Tou de Iêsou gennêthentos en Bêthleem tês Ioudaias en hêmerais Hêrôdou tou basileôs, idou magoi apo anatolôn paregenonto eis Hierosoluma legontes, 2:2 pou estin ho techtheis basileus tôn Ioudaiôn? eidomen gar autou ton astera en tê anatolê, kai êlthomen proskunêsai autô.

2:3 akousas de ho basileus Hêrôdês etarachthê, kai pasa Hierosoluma kat' autou. 2:4 kai sunagagôn pantas tous archiereis kai grammateis tou laou epunthaneto par' autôn pou ho christos gennatai. 2:5 hoi de eipan autô en Bêthleem tês Ioudaias. houtôs gar gegraptai dia tou prophêtou,

        2:6 kai su Bêthleem, gê Iouda,
        oudamôs elachistê ei en tois hêgemosin Iouda
        ek sou gar exeleusetai hêgoumenos,
        hostis poimanei ton laon mou ton Israêl

2:7 Tote Hêrôdês lathra kalesas tous magous êkribôsen par' autôn ton chronon tou phainomenou asteros. 2:8 kai pempsas autous eis Bêthleem eipen poreuthentes exetasate akribôs peri tou paidiou. epan de heurête, apaggeilate moi, hopôs kagô elthôn proskunêsô autô.

2:9 hoi de akousantes tou basileôs eporeuthêsan. kai idou ho astêr, hon eidon en tê anatolê, proêgen autous heôs elthôn estathê epanô hou ên to paidion. 2:10 idontes de ton astera echarêsan charan megalên sphodra. 2:11 kai elthontes eis tên oikian eidon to paidion meta Marias tês mêtros autou. kai pesontes prosekunêsan autô, kai anoixantes tous thêsaurous autôn prosênegkan autô dôra, chruson kai libanon kai smurnan. 2:12 kai chrêmatisthentes kat' onar mê anakampsai pros Hêrôdên, di' allês hodou anechôrêsan eis tên chôran autôn.

Mark 10:14b (memory verse) -

        Aphete ta paidia erchesthai pros me,
        mê kôluete auta;
        tôn gar toioutôn estin hê basileia tou theou.

Translation

From the King James version:
2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda,
art not the least among the princes of Juda:
for out of thee shall come a Governor,
that shall rule my people Israel.
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
Mark 10:14b (memory verse) --
Suffer the little children to come unto me,
and forbid them not:
for of such is the kingdom of God.

Grammar

6. Conjunctions and Particles.

As these texts exemplify, Greek makes great use of conjunctions and particles. These may have basic meanings, but many of them simply suggest relationships between syntactic units, so that they vary in use and may even not need to be translated.

The most common conjunction is kai, with a basic meaning of 'and' but also 'even' and at times 'but'. Another common conjunction is gar, with a basic meaning of 'for' but also 'now', or it may be added simply to strengthen questions.

Particles typically stand right after the first content word in sentences. Among the particles, de is very common, as in our texts; it has a basic adversative meaning and may often be translated 'but' or 'on the other hand', but is often redundant. In a different meaning it is attached to names of places that are in the accusative, and then means 'to'. In addition it may be added to pronouns to strengthen their meaning. The particle te is also very common, and has the meaning 'and'; it is often used after both nouns that are conjoined. The particle men often stands in clauses that are followed by other clauses including de, where it means something like 'on the one hand'; it may also be combined with other particles, as in men ara, where it means 'and'. The particle dê indicates emphasis, as on the word preceding it. In short, particles often supply meaning much as intonation does in English. The meaning of the content words in sentences may be a guide to interpretation of the particles included in them.

7. Participles.

Participles are often used to function as verbs of modifying clauses. These modifying clauses may correspond to relative clauses, as does techthais in 2:2. The relationship to a principal clauses may require a further interpretation, as does that of the participle akousas in 2:3 or that of sunagagôn in 2:4. On the other hand, they may be treated as participles in English, for example pempsas in 2:8. They may also be nominal; an example is hêgoumenos in 2:6. The interpretations will generally be clear from the contexts in which they are found.

8. Nouns in consonantal declension.

Nouns in the consonantal declension often have the final consonant elided before the nominative ending, so that their stem form must be determined from the genitive or other oblique cases. Examples are given here of nouns with stems ending in -d- and -r-.

    Masculine   Feminine
Nom sg   ho pais 'child'   hê thugatêr 'daughter'
Gen sg   tou paidos   tês thugateros
Dat sg   tô paidi   tê thugateri
Acc sg   ton paida   tên thugatera
         
Nom pl   hoi paides   hai thugateres
Gen pl   tôn paidôn   tôn thugaterôn
Dat pl   tois paisi   tais thugatersi
Acc pl   tous paidas   tas thugateras
9. Personal pronouns.

The first and second personal pronouns have enclitic forms in the oblique cases of the singular, which are given here after the regular forms; they have no accent. The third person forms, for 'he, she, it', are supplied by the intensive pronoun meaning 'self'; the genitive singular forms would have the meanings 'of him, of her, of it', the dative singular forms would have the meanings 'to him, to her, to it', and so on.

    1st Person   2nd Person   3rd Person
            Masc.   Fem.   Neut.
Nom sg   egô   su   autos   autê   auto
Gen sg   emou, mou   sou, sou   autou   autês   autou
Dat sg   emoi, moi   soi, soi   autô   autê   autô
Acc sg   eme, me   se, se   auton   autên   auto
                     
Nom pl   hêmeis   humeis   autoi   autai   auta
Gen pl   hêmôn   humôn   autôn   autôn   autôn
Dat pl   hêmin   humin   autois   autais   autois
Acc pl   hêmas   humas   autous   autas   auta
10. The Present System of verbs.

The present system includes five categories of forms: the present indicative, the imperfect, the subjunctive, the optative, and the imperative. In addition there is an infinitive and also a participle. The first two categories have been given in Lesson 1; the others are given here using the verb [infinitive] pisteuein.

    Subjunctive   Optative   Imperative
1 sg   pisteuô   pisteuoimi    
2 sg   pisteuês   pisteuois   pisteue
3 sg   pisteuê   pisteuoi   pisteuetô
             
1 pl   pisteuômen   pisteuoimen    
2 pl   pisteuête   pisteuoite   pisteuete
3 pl   pisteuôsi(n)   pisteuoien   pisteuontôn

The participial forms, nominative and genitive singular, are as follows.

    Masculine   Feminine   Neuter
Nom sg   pisteuôn   pisteuousa   pisteuon
Gen sg   pisteuontos   pisteuousês   pisteuontos