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New Testament Greek Online

Lesson 6

Winfred P. Lehmann and Jonathan Slocum

The Gospel according to Mark is generally assumed to be the first written down, possibly as early as 66-70 A.D. As with the other gospels we cannot be sure of the author. Among evidence that he was Mark, one of the early church fathers, Papias, Bishop of Hieropolis, wrote that Mark as interpreter of Peter recorded many of the words and activities of Jesus. Identification of Mark as the author is also supported by the remarkable report in the gospel of "a certain young man" who fled naked from the crowd that came to capture Jesus (Mark 14:5-52). In keeping with the statement of Papias, Mark may have been converted by Peter, who calls him his son (1 Peter 5:13). He is assumed to be the natural son of Mary, called John with the surname Mark (Acts 12:12). Mark accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:5,13), and Paul also later. When imprisoned in Rome, Paul asked Timothy to bring Mark along from Asia Minor (2 Timothy 4:11). Mark may well have been with Peter in Rome, and there composed his gospel for Christians whose best language was Greek.

Reading and Textual Analysis

Mark 4:1-12, and 8:36 (memory verse)

The parable of the sower and the seed in chapter 4, in which Jesus compares his teaching and its results to the work of a farmer, is one of the most favored among his teachings. It is found also in Matthew 13:3-8, there as well with subsequent interpretation to his disciples. You may find it interesting to compare the two versions, noting among other things the somewhat differing descriptions of the situation for the telling of the parable. Straightforward, it needs little commentary.

4:1 - Καὶ πάλιν ʼήρξατο διδάσκειν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ συνάγεται πρός αὐτὸν ʼόχλος πλει̂στος, ʽώστε αὐτὸν εἰς πλοι̂ον ἐμβάντα καθη̂σθαι ἐν τῃ̂ θαλάσσῃ, καὶ πα̂ς ὁ ʼόχλος πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν ἐπὶ τη̂ς γη̂ς ʼη̂σαν.

4:2 - καὶ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς ἐν παραβολαι̂ς πολλὰ, καὶ ʼέλεγεν αὐτοι̂ς ἐν τῃ̂ διδαχῃ̂ αὐτου̂.

4:3 - ἀκούετε, ἰδοὺ ἐξη̂λθεν ὁ σπείρων σπει̂ραι.

4:4 - καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῳ̂ σπείρειν ʽό μὲν ʼέπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ ʽήλθεν τὰ πετεινὰ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτό.

4:5 - Καὶ ʼάλλο ʼέπεσεν ἐπὶ τὸ πετρω̂δες ʽόπου οὐκ εʼι̂χεν γη̂ν πολλὴν, καὶ εὐθὺς ἐξανέτειλεν διὰ τὸ μὴ ʼέχειν βάθος γη̂ς.

4:6 - καὶ ʽότε ἀνέτειλεν ὁ ʽη̂λιος ἐκαυματίσθη καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ʼέχειν ῥίζαν ἐξηράνθη.

4:7 - καὶ ʼάλλο ʼέπεσεν εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας, καὶ ἀνέβησαν αἱ ʼάκανθαι καὶ συνέπνιξαν αὐτό, καὶ καρπὸν οὐκ ʼέδωκεν.

4:8 - καὶ ʼάλλα ʼέπεσεν εἰς τὴν γη̂ν τὴν καλήν, καὶ ἐδίδου καρπὸν ἀναβαίνοντα καὶ αὐξανόμενα, καὶ ʼέφερεν εἰς τριάκοντα καὶ ἐν ἑξήκοντα καὶ ἐν ἑκατόν.

4:9 - καὶ ʼέλεγεν, ʽὸς ʼέχει ʼω̂τα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.

4:10 - Καὶ ʽότε ἐγένετο κατὰ μόνας ἠρώτων αὐτὸν οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν σὺν τοι̂ς δώδεκα τὰς παραβολάς.

4:11 - καὶ ʼέλεγεν αὐτοι̂ς, ὑμι̂ν τὸ μυστήριον δέδοται τη̂ς βασιλείας του̂ θεου̂.

ἐκείνοις δὲ τοι̂ς ʼέξω ἐν παραβολαι̂ς τὰ πάντα γίνεται,

4:12 - ʽίνα

        βλέποντες βλέπωσιν καὶ μὴ ʼίδωσιν,
        καὶ ἀκούοντες ἀκούωσιν καὶ μὴ συνιω̂σιν,
        μήποτε ἐπιστρέψωσιν
        καὶ ἀφεθῃ̂ αὐτοι̂ς.

8:36 (memory verse) -

τί γὰρ ὠφελει̂ ʼάνθρωπον κερδη̂σαι τὸν κόσμον ʽόλον καὶ ζημιωθη̂ναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτου̂;

Lesson Text

4:1 Καὶ πάλιν ʼήρξατο διδάσκειν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ συνάγεται πρός αὐτὸν ʼόχλος πλει̂στος, ʽώστε αὐτὸν εἰς πλοι̂ον ἐμβάντα καθη̂σθαι ἐν τῃ̂ θαλάσσῃ, καὶ πα̂ς ὁ ʼόχλος πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν ἐπὶ τη̂ς γη̂ς ʼη̂σαν. 4:2 καὶ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς ἐν παραβολαι̂ς πολλὰ, καὶ ʼέλεγεν αὐτοι̂ς ἐν τῃ̂ διδαχῃ̂ αὐτου̂.

4:3 ἀκούετε, ἰδοὺ ἐξη̂λθεν ὁ σπείρων σπει̂ραι. 4:4 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῳ̂ σπείρειν ʽό μὲν ʼέπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ ʽήλθεν τὰ πετεινὰ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτό. 4:5 Καὶ ʼάλλο ʼέπεσεν ἐπὶ τὸ πετρω̂δες ʽόπου οὐκ εʼι̂χεν γη̂ν πολλὴν, καὶ εὐθὺς ἐξανέτειλεν διὰ τὸ μὴ ʼέχειν βάθος γη̂ς. 4:6 καὶ ʽότε ἀνέτειλεν ὁ ʽη̂λιος ἐκαυματίσθη καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ʼέχειν ῥίζαν ἐξηράνθη. 4:7 καὶ ʼάλλο ʼέπεσεν εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας, καὶ ἀνέβησαν αἱ ʼάκανθαι καὶ συνέπνιξαν αὐτό, καὶ καρπὸν οὐκ ʼέδωκεν. 4:8 καὶ ʼάλλα ʼέπεσεν εἰς τὴν γη̂ν τὴν καλήν, καὶ ἐδίδου καρπὸν ἀναβαίνοντα καὶ αὐξανόμενα, καὶ ʼέφερεν εἰς τριάκοντα καὶ ἐν ἑξήκοντα καὶ ἐν ἑκατόν.

4:9 καὶ ʼέλεγεν, ʽὸς ʼέχει ʼω̂τα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.

4:10 Καὶ ʽότε ἐγένετο κατὰ μόνας ἠρώτων αὐτὸν οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν σὺν τοι̂ς δώδεκα τὰς παραβολάς. 4:11 καὶ ʼέλεγεν αὐτοι̂ς, ὑμι̂ν τὸ μυστήριον δέδοται τη̂ς βασιλείας του̂ θεου̂. ἐκείνοις δὲ τοι̂ς ʼέξω ἐν παραβολαι̂ς τὰ πάντα γίνεται, 4:12 ʽίνα

        βλέποντες βλέπωσιν καὶ μὴ ʼίδωσιν,
        καὶ ἀκούοντες ἀκούωσιν καὶ μὴ συνιω̂σιν,
        μήποτε ἐπιστρέψωσιν
        καὶ ἀφεθῃ̂ αὐτοι̂ς.

8:36 (memory verse) -

τί γὰρ ὠφελει̂ ʼάνθρωπον κερδη̂σαι τὸν κόσμον ʽόλον καὶ ζημιωθη̂ναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτου̂;

Translation

From the King James version:
4:1 And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. 2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,
3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. 5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12 That
seeing they may see, and not perceive;
and hearing they may hear, and not understand;
lest at any time they should be converted,
and their sins should be forgiven them.
8:36 (memory verse) --
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Grammar

26. Survey of noun declensions.

The ο- and α- declensions have been given in section 4, and subsequent sections of the grammar, 11 and 16, have provided examples of consonantal declension and that of some irregular nouns. Here additional sub-classes of the consonantal declension are listed.

Grammars provide the sub-classes according to the consonants of the stem. There may be modifications from sub-group to sub-group, but if the inflection of the word for salt is memorized, such forms may be identified. Examples are given here also for stems ending in velars, dentals, and other elements; as the selection indicates, nouns in the consonantal declension vary in gender: ἡ αʼίξ 'goat', τὸ σω̂μα 'body', ὁ ἁλ́ς 'salt', ὁ ʽΈλλην 'Greek', ὁ συ̂ς 'pig'.

    velars   dentals
Nom. sg.   ἡ αʼίξ   τὸ σω̂μα
Gen. sg.   τη̂ς αἰγός   του̂ σώματος
Dat. sg.   τῃ̂ αἰγί   τῳ̂ σώματι
Acc. sg.   τη̂ν αʼι̂γα   τὸ σω̂μα
         
Nom. pl.   αἱ αʼι̂γες   τὰ σώματα
Gen. pl.   τω̂ν αἰγω̂ν   τω̂ν σωμάτων
Dat. pl.   τοι̂ς αἰξί   τοι̂ς σώμασι
Acc. pl.   τὰς αʼι̂γας   τὰ σώματα

    -λ, -ρ   -ν   -υ
Nom. sg.   ὁ ʽάλς   ὁ ʽΈλλην   ὁ συ̂ς
Gen. sg.   του̂ ἁλός   του̂ ʽΈλληνος   του̂ συός
Dat. sg.   τῳ̂ ἁλί   τῳ̂ ʽΈλλενι   τῳ̂ συί
Acc. sg.   τὸν ʽάλα   τὸν ʽΈλληνα   τὸν συ̂ν
             
Nom. pl.   οἱ ʽάλες   οἱ ʽΈλληνες   οἱ σύες
Gen. pl.   τω̂ν ἁλω̂ν   τω̂ν ʽΈλλήνων   τω̂ν συω̂ν
Dat. pl.   τοι̂ς ἁλσί   τοι̂ς ʽΈλλήσι   τοι̂ς συσί
Acc. pl.   τοὺς ʽάλας   τοὺς ʽΈλληνας   τοὺς συ̂ς
27. Suffixes applied to stems to indicate location.

The following suffixes are used to produce adverbs on noun stems with specific meanings:

28. Use of the augment.

The augment is used on past tenses in the indicative, that is, the imperfect, aorist, and pluperfect. Verbs beginning with a consonant prefix ἐ-, as in the imperfect ἐπίστευον 'I believed', the aorist ἐπίστευσα 'I have believed', the pluperfect ἐπεπιστεύκειν 'I had believed'. Verbs beginning with a vowel or diphthong combine the augment with that vowel or diphthong, usually resulting in its lengthening, as in the imperfect ʼη̂γον 'I led' from ʼάγω, ηʼύξανον 'I increased' from αὐξάνω.

Compound verbs place the augment on the verb, after the initial prefix, for example ἐν-έβαλλον from ἐμβάλλω 'throw into', ἐπ-έβαλλον from ἐπι-βάλλω 'throw on'. In the early texts, the augment may be omitted, as in the aorist form ποίησαν 'they made' from ποιέω.

29. Deponents.

As in Latin, a number of verbs have their forms in the middle while corresponding to active verbs in English. Many of them indicate state, and do not take objects. They can be recognized from dictionary entries. Examples are:

These have a active meaning in the aorist middle form, but passive meaning in the passive form of the aorist.

Others have the passive form of the aorist. Many of them denote motion, feeling or mental action. Examples are:

30. The middle forms of the aorist.

In the aorist the passive has different forms from those of the middle. Here the middle forms will be given.

    Indicative   Subjunctive   Optative   Imperative
1 sg   ἐπιστευσάμην   πιστεύσωμαι   πιστευσαίμην    
2 sg   ἐπιστεύσω   πιστεύσῃ   πιστεύσαιο   πίστευσαι
3 sg   ἐπιστεύσατο   πιστεύσηται   πιστεύσαιτο   πιστευσάσθω
                 
1 pl   ἐπιστευσάμεθα   πιστευσώμεθα   πιστευσαίμεθα    
2 pl   ἐπιστεύσασθε   πιστεύσησθε   πιστεύσαισθε   πιστεύσασθε
3 pl   ἐπιστεύσαντο   πιστεύσωνται   πιστεύσαιντο   πιστευσάσθων