New Testament Greek Online

Lesson Text

Translation

Grammar

46 Texts.

The text of the New Testament has probably been examined like no other. It is based on numerous manuscripts. There are four important ones: Codex Vaticanus in Rome; Codex Sinaiticus in Leningrad; Codex Alexandrinus in the British Museum; Codex Ephraemi rescriptus in Paris. These were prepared in the fourth and fifth centuries. There are numerous others, some with Greek and Latin in parallel pages or columns, as well as Syrian and Egyptian versions, and also quotations in the church fathers. The variants among these are slight, so that current editions of the text are comparable.

A convenient modern text is that of Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort, The New Testament in the Original Greek (New York: Macmillan, 1893), often reprinted. It includes notes and a Greek-English lexicon. The text used here is that of D. Eberhard Nestle, Novum Testamentum Graece (Stuttgart: Wuerttembergische Bibelanstalt, 1898), often reprinted.

47 Grammars.

Similarly, the grammar of the language has been thoroughly and repeatedly presented. For a large work one may consult A Grammar of New Testament Greek Vol. I, 3rd ed. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1908) by James Hope Moulton; Vol. II (1928) by James Hope Moulton and Wilbert Francis Howard; and Vol. III (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1963) by Nigel Turner, all often reprinted. A shorter work is A New Short Grammar of the Greek Testament (New York: Smith, 1931) by A. T. Robertson and W. Hersey Davis, with a useful bibliography and credit to Moulton. While the language has undergone changes since the classical period, as the bibliography of Robertson and Davis implies, a grammar of the classical language is satisfactory for understanding the grammar of the language except for specific details that are not essential in interpreting the texts. The most comprehensive grammar is that of Eduard Schwyzer, Griechische Grammatik I-III (Munich: Beck, 1939-53).

48 Dictionaries.

There are dictionaries devoted specifically to New Testament Greek, such as that in the Wetcott-Hort edition, but general dictionaries also cover the language. Accordingly, one may conveniently use An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, founded upon the seventh edition of Lidddell and Scott's Greek-English lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon, 1889), often reprinted.

49 Specialized handbooks.

The number of works on the New Testament is enormous. For example, a short book of 220 pages: A Preface to Mark, by Christopher Bryan (New York: Oxford, 1993), includes a bibliography of sixteen pages, concluding with two items on videotape, one distributed by the American Bible Society (1865 Broadway, New York, NY, 10023). As another example of their age, extent, and diversity, we may cite the translation of the Commentary on Saint Paul's Epistle to the Galatians by St. Thomas Aquinas by F. R. Larcher (Albany, NY: Magi, 211 pages).

For a general work in a "historical nontheological approach," one may consult The New Testament. A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings by Bart D. Ehrman (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000, 2nd ed., 465 pages), with suggestions for further readings in the text but no bibliography. A work written to encourage "a maximum of observation of the text itself" is The Word of the Lord Grows: A First Historical Introduction to the New Testament by Martin H. Franzmann (St. Louis: Concordia, 1961). Among more specialized works of interest is Paul: A Critical Life by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor (New York: Oxford, 1996). Encyclopedias should not be overlooked when seeking information on the major figures and the Christian church itself.

It is hardly necessary to state that there are many translations. Choice among them may be left to the interest of individuals. One produced by a classicist may be of interest, not only for its treatment of each of the gospels as continuous works rather than made up of chapters and verses: The Four Gospels: a new translation from the Greek by E.V. Rieu, (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1953, 250 pages), subsequently reprinted. The tone of Rieu's translation may be indicated by the end of his Introduction: "They are the Magna Charta of the human spirit. Were we to devote to their comprehension a little of the selfless enthusiasms that is now expended on the riddle of our physical surroundings, we should cease to say that Christianity is coming to an end -- we might even feel that it has only just begun."

50 The Legacy of the New Testament.

The legacy of the New Testament is evident in the spiritual and cultural history of the western world, and subsequently far beyond it. Its early extent is foreshadowed in the account of the Pentecost, with citizens of many of the Mediterranean countries present. And shortly thereafter the letters of St. Paul confirm the widespread reception of its teachings. Christianity became firmly established when Constantine the Great (306-337) made it the official religion of the Roman Empire. Many of our early texts in the languages of Europe resulted from its adoption. Among the earliest is the Gothic translation of the fourth century ascribed to Bishop Wulfila. With the appearance of the Latin version in the Vulgate, 404 A.D., it became accessible to the literate community of Europe.

The growing influence of the Bishop of Rome led to a center for its continued influence. With the election of Gregory the Great as pope in 590 A.D. the papacy was well-established, and provided spiritual and intellectual guidance for much of Europe. The current situation as well as the recent history of Christianity are so obvious that further discussion here is unnecessary.

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