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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Definite article in Hebrew and Greek? | Bible general Archive 1 | Love Fountain | 31517 | ||
Please explain a definite article in both Hebrew and Greek. Please speak plain, simple language for those of us not too bright. Thank you! |
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2 | Definite article in Hebrew and Greek? | Bible general Archive 1 | Morant61 | 31518 | ||
Greetings Love Fountain! It would help if I had some context for your question. In general, there is no indefinite article in either Greek or Hebrew. I'm not as familiar with Hebrew, but what's true of Greek will mostly be true for Hebrew as well. Greek: The definite article is basically an evolved form of the definite pronoun. It's main purpose is to identify. "The man" really means "this man" as opposed to any man. In general, when the definite article is not present, the focus is on quality, not identity. Let me illustrate: Rom. 2:14 says, " (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law," This verse is a wonderful example of both the use of the definite article and the absence of the definite article. This verse uses the word 'law' four times, but 'law' has two very distinct meanings. Let's look at each occurance. 1) "when Gentiles, who do not have the law" - This occurance of the word includes the definite article. Paul here is refering to "the Law", i.e. the Jewish Law. He is not refering to just any law, since obviously the Gentiles have moral and civil laws in place. 2) "do by nature things required by the law" - This occurance again has the definite article and again refers to the Jewish Law. Thus, the Gentiles, who do not possess the Law, can at times actually live in obedience to it. 3) "they are a law for themselves" - This occurance of the word does not include a definite article. Thus, this time the word is not refering to a specific law (like the Law of Moses). Paul is simply saying that the conduct of the Gentiles, which can sometimes be in harmony with the Law of Moses, becomes a law for them. It does not become the Jewish Law, it simply becomes "a" law. 4) "even though they do not have the law" - In this occurance, the definite article is not found, but the definite pronoun is used. Remember, the definite article is basically a definite pronoun. So, again in this case, Paul is refering to the Jewish Law. There are cases in Greek though, where the definite article is not used that we would still translate it in English. The rules for this are well known but technicule. I hope this has helped some. If you have a specific point in mind, I would be happy to try to address it! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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3 | Definite article in Hebrew and Greek? | Bible general Archive 1 | Love Fountain | 31701 | ||
Dear Tim, Thank you for your response. I believe I have a better understanding now. An example of a definite article would be in Rev 12:10 when satan is called "the accuser". Since "the" is used, we have a definte article which leaves us no misunderstanding of who the accuser is. This is not really a good example, since this is the only time in the KJV "the accuser" is stated in this way but if it was elsewhere also then we would have understanding of who is being referred to because of the rule of the definite article. So,if my understanding of your reply regarding a definite article is right, when a definite article is used in Scripture, it always refers to same person, place, thing, idea or event, not allowed to change its meaning or referrence, according to the rules of grammar? Is this accurate? Bless you, Love Fountain |
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4 | Definite article in Hebrew and Greek? | Bible general Archive 1 | Morant61 | 31724 | ||
Greetings Love Fountain! I'm not sure what you mean by change its meaning! The meaning would depend upon the context and that might change from passage to passage. For example, you used "the accuser". It could theoratically be possible for that phrase to refer to Satan in one book and maybe a human accuser in another book. I'm not saying this is the case, but it could happen. This is why context is so important. By the way, even a noun without the article can be definite in certain circumstances. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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