Wednesday 29 February 2012

Galatians 1:12

οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐγὼ παρὰ ἀνθρώπου παρέλαβον αὐτό οὔτε ἐδιδάχθην, ἀλλὰ δι᾿ ἀποκαλύψεως ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ.

οὐδε - neither. this forms a pair with οὐτε nor.
γαρ - for, timid word
ἐγω - I. The pronoun is used for emphasis.
παρα - from beside. the meaning is slightly different from the meaning in verses 8 and 9, because here the word is followed by the genitive case. παρα plus accusative is 'alongside', παρα plus genitive 'from beside'
ἀνθροπου - a person
παρελαβον - I took or received
αὐτο - it
οὐτε - nor
ἐδιδαχθην - I was taught
ἀλλα - but
δι' - short for δια, when followed by genitive it means 'through'

ἀποκαλυψεως - a revelation
Ἰησου Χριστου - of Jesus Christ.

The verse:
As for me, neither did I obtain it from a person, nor was I taught, but through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Tuesday 28 February 2012

Galatians 1:11

Γνωρίζω δὲ ὑμῖν, ἀδελφοί, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τὸ εὐαγγελισθὲν ὑπ᾿ ἐμοῦ ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι κατὰ ἄνθρωπον·

Γνωριζω - I declare, I make it known
δε - and or but, a connecting word, timid
ὑμιν - to you, plural, dative case
ἀδελφοι - brothers
το εὐαγγελιον - the gospel
το εὐαγγελισθεν - the one which was preached
ὑπ' ἐμου - by me
ὁτι - that
οὐκ - not
ἐστι - it is
κατα - according to, perhaps in sympathy with. The opposite would be 'against'.
ἀνθρωπoν - a person

Thus:
I declare to you, brothers, the gospel, the one which was preached by me, that it is not from a person.

Friday 24 February 2012

Galatians 1:10

ἄρτι γὰρ ἀνθρώπους πείθω ἢ τὸν Θεόν; ἢ ζητῶ ἀνθρώποις ἀρέσκειν; εἰ γὰρ ἔτι ἀνθρώποις ἤρεσκον, Χριστοῦ δοῦλος οὐκ ἂν ἤμην.

ἀρτι - now
γαρ - for or because (timid word that avoids starting a sentence, but logically should be there)
ἀνθρωπους - people, accusative case which tells us it is the object of the sentence
πειθω - I persuade
ἠ - or
τον Θεον - God, accusative case and thus an object of the sentence
; - ? So this must be phrased as a question

For now, is it people that I am persuading or God?

ἠ - or
ζητω - I seek (do I seek?)
ἀνθροποις - to/for people (dative case, indirect object)
ἀρεσκειν - to please, to be agreeable to. This is the verb that is taking indirect object, not 'seek'.

Or am I seeking to be pleasing to people?

εἰ γαρ - for if
ἐτι - still, yet
ἀνθροποις - people, dative case, thus indirect object
ἠρεσκον - I was pleasing (imperfect tense)

Χριστου - of Christ
δουλος - a servant, slave
οὐκ - no, not
ἀν - this sort of word is called a 'particle'. It expresses uncertainty and is followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood.
ἠμην - I was (subjunctive)

I'm not sure how to express this last bit. I need to show past tense without using an English perfect tense which comes more naturally.

For if I was still pleasing to people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

The whole verse:
For, now, is it people that I am persuading or God? Or am I seeking to be pleasing to people? For if I was still pleasing to people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

This translation does raise questions, because I also want it to make sense. 'Persuade' doesn't seem a good translation of πειθω. And theologically the last part presents an either/or that doesn't make sense. The NIV has 'seeking approval of'' rather than 'persuading'.
In the absence of a good dictionary, Wikipedia offers 'appease' as another meaning for πειθω.
I can also translate the imperfect tense with 'I began to please'.

So here is a better version, I think.

For now, is it people whom I am appeasing or God? Or am I seeking to be pleasing to people? For if I ever began to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Galatians 1:9

 ὡς προειρήκαμεν, καὶ ἄρτι πάλιν λέγω· εἴ τις ὑμᾶς εὐαγγελίζεται παρ᾿ ὃ παρελάβετε, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

ὡς -just as
προειρηκαμεν - we said previously
και ἀρτι παλιν - even now again
λεγω - I say
εἰ τις - if someone
ὑμας - you (pl, accusative case)
εὐαγγελιζεται - will preach
παρ' - alongside (παρα)
ὁ - relative, that which
παρελαβετε - you received, or you took (plural, second aorist form as a matter of interest)
ἀναθεμα - anathema, curse, rejected state
ἐστω - let it be or let him/her be (3rd person imperative of to be)

Just as we said previously, even now again I say, "if someone in the future proclaims to you alongside that which you received, let it be rejected."

When you have to struggle through the Greek to read the text, the fact that this verse almost duplicates the previous verse is noted. When reading quickly I skip over the repetition! Now I see that Paul is making a strong point here.

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Galatians 1:8

ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐὰν ἡμεῖς ἢ ἄγγελος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ εὐαγγελίζηται ὑμῖν παρ᾿ ὃ εὐηγγελισάμεθα ὑμῖν, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

ἀλλα και - but even (και can mean and or even as in 'even if')
ἐαν - here this is translated should as in 'should it happen', an uncertainty
ἡμεις - we
ἠ - or
ἀγγελος - an angel
ἐξ οὐρανου - out of heaven
εὐαγγελιζηται - preach (proclaim good news), future subjunctive tense/mood
ὑμιν - to you (pl)
παρ' - short for παρα alongside
ὁ - relative, I think the antecedent is the true gospel, which
εὐηγγελισαμεθα  - we preached
ὑμιν - to you (pl)
ἀναθεμα - anathema, banned, rejected state
ἐστω - may it be or may he be, third person imperative.

So, my translation:
But even should we, or an angel from heaven, preach to you alongside the [true gospel] which we preached to you, let it be rejected.

Monday 20 February 2012

Galatians 1:7

ὃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλο, εἰ μή τινές εἰσιν οἱ ταράσσοντες ὑμᾶς καὶ θέλοντες μεταστρέψαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ.

I have to confess that this is stretching me and I haven't got time to research it properly. So consider this 'open' until I have looked some things up. My own translation at this stage varies too much from the proper ones and so I must be making a mistake somewhere!

ὁ - relative concord neuter, which (to my mind this refers to the gospel of Christ as antecedent)
ούκ εστιν - is not
ἀλλο - other

εἰ μη - literally 'if not' but also suggests the question 'is it not true . . .' [check here, I think I,m wrong!]
τινες - who or some
εἰσιν - are, or there are
οἱ ταρασσοντες - the agitating ones, ones who stir up trouble for
ὑμας - you (pl)
και θελοντες - and ones wanting (desiring)
μεταστρεψαι - to corrupt
το εὐαγγελιον - the gospel
του Χριστου - of Christ

thus:
which is not other. Is it not true that there are some who are stirring up trouble for you and wanting to corrupt the gospel of Christ?

Sunday 19 February 2012

Galatians 1:6

 Θαυμάζω ὅτι οὕτω ταχέως μετατίθεσθε ἀπὸ τοῦ καλέσαντος ὑμᾶς ἐν χάριτι Χριστοῦ εἰς ἕτερον εὐαγγέλιον

θαθμαζω - I am amazed
ὁτι - that
οὑτω - in this way
ταχεως - quickly
μετατιθεσθε - you turned yourselves
ἀπο- away from
του καλεσαντος - the one calling
ὑμας - you (pl)
ἐν - in
χαριτι - a grace (dative case to follow ἐν) rather than 'in a grace' could be 'as an act of grace'
χριστου - of Christ
εἰς - into
ἑτερον - different
εὐαγγελιον - gospel or good news

the whole verse:
I am amazed that in this way, quickly, you have turned yourselves away from the one calling you (pl) as an act of grace of Christ into a different gospel.

Friday 17 February 2012

Galatians 1:5

 ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν.

ᾡ - to whom, or from whom (relative concord, dative case showing an indirect object)
ἡ - the (feminine, nominative, singular)
δοξα - glory
εἱς - into
τους αἰωνας - the ages
των αἰωνων - of the ages
ἀμην - amen.

to whom the glory into the ages of the ages, amen.
(In Greek the verb 'to be' or 'is' is often left out for the reader or hearer to insert in the logical place!)

This verse calls for a comparison between the 'age' or 'era' of the previous verse from which we are extracted (or delivered). That speaks of this current, momentary age as evil, whereas God's glory is for the ages of the ages - eternal.

Thursday 16 February 2012

Galatians 1:4

τοῦ δόντος ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν, ὅπως ἐξέληται ἡμᾶς ἐκ τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος αἰῶνος πονηροῦ κατὰ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς ἡμῶν,

This verse continues the previous by expanding on who this Jesus is who sends grace and peace.

του δοντος ἑαυτον - the one having given himself (genitive case)
ὑπερ των ἁμαρτων ἡμων - on behalf of our sins
ὁπως ἐξεληται ἡμας - in order to lift (or extract) us
ἐκ  - out of
του - the
ἐνεστωτος - here and now, present, this moment
αἰωνος - era
πονηρου - evil

Now, how do we put together that noun structure? Perhaps, 'this evil era where we find ourselves now'.

κατα το θελημα - according to the will
του Θεου - of God
και πατρος ἡμων - and of our father
I'm not sure what to make of the και (and) here. Why not say 'God, father' as previously. This seems to imply a differentiation between God and our father.

The whole verse:
the one having given himself on behalf of our sins in order to extract us out of this evil era, where we find ourselves now, according to the will of God and of our father.

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Galatians 1:3

χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ Θεοῦ πατρὸς καὶ Κυρίου ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ,

This verse is pretty much Paul's standard greeting in his letters.

χαρις ὑμιν - grace to you (plural)
και - and
εἰρηνη - peace
ἀπο - from, away from
Θεου - God, genitive case following ἀπο
πατρος - father
και - and
Κυριου Ἰησου Χριστου - Lord Jesus Christ, all genitive case because of the ἀπο.

It is well known that shalom or peace was the standard Jewish greeting. The standard Greek greeting was χαρειν, which meant 'joy' although the greeting had become a formula (such as good morning or goodbye to us). Paul's use of χαρις was almost certainly an echo of the Greek greeting, although he modified it to use χαρις (grace). Thus Paul's standard greeting was a combination of Greek and Jewish and similar to the practice of South Africans who will greet a group with "Good morning, molweni, dumelang, sanibonani".

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Galatians 1:2

καὶ οἱ σὺν ἐμοὶ πάντες ἀδελφοί, ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῆς Γαλατίας·

Verse 2 is a continuation of Paul's introduction.

και - and. We can tell that the 'and' goes with 'Paul' and not with 'God' because the following noun structure is in the nominative case.
οἱ - the (plural nominative)
συν ἐμοι - together with me. we would expect a noun to follow the article, but rather we have the descriptive phrase.
παντες - all (plural nominative)
ἀδελφοι -brothers (plural nominative) here is the expected noun.
so far : and the ones together with me, all the brothers.

ταις ἐκκλησιαις - the churches in dative case indicating that it is an indirect object (ie to the churches)
της Γαλατιας - the Galatians in genitive case indicating 'of' so of the Galatians.

Thus:
and the ones together with me, all the brothers, to the churches of Galatia.

The thing that I notice is that the Greek structure highlights the unity of the band of apostles/ brothers sending the letter. In English I get the sense of the letter being from Paul and the others being something of an afterthought. The structure of the Greek tends to draw the others into the picture more securely. But this may just be the way the structures of the languages work and have no particular significance.

Monday 13 February 2012

Galatians 1:1

I am beginning to work through Galatians in the Greek - after a break from Greek of a few months, so there will need to be some rust removal! Fortunately the first verse is not too hard.

Παῦλος ἀπόστολος οὐκ ἀπ᾿ ἀνθρώπων, οὐδὲ δι᾿ ἀνθρώπου, ἀλλὰ διὰ ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ἐγείραντος αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν

Παυλος - Paul
ἀποστολος - apostle. Both Paul and apostle are in nominative case, making them in apposition (Paul, an apostle)
οὐκ ἀπ' ἀνθροπων - not from people (with a sense of movement away from)
οὐδε δι' ἀνθροπου - and not through a person
ἀλλα δια Ἰησου Χριστου - but through Jesus Christ
και Θεου πατρος - and God, father (genitive of God and father linking them with the 'through' as well)
του ἐγειραντος - the one having raised (still genitive, linking with the 'through') I'm a little rusty here . . .
αὐτον ἐκ νεκρων - him out of the dead ones

What do I note?
The two uses of apposition: Paul, an apostle; God, father, raising one.
The prepositions: Paul not 'from' people or 'through' a person; but 'through' God etc
Singular and plural : Paul not from people, or through a person.
I'll need to think about what this is saying. Why the people and then person? Why is there not a balancing ἀπο (from) for the God side of the equation?