[B-Greek] Careful etymology...
Brion Brooks
bjbrooks at gmnp.net
Fri Aug 22 15:54:57 EDT 2003
I've been studying Greek for about a year now and have, so far, very much
enjoyed doing exegetical studies in the GNT. And part of exegesis usually
means turning to the TDNT and a lexicon or two. One caveat I've run across
in my readings, however, is that one must be careful with the TDNT's and
BDAG's notes regarding historical use of Greek words. Their meanings in
classical Greek, for example, may have changed drastically by the time it
reaches the first century CE.
This has led me to wonder... Have you folks found that Greek words in the
couple of centuries leading up to NT times tended to change meaning faster
or slower than words nowadays? My initial thought was that meanings/usage
would change slower, given the slower pace of society and technology. But in
thinking about it more, I could see that -- with the advent of the
dictionary -- definitions and usage may be more entrenched now, and less
likely to shift.
I know this is a little off-beat. I guess it all goes back to the use of
TDNT and BDAG. Should I take the notes on historical usage with a large
grain of salt, are they generally pretty reliable, or does it simply
"depend"?
Brion Brooks
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