[B-Greek] Identifying types of Verbs
Clwinbery at aol.com
Clwinbery at aol.com
Wed Mar 26 17:55:25 EST 2003
In a message dated 3/26/03 3:54:32 PM, dbielby at bloomingtonvineyard.org writes:
>When I learned NT Greek Grammar we used "A Greek Grammar of the NT" by
>Vaughan & Gideon. In that text book we studied the various possibilities
>for interpreting given forms. For example, we were taught to evaluate
>each
>Future verb we were looking at to see what type of Future it was using
>the
>context. On the Future, we were taught there are four types....1)
>Predictive 2) Imperative/Volitive 3) Deliberative 4) Gnomic or
>customary
>We were taught to explore which of the options best fits the context...and
>think through the possibilities to see if more than one type of the verb
>form fits the context. If so, then we had to make judgment calls based
>on
>the theme/context.
>
>What I'm wondering is whether this type of an approach is generally accepted
>among NT Greek scholars...or if it is rejected by most.
>
David, what you are talking about is a Syntax book. Virtis Gideon is now
dead. I think Vaughn is in Florida but I'm not sure. They are the heirs of
A.T. Robertson and learned greek from his disciples in the schools of the
Southern Convention and other schools where Robertson has held sway. The
classes you mention are descriptive categories used to portray the function
of the various aspects of greek such as case of the nouns or tense and mood
of the verbs.
Many who have moved on to more linquistic studies have criticized this method
as too heavily influenced by the experience and need to express the meaning
in English. I think that the method still has usefulness as an instructional
tool to help students begin to try and get into the head of the Greek
writer/speaker. It has been abused mostly because some students and
pseudo-Greek scholars have forgotten that its purpose is descriptive and that
context is the decisive factor in meaning. I am in the process of revising
Brooks and Winbery, Syntax of NTG to try and move away from the excesses.
Grace,
Carlton Winbery
Louisiana College
P.S. Friends, remember it took me 10 years the first time.
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