[B-Greek] Diagramming of Greek Sentences

Steven Lo Vullo themelios at charter.net
Sun Dec 5 20:28:32 EST 2004


On Dec 5, 2004, at 6:28 AM, Barry Hofstetter wrote:

>> I am an absolute diagramming addict, so allow me to offer the 
>> perspective of a fanatic...
>
> An addict, huh?  You could "just say no..."  :)

I don't think I have the strength. You'll have to pray for me. Or 
perhaps organize an intervention. :-)

>> Yes, the purpose of diagramming is primarily to "connect the dots," 
>> i.e., to indicate the relationships of words, phrases, clauses, etc. 
>> one to another in a sentence. But I would submit that proficiency at 
>> reading Greek does not necessarily translate into understanding 
>> **all** the relationships in a sentence. I'm proficient at reading 
>> English, but to tell you the truth, if I had to explain the grammar 
>> and syntax in every detail or be shot, I would be a dead man.
>
> Yes, but how often do you find it necessary to diagram an English 
> sentence, and why would you bother to do so, apart from your 7th grade 
> English teacher's insistence?  In our recent exchange, which of my 
> sentences did you diagram in order better to see all the relationships 
> in the sentence?

I don't know of any literature in English that I hold in the same 
esteem as the NT, and I don't know of any literature that I would write 
a commentary on or prepare a sermon outline for, etc. In other words, 
there is nothing in English that interests me enough to diagram, 
including your posts, as interesting as they are. :-) I want to 
understand in as much detail as possible how Koine works. I just don't 
have that curiosity about English, though it is my native language.

>   I wonder if Paul or Matthew diagrammed sentences in the Hebrew Bible?

First of all, I don't know if diagramming is that anciant. Who knows 
whether they would have used it or not if they could have? [It's pretty 
well accepted that diagramming Hebrew is not near as valuable as 
diagramming Greek; and diagramming the Gospels is not near as valuable 
diagramming the Epistles.] At any rate, if we followed this to its 
logical conclusion we would have to wonder if they used a Hebrew 
lexicon, or a Hebrew concordance, like we do, and if we should eschew 
such helps because they didn't have or use them. We would have to ask 
whether or not they outlined the the texts for their sermons, and if 
not, eschew that. We would have to say things like, "If Matthew or Paul 
didn't use a computerized tagged Hebrew text why should we?" Different 
times, different places. Diagramming is but one valuable tool in the 
study of the Bible that Matthew and Paul didn't have. Whether or not 
they would have used them is conjectural.
============

Steven Lo Vullo
Madison, WI




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