[B-Greek] Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38
brent jobe
bjobe1964 at yahoo.com
Wed Sep 17 19:24:23 EDT 2008
Hello. I am a new subscriber and only have some knowledge of Greek; I am a veterinarian by profession. I would deeply appreciate some help with the following two passages: Mark 16:16a and Acts 2:38. I will go as far as I can with them, then hope that the more knowledgable contributors can take me further. I would also be interested in any parallel Greek passages, either sacred or profane, which would further aid in understanding the New Testament Greek.
Mark 16:16a
ο - definite article, nom sing mas
πιστευσας - verb, aorist part, active, nom sing mas
και - conjunction (and)
βαπτισθεις - verb, aorist part, active, nom sing mas
σωθησεται - verb, future passive, third person, sing
So my literal translation would be:
"He who having believed and having been baptized will be saved."
Is this a correct translation? By definition and usage, MUST the actions of the two aorists occur prior to the action of the main verb? Is it grammatically possible that either aorist could occur subsequent to the action of the main verb? Would it ever be possible to construe the Greek grammar to mean either, "He that believeth shall be saved, then is baptized?" or "He that is baptized shall be saved, then believe?" And finally, are there any writings from the period which would strengthen or weaken either position? That is as far as I can go with the verse, and appreciate, in advance, any additional insight.
As to Acts 2:38, I will not follow the same pattern; I shall only ask a few English questions which can be answered by the Greek.
1. Is a correct translation of μετανοησατε "Ye or you repent."? And is this second person, plural?
2. Is a correct translation of βαπτισθητω "Be immersed."?
3. Is a correct translation of εκαστος υμων "Each one of you," with εκαστος being a singular masculine adjective "each" or "every" and the noun (one) being understood, implied, or supplied for clarity?
4. Is υμων (tranlated you), a second person plural pronoun?
5. In the original Greek, did μετανοησατε and εκαστος υμων refer to exactly the same group of people, based upon the context and normal usage of Greek at that time? Or is Peter referring to two different groups of people?
6. Is βαπτισθητω third person, singular?
7. Does the phrase "εις αφεσιν αμαρτιων" - (I would translate "into or unto the forgiveness of sins") apply with equal force to (I will switch to English) "Ye repent" and "let be baptized every one of you"? In other words, with consideration to the original Greek construction, does "into the forgiveness of sins" contingent or predicated upon both repentance and baptism? Or does "into the forgiveness of sins" answer to only "Ye repent"? Or does it answer to only "let be baptized every one of you."? Or both? The changes from masculine to feminine and singular to plural confuse me, and I do not know all the rules and variations.
ANY help that one or more of the Greek scholars can give me - pointing out my mistakes does not bother me a bit - and I simply find great interest in similar or parallel passages from the same time period. Thank you.
Best wishes,
Brent Jobe, DVM
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