Elementary New Testament Greek, 2014a

6: Prepositions
6: Prepositions
Enriching the Simple Sentence in Greek
In the last chapter we added the adjective to our understanding of how Greek sentences
work. We had already studied the Present Active Indicative for all types of verbs, and
had learned how nouns function in their cases to ll various roles in the sentence.
We then learned how articles help point out and particularize nouns. At the same
time, we encountered adverbs and interjections. Now we want to add another piece
of the puzzle, studying certain kinds of phrases having unrivaled exibility and
variety. Both English and Greek use these phrases with great frequency. Consider
the following account of “Thomas and the House.”
“Tom and that House”
Tom had heard about the house from his sister Rachael. According to her, an
exquisite Victorian mansion sat on a hilltop overlooking the river near the old water
works. As Tom drove along the avenue, he glanced again at the map Rachael had
sketched. Sure enough. There it was. Beside it was parked a vintage Deusenberg
still in working order. As if under a spell, Tom slipped out of his car and through
the open gate. He paused for a moment beside an ornate birdbath that must have
been crafted over a century ago. After a few delicious moments of gazing upwards,
he pressed on past the welcome mat, up the steps, across the porch, and toward
the front door. A dreamy aroma, inviting yet mysterious, wafted out of the house.
He knocked, and knocked again…and again, but no one answered. The door was
ajar. Should he enter? Against his better judgment, Tom pushed open the door, and
stepped right into the front hallway. Just then he sensed a presence behind him, and
felt a hand rest upon his left shoulder. His legs sagged, as if he were under a heavy
load. Just then….
You Get the Idea
Well, there’s no need to go much further with the story! I’m sure everything will
turn out just ne for Tom. In the meantime, you’ve noticed a number of underlined
phrases, each beginning with some sort of directional, temporal or relational word.
Such keywords are called prepositions, and the phrases in which they appear are
called prepositional phrases. Even if you haven’t heard such terminology until
now, you already know how to use these kinds of phrases quite well in your native
language.
In the GNT
Your Greek New Testament is loaded with prepositional phrases, many carrying
heavy theological freight: by faith, through grace, according to the Scriptures, in
Christ, under condemnation, for our sins, and so on. By the time we’re nished with
this lesson, you will have a general understanding of all 17 prepositions used in the
GNT, and some idea of how to handle them when you meet them.
Building the Prepositional Phrase
You noticed that the English prepositional phrases in our story were built essentially
of two elements: a preposition and an accompanying noun (or pronoun standing for
a noun). We call such a noun (or pronoun) the object of the preposition.
Preposition + Object (Noun or Pronoun)
about…
according...
on…
towards…
at…
beside…
etc...
house
her
hilltop
address
map
it
The same approach generally holds true in Greek as well, but with one important
difference. You might have guessed it! Because Greek is a highly inected
language, Greek nouns that are coupled with prepositions must appear in specic
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