Reading Biblical Greek Part 5: Prepositions & Articles in Greek

Series Outline

• Part 1: The Greek Alphabet & Pronunciation Guide
• Part 2: Understanding Verb Conjugation
• Part 3: Part 3: Noun Declension Basics
• Part 4: Prefixes, Suffixes, and Compound Words
• Part 5: Prepositions & Articles in Greek
• Part 6: Basic Sentence Structure & Syntax
• Part 7: Vocabulary Building & Common Biblical Terms

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Introduction

In this part of the series, we’ll look at two crucial elements in biblical Greek that help connect ideas and clarify meaning: prepositions and articles. Prepositions indicate relationships between words in terms of space, time, or cause, while articles function similarly to “the” in English but with greater nuance. Understanding how these work will give you better insight into how sentences are structured in the New Testament.

Prepositions in Greek

Prepositions are words that help show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other parts of the sentence. In biblical Greek, prepositions often take different cases (nominative, genitive, dative, or accusative) depending on their specific function in the sentence.

Common Greek Prepositions

Example: The Preposition ἐν (en)

• ἐν is one of the most common prepositions in the New Testament. It is used with the dative case to indicate location, time, or association. For example:
• ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ (en tō kosmō) – “In the world.”
• ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ (en tē ekklēsia) – “In the church.”

Example: The Preposition διά (dia)

• διά can take either the genitive or accusative case, with a slight change in meaning:
• Genitive: διὰ πίστεως (dia pisteōs) – “Through faith.”
• Accusative: διὰ τὴν ἀγάπην (dia tēn agapēn) – “On account of love.”

By understanding which case a preposition takes, you can better grasp the relationships between different parts of a sentence.

Articles in Greek

In Greek, the definite article (“the”) is much more flexible than in English. It not only tells you that a noun is specific, but it also shows gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), number (singular, plural), and case (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative). Greek does not have an indefinite article (“a” or “an”), but the definite article can sometimes function in similar ways.

The Definite Article in Greek

Example: The Definite Article ὁ

• ὁ λόγος (ho logos) – “The word.”
• τὸ βιβλίον (to biblion) – “The book.”
• ἡ ἀγάπη (hē agapē) – “The love.”

In each case, the article tells us whether the noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter, and what case the noun is in. In Greek, the article often helps us identify the subject, object, or possession, especially when the word order might not be immediately clear.

The Role of Articles in Greek

Articles are used far more frequently in Greek than in English, and they serve several important functions:

1. Identifying Specific Nouns: Just as in English, the article is used to specify a particular noun (e.g., ὁ ἀνήρ – “the man”).
2. Marking the Subject: The article can help indicate which noun is the subject of a sentence, even when the word order varies.
3. Linking Words and Phrases: Articles can be used with adjectives and participles to create complex phrases. For example, ὁ ἀγαπῶν means “the one who loves,” where ἀγαπῶν is a participle meaning “loving.”

Example: The Article with Adjectives

• ὁ καλὸς ἄνθρωπος – “The good man.”
• Here, ὁ (the) indicates that “good man” is a specific person.
• ἡ μεγάλη πόλις – “The great city.”
• The feminine article ἡ tells us that “great city” is feminine in gender.

Practice Section: Using Prepositions and Articles

Here are some practice sentences to help you get used to Greek prepositions and articles:

1. Ἐν τῷ ναῷ – “In the temple.”
2. Πρὸς τὸν πατέρα – “Toward the father.”
3. Διὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου – “Through the man.”

Exercise:

• Identify the prepositions and articles in the following sentence:
• ὁ μαθητὴς ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ λαλεί. – “The disciple speaks in the church.”
• What case is ἐκκλησίᾳ in? How does the preposition ἐν affect its case?

Homework and Next Steps

• Memorize Prepositions: Study the table of common Greek prepositions and practice recognizing their case usage.
• Practice Using Articles: Look at New Testament passages and identify how the article is used with nouns. Try to determine the case, gender, and number of each noun by its article.
• Find Examples in Scripture: Use an interlinear Bible or an online tool like Blue Letter Bible to find passages with prepositions and articles, and break down their grammatical structure.

Conclusion

You’ve now learned how to use prepositions and articles in biblical Greek! Prepositions help connect ideas, and articles are a vital tool for identifying subjects, objects, and specifics in sentences. In Part 6, we’ll explore basic sentence structure and syntax to help you start reading and understanding full Greek sentences in the New Testament.

Part 6: Basic Sentence Structure & Syntax