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Dative Case

The Dative Case

The case of personal interest. It expresses the indirect object.

The Dative of Indirect Object

This use is closest to the root idea of personal interest. The one from whom or in whose interest an act is done is indicated.

The Dative of Advantage or Disadvantage

This use is very similar to the Dative of Indirect Object. The personal interest expressed by the indirect object is intensified. The Dative of Advantage indicates the person for whose benefit something is done. The Dative of Disadvantage indicates the person who will be adversely affected as the result of the action. “Against” will often be used in this translation of the Dative of Disadvantage, “for” the Dative of Advantage and “to” the indirect object. This is sometimes referred to as the “Ethical Dative”.

Dative of Possession

Personal interest is particularized to the point of ownership. There is no exact equivalent in English.

The Dative of Reference

The idea of personal interest is reduced to mere reference. This use deals mostly with things, though occasionally it may deal with people. it may be rendered “in the interest of,” “with reference to,” “concerning.” or “about.”

The Dative with Nouns

The Dative is used with nouns only where personal interest is expressed.

The Dative of Adjectives

When used with adjective, the Dative has the personal flavor just like it does with nouns.

The Dative with Prepositions and Adverbs

The Dative with prepositions and adverbs is rare in the N.T.

The Dative with Verbs

The Dative is most frequently used with verbs. The idea of personal interest is clear with many verbs.

The Dative with Intransitive Verbs […]

Dative Case2023-12-11T12:16:03-08:00

Nouns, Articles, and Cases

Nouns, Articles, and Case Endings

Case is determined by function, not form

In the Greek language, it is important to understand that the relationship of the noun to the other words in the sentence always governs the case. Hence, although Genitive and Ablative share the same endings, they are clearly distinguished within the context and function of the sentence. There are eight cases in the Greek language: Nominative, Genitive, Ablative, Dative, Locative, Instrumental, Accusative, and Vocative.

Vocative Case

The case of direct address.

The Nominative Case

The case of specific designation, the naming case.

The Genitive Case

The case of definition or description.

The Dative Case

The case of personal interest. It expresses the indirect object.

The Locative Case

The case of position or location.

The Instrumental Case

The case of means or association.

The Accusative Case

The case of limitation or extension.

© 2017 Luther Walker | All Rights Reserved | ISBN-10: 0-9993211-0-2, ISBN-13: 978-0-9993211-0-2 | This book or any potion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

Nouns, Articles, and Cases2023-12-11T12:23:52-08:00

Biblical Greek First Year Lesson 8

Class Notes

Prepositions

Prepositions are adverbs specialized to define more clearly the meaning of case, many of which came to be used in composition with verbs. When the word functions as an adverb it does not need an object; however, when serving as a preposition it required an object.

Some words can function as either prepositions or adverbs, depending on whether they have an object:

 

Preposition: “She walked across the bridge.” (“Across” is a preposition because it relates to “the bridge.”)

 

Adverb: “She walked across.” (“Across” functions as an adverb because it has no object and modifies the verb “walked.”)

The Greek preposition is used to better define the idea of case. They assist the cases by aiding in clarifying the meaning of the case. The case governs the meaning of the preposition. Therefore, the preposition does not give the meaning to the case, for they do not govern the case.

As an example for how the meaning of the preposition is governed by the case it is used with we can examine the different meanings of παρά (para) based upon what case the noun is expressing.  παρά (para) primarily means “beside,” “alongside,” or “near. The English word parallel is derived from παράλληλος (parallēlos), which is a compound of two parts: παρά (para): Meaning “beside” or “alongside.” ἀλληλος (allēlos): Meaning “one another.”

Ablative: from the side of.

Locative: by the side of.

Accusative: beside, beyond, against (contrary to).

By the nature of the Nominative and Vocative cases, they do not use prepositions. Therefore, the cases that use prepositions are the genitive, ablative, dative, locative, instrumental, and accusative.

When used in compound with the verbs the prepositions have two common uses.

The preposition is merely local. I throw out combines ἐκ […]

Biblical Greek First Year Lesson 82024-10-25T14:28:29-07:00

The Greek Noun Declensions

Declensions

Class Notes Download Second Declension

In linguistic terms, declension refers to the way nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in languages, particularly inflected ones like Greek, Latin, or Hebrew, change their form to express different grammatical categories such as case (nominative, genitive, etc.), number (singular, plural), and gender (masculine, feminine, neuter). In Greek and Hebrew, declensions are crucial because they help to indicate the function of a word in a sentence, such as whether it is the subject, object, or shows possession, among other roles.

First Declension: The first declension is characterized by long vowel endings like -η and -α in the nominative singular. Typically includes nouns that are mostly feminine but also some masculine nouns.

Second Declension: The second declension is categorized by o class vowels. Masculine nouns generally have endings in -ος (e.g., λόγος) in the nominative singular, while neuter nouns end in -ον.

Third Declension: This declension is more irregular and diverse, containing nouns of all three genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter). The nouns in the third declension can have various stem endings and exhibit more complex case endings, such as -ς (e.g., βασιλεύς).

Gender refers to a system of noun classification that affects how nouns and related words (such as adjectives, pronouns, and verbs) are inflected in a language. In languages with grammatical gender, nouns are categorized into specific gender classes, which often determine the form of associated words (e.g., adjectives and pronouns) and can sometimes affect the verb conjugation.

In Koine Greek, there are three grammatical genders:

  1. Masculine: This gender is often used for nouns referring to males but also includes many inanimate objects and abstract concepts. For example, ἀδελφός (adelphos) means “brother” and is […]
The Greek Noun Declensions2024-10-02T14:48:04-07:00
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