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Biblical Greek - Lesson 7

Genitive and Dative

In this lesson, you delve into the intricacies of the genitive and dative cases in biblical Greek, understanding their functions and various types. Through a comprehensive study of the different types of genitive (subjective, objective, possessive, and partitive) and dative (indirect object, interest, manner, and means), you learn how to identify them in texts and translate them correctly. By the end of this lesson, you will have gained valuable knowledge and insight into the workings of these two cases, enabling you to read and interpret biblical Greek texts more accurately.

Lesson 7
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Genitive and Dative

I. Introduction to Genitive and Dative Cases

A. Purpose of the Lesson

B. Definitions and Functions

II. Genitive Case

A. Types of Genitive

1. Subjective Genitive

2. Objective Genitive

3. Possessive Genitive

4. Partitive Genitive

B. Genitive Constructions

III. Dative Case

A. Types of Dative

1. Indirect Object Dative

2. Dative of Interest

3. Dative of Manner

4. Dative of Means

B. Dative Constructions

IV. Application and Practice

A. Identifying Cases in Texts

B. Translating Genitive and Dative Cases


Transcription
Lessons

Dr. Bill Mounce
Biblical Greek
NT201-07
Genitive and Dative
Lesson Transcript

[00:00:00] So, are you having fun yet? A blast. Oh, good. All right. Today we're going to look at chapter seven, which is the chapter on the genitive and the date of cases. The last two cases you need to learn English has three cases, and one of them we've already seen quickly is the possessive case. And you can use the word of and say the word of God. Or you can use an apostrophe s God's word, or if the words are already plural, you just have an apostrophe after it. Right. The apostles were. The other aspect of English grammar that you need to be sure that you know is the whole issue of an indirect object. The indirect object is the person or thing that is indirectly affected by the action of the verb. In other words, it doesn't receive the action of the verb, but it's still involved in the process of the verb. So if you had a sentence like Karen threw Brad a ball, which word is the indirect object? Okay, Brett, you can usually tell if a word is an indirect object by putting the word to tile in front of it. And if it makes sense, then there's a good chance you have an indirect object carried through to Brad a ball. If Brad were in fact the direct object, then he would be directly receiving the action of the verb. But in this sentence, Karen threw Brad a ball. Brad is the indirect object and is indirectly receiving the action of the verb. Okay. So when we move into Greek, let's look first at the genitive case. The genitive case in Greek has several, in fact many different functions. But one of the functions and in fact one of the easiest ones to learn is that when Greeks want to show possession, one of the ways they do it is they put the word into the genitive case.

[00:02:09] Now Greek doesn't have an apostrophe as construction. Someone words are put into the genitive case in order to show possession. It's always in the of construction. And so we would see Namoi. To say you. And we'd recognize that the up salon in both those words are genitive case endings. Showing us that to say use in the genitive. And so we would translate it. Namoi means laws. We would translate Namoi to, say, you as laws of God. Now, Greek will always have it in that construction. It doesn't have an apostrophe s kind of construction. You will always have laws of God. Now, if you want to change that, you can say God, Apostrophe S, God's laws, and that's a perfectly acceptable translation. So you have some flexibility in how you want to translate the genitive when it's functioning as a possessive. There's a couple of phrases that you need to be very comfortable with. The first is the phrase head noun. The word that the genitive modifies is called the head noun. When you say, for example, laws of God. I've introduced a term here called Key words, and all these are little words. Later on you'll see that sometimes they can be phrases and they're just little words to help you get a handle on the meaning of a case, for example. And so the key word for the genitive is of. So when you see a genitive, you automatically think of and then the word that's in the genitive. Now you'll find that sometimes of doesn't work, but the keywords are just kind of a general kind of way to get you used to us case and what the meaning of that case is. The second case that we're going to learn in this chapter is the dative case.

[00:04:12] The date of case is the case that carries several basic meanings, and I want you to learn three of them. The dative can carry the meaning of two till. It can carry the meaning in and it can carry the meaning of with. In other words, you have three key words that you can associate with any word that you find in the dative. How are you going to decide which one fits? Context, as is almost always true. It's context. Now under the tube category will find the indirect object. And. WHEREAS, English doesn't have a separate case for an indirect object in Greek, indirect objects are placed into the dative. So if the text wants to say he told them the story, them is going to be the indirect object, right? He didn't tell them. He told the story, but he told it to them. Them is going to be in the dative case. Or if the Greek wants to say Jesus was baptized in water, water can be in the dative. Or if the Greek wants to say Jesus was baptized with water. Water can be in the dead of case. And it's going to be up to your exegetical skills to determine which of those keywords best fits that particular context. We now have all of your case endings for the first and second declension. We'll be learning a few more with third declension, but this is the chart that you really, really, really need to commit to memory. The underline means that the Omega is going to swallow up any vowel that precedes it. Just like the alphas are underlined in the neutered plurals. When you see it with the article and a noun, it's perhaps a little easier to learn, but you still need to be able to tell me what the exact case endings are.

[00:06:28] You also now know all 24 forums at least you will know all 24 forms of a definite article, please. Absolute memory work. In this chapter, we're going to learn the next three non rules. Rules four, five and six. Rule four is that in the dative singular, the Yoda subscripts if possible. Now the rule there is Yoda's can subscript only under long vowels. So when I see graphic I see the Yoda under the ADA. I don't really care that it's under it. I just see that Yoda. For me, that Yoda is the sign of the dative. And I go, Oh, it's a dative. Now the reason that's important is that when you get into the plural graph goes to graph face, alpha, yoda sigma. So in the singular, the Yoda subscript in the plural is still there along with the sigma. But for me that all registers is one case. Number five is that vowels often change. Their length is called technical word is all. You'll notice in the date of singular, for Lagos it goes Lagos lagoon, and then in the dead of it goes to log go a short old class vowel. The macron has gone to a long vowel and omega. It's has changed its length. Does that mean that Omega is a new ending after memories? No. It's just gotten longer and you're going to see this is one of the shortcuts that you can take. And Greek American Omega. Yeah, we're all the same thing kind of. And the second rule is that in the genitive, in the date of the masculine and neuter will always be identical. In other words, the endings will always be identical. So in the genitive singular, you have longer. In the genitive singular. For another you have argued.

[00:08:19] In the database singular for log offsets, log goal and the date of singular of Aragon its error goal. In other words, those two cases are going to be same between masculine and neuter.

  • You will gain knowledge and insight into the fundamentals of biblical Greek, including the alphabet and pronunciation, nouns and adjectives, pronouns and verbs, and the importance of further study. You will learn about the declension of nouns and the conjugation of verbs in different tenses, such as the present, imperfect, future, and aorist. This lesson provides a comprehensive overview of the basics of biblical Greek, making it accessible to beginners who are just starting to learn.
  • In the Learning Greek lesson, you will tackle memorization, learn about tools to assist you, understand the importance of exercises, and discover the significance of time, consistency, and discipline to enhance your Greek language skills and develop a closer connection with Jesus.
  • In this lesson, you learn the Greek alphabet and its pronunciation, discovering similarities to the English alphabet and mastering special pronunciation rules like gamma nasal, vowels, diphthongs, iota subscript, diuresis, and breathing marks, crucial for Greek language study.
  • You will gain insight into the importance of punctuation and syllabification in Greek, which will help you better understand the meaning and pronunciation of Greek texts.
  • Through this lesson, you will develop a solid foundation in English nouns, their types, functions in sentences, and practical tips for mastery.
  • In this lesson, you grasp the significance of nominative and accusative definite articles in Biblical Greek, exploring their roles in identifying subjects and direct objects, and applying the definite article in context.
  • This lesson equips you with the knowledge to identify and translate the genitive and dative cases in biblical Greek, enhancing your understanding and interpretation of biblical texts.
  • Gain insight into the importance of prepositions in Biblical Greek, explore their different categories and meanings, and learn how they modify verbs, nouns, and adjectives to enhance your understanding of the New Testament's original language.
  • In this lesson, you will learn about adjectives in Biblical Greek, their declension, comparison, and their crucial role in syntax, semantics, interpretation, and translation of Biblical texts.
  • By studying the third declension in Biblical Greek, you gain insight into noun and adjective formations, enhancing your ability to analyze and interpret New Testament texts.
  • You gain knowledge of first and second person personal pronouns in Biblical Greek, learning their forms, usage, and application in translating and interpreting New Testament texts.
  • You will gain a comprehensive understanding of Greek pronouns, focusing on forms and genders, and learn to apply this knowledge to accurately interpret biblical texts.
  • By studying this lesson, you acquire a thorough understanding of demonstrative pronouns and adjectives in Biblical Greek, their forms, syntax, and proper application in New Testament passages.
  • This lesson equips you to comprehend relative pronouns in Biblical Greek and their role in connecting ideas and forming dependent clauses.
  • In this lesson, you gain an in-depth understanding of verbs in Biblical Greek, learning about tenses, voices, and moods, and how to apply this knowledge in biblical exegesis.
  • Master the present active indicative in Biblical Greek to understand the language's structure, form regular and irregular verbs, and accurately translate and interpret the text.
  • In this lesson, you gain insight into contract verbs in Biblical Greek, learning to identify and parse them, enabling accurate translation and interpretation of the New Testament texts.
  • This lesson provides a deep understanding of the present middle-passive indicative verb forms in Biblical Greek, including their formation, usage, and tips for accurate translation.
  • This lesson provides you with a comprehensive understanding of the future active and middle indicative verb forms in Biblical Greek, equipping you with translation techniques and practice exercises to enhance your skillset.
  • Through this lesson, you acquire knowledge of verbal roots and future forms in Biblical Greek, enabling better interpretation of the New Testament by recognizing regular and irregular patterns.
  • This lesson teaches you how to understand and use the imperfect indicative in biblical Greek, offering insights into verb conjugations, context, and translation accuracy.
  • You will gain expertise in Second Aorist Active and Middle Indicative forms in Biblical Greek, their formation, usage, and importance in biblical interpretation.
  • This lesson equips you with knowledge of the First Aorist Active and Middle Indicative in Biblical Greek, covering formation, parsing, and translation techniques while providing examples from the New Testament.
  • By studying this lesson, you learn to identify and translate Aorist and Future Passive Indicative verb forms in Biblical Greek, enabling accurate exegesis and interpretation of the New Testament.
  • In this lesson, you acquire knowledge on forming, conjugating, and translating perfect indicative verbs in biblical Greek, with a focus on understanding context and handling irregular verb forms.
  • Through this lesson, you learn about Greek participles, their types, and translation techniques, enhancing your ability to analyze and understand the New Testament texts.
  • This lesson teaches you to identify, translate, and interpret present continuous adverbial participles in Biblical Greek, enhancing your understanding of New Testament exegesis.
  • Gain insights into aorist undefined adverbial participles, their types, and translation techniques to improve your understanding of the Greek text and biblical exegesis.
  • Through this lesson, you master the intricacies of adjectival participles in biblical Greek, including their forms, translation, and syntax, ultimately enhancing your ability to analyze and translate biblical texts.
  • This lesson teaches you the intricacies of perfect participles and genitive absolutes in biblical Greek, enabling you to accurately translate and understand complex grammatical structures.
  • Gain insight into the subjunctive mood in Biblical Greek, understanding its formation, functions, and importance for interpreting the New Testament's nuanced meanings.
  • Through this lesson, you learn to recognize and understand the various roles and functions of infinitives in Biblical Greek, ultimately enhancing your ability to study the biblical text.
  • In this lesson, you learn about the imperative mood in Biblical Greek, its forms and uses, negation, and the subjunctive as an alternative for expressing commands and requests.
  • In this lesson, you learn to understand and apply the imperative mood in Biblical Greek, including its formation, nuances, and its use in exegesis.
  • In this lesson, you gain a deeper understanding of non-indicative forms and conditional sentences, learning to differentiate between subjunctive, imperative, infinitive, and participle forms, as well as first, second, and third class conditional sentences, while expanding your vocabulary.
  • Gain insights into Biblical Greek constructs, conditional sentences, Greek particles, and techniques for parsing and translating complex passages, enhancing your ability to interpret the New Testament.

Resources

Recommended Books

Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar 3rd (third) Edition

Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar 3rd (third) Edition

William D. Mounce's "Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar" and its companion tool "Basics of Biblical Greek Workbook" are the best-selling and most widely accepted textbooks for learning New Testament Greek.
Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar 3rd (third) Edition

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