Biblical Greek commentary?

[Ιακοβ]

Is there a commentary that answers questions that would only come up for someone reading the Greek New Testament? i.e. Not so much textual criticisim on the manuscripts, but the form of the greek itself, for example, today I have this question:

 

Does anyone know why alpha in Revelation 1:8 is spelt out but the omega is not? I assume its something to do with the fact original manuscripts were written without spaces between the letters? Or perhaps "A" was reserved for some other meaning?

Revelation 1:8 Ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ ἄλφα καὶ τὸ ὦ ⸆, λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός

 

I see Accordance has something called Metzger, but it seems to be more interested in textual variants, so it might not be what I need.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Ιακοβ

[Daniel Francis]

Revelation 1:8

 

WH NU τὸ ἄλφα καὶ τὸ ὦ

“the Alpha and the Omega”

ℵ1 A C 2053 2062 MajK

NKJVmg RSV NRSV ESV NASB NIV TNIV NEB REB NJB NAB NLT HCSB NET

variant/TR το αλφα και το ω, η αρχη και το τελος

“the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End”

ℵ✱,2 (2344) MajA it copbo

KJV NKJV NETmg

 

Throughout the book of Revelation, there are three similar divine self-descriptions, each of which extols the comprehensiveness of eternal deity: (1) “the Alpha and Omega” (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet), (2) “the Beginning and the End,” and (3) “the First and the Last.” In each context (1:8, 17; 2:8; 21:6; 22:13), it is difficult to discern if the title applies to God (see Isa 41:4; 44:6) or to Jesus or to both. Most likely it can be attributed to the Godhead—God in Jesus Christ. Looking at the five verses (1:8, 17; 2:8; 21:6; 22:13), it is noteworthy that all three of these affirmations do not appear in each of these verses. Rather, there is an accumulation of titles as the book progresses: (1) I am the Alpha and the Omega (1:8); (2) I am the First and the Last (1:17; 2:8); (3) I am the Alpha and the Omega; the Beginning and the End (21:6); (4) I am the Alpha and the Omega; the First and the Last; the Beginning and the End (22:13—or I am the Alpha and the Omega; the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, according to other manuscripts; see note on 22:13). To insert “the Beginning and the End” in the first proclamation ruins the build-up of titles. Scribes, insensitive to this, thought the expressions should be more parallel throughout. So they borrowed from 21:6 to fill out the divine proclamation here. (Another expansion occurs in 1:11—see note.)

 

 

 

Philip W. Comfort, New Testament Text and Translation Commentary, Accordance electronic ed. (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 2008), n.p.

[Daniel Francis]

 

      1:8      ῏Ω {A}

 

After ῏Ω2 the Textus Receptus, following א* 1 (2344) itgig, ar vg al adds ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος, and twenty other minuscules add ἡ ἀρχὴ καὶ τὸ τέλος. If the longer text were original no good reason can be found to account for the shorter text, whereas the presence of the longer expression in 21:6 obviously prompted some copyists to expand the text here.

 

 

 

Bruce Manning Metzger, United Bible Societies, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, Second Edition a Companion Volume to the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament (4th Rev. Ed.) (London; New York: United Bible Societies, 1994), 663.

I do not think either of these give you what you want but thought I would let you see both of them.

 

-Dan

[Ιακοβ]

Thanks for sharing, while they don't answer my question both of these look like they would be worth owning at some point in the future. I'll add them to the wish list.

 

Thanks.

[Λύχνις Δαν]

Hey Ιακοβ,

 

   I don't think this is a textual variant thing, rather that the word may not have existed as such at the time. I cannot find a text containing ωμεγα spelled out. I looked in BDAG, nothing useful, but then this in LSJ :

 

Ω, ὦ, τό, twenty-fourth and last letter of the Ionic alphabet, ἀπὸ ἄλφα ἕως .ω. Gloss. iii 283 (ix A.D.); thence used as a symbol of the end, the last, ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ ἄλφα καὶ τὸ ὦ (not τὸ ὦ μέγα) Apoc. 1.8, al.:—as a numeral ώ = 800, but ω² = 800,000. The epichoric Att. and other alphabets of the Inscrr. had used o in differently to represent the sounds of the later ο and ω : Ω is a differentiated form of ο, and, though usu. = ω, was used in the Ionic islands of Paros, Thasos, and Siphnos with the value ο, while O or O represented the sound ω. The name of the letter was τὸ ὦ (perispom. acc. to Hellad. ap. Phot. p.530B.), cf. Achae. 33.3, Pl. Phdr. 244d, Cra. 420b, Tht. 203c: after the loss of the distinction betw. long and short vowels, ο and ω had the same pronunciation; they begin to be confused in Papyri of iii B.C.) ( οἰκωνόμου PRev.Laws 50.22 (iii B.C.)), but the name ω μέγα appears first in later Greek, Theognost. Can. 13 ; κατὰ σχῆμα διπλοῦ ω ἤτοι μεγάλου Eust. 869.26 ; οἱ δὲ περὶ Ἀρίσταρχον αὐτὸ τὸ ποτήριον ω μέγα εἶναί φασιν, ὁποῖν ἴσως τὸ κατὰ δύο ῡ ἐσχηματισμένον Id. 869.29 ; ἐν τῷ ω μεγάλῳ under omega (in a lexicon), Id. 1828.49: διὰ τοῠ ω μεγάλου Hdn. Epim. 208.

 

  Bold mine.

 

  Now Theognostus is 9th century AD I believe according to the LSJ reference :

 

Theognostus Grammaticus [Theognost.]    ix A.D.

Can. = Canones, ed. J. A. Cramer, An. Ox., vol. ii.

 

  So I looked it up online in a modern greek dictionary and found this : http://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang/modern_greek/tools/lexica/triantafyllides/search.html?lq=%CF%89%CE%BC%CE%B5%CE%B3%CE%B1

 

  Alas, no information on first usage.

 

  Best I can do I'm afraid. And in case it's of interest the EPT does spell alpha out either :

 

“Ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ Α καὶ τὸ Ω, λέγει Κύριος ὁ Θεός, ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος, ὁ παντοκράτωρ.”
(Revelation 1:8 GNT-EPT)

 

tx

D

Edited August 31, 2015 by Daniel Semler

[Λύχνις Δαν]

Also meant to mention that there are a couple of commentary series aimed at the Greek language. EGGNT and BHGNT, The Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament and the Baylor Handbook of the Greek New Testament. I wrote a comparison between the two that is in the forums somewhere. Here : http://www.accordancebible.com/forums/topic/4470-baylor-handbook-on-the-greek-new-testament/?do=findComment&comment=65778

 

Thx

D

[Daniel Francis]

This might be closer.....

 

1:8. “I am the Alpha and the Omega.” “I am” recalls the name of God, like the expression “the one who is” (Exod 3:14; NOTE on Rev 1:4). The Greek form egō eimi occurs in sayings like “I am God and there is no other” (Isa 45:22; cf. 45:18; 46:9; 47:8, 10; Deut 32:39). When used with a predicate, the “I am” identified who God was for people. This was a source of hope (Isa 43:25; 51:12). The “I am” was occasionally used for Greco-Roman deities (e.g., “I am Isis”) and in magical sources (Deissmann, Light, 138–40; Ball, “I Am,” 24–45), but Revelation recalls texts that stress the singular lordship of Israel’s God: “I am the first and I am the last, there is no god but me” (Isa 44:6; cf. 41:4; 48:12).

Using the letters alpha and omega as equivalent to “first” and “last” could have precedents in Jewish sources, where the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet (aleph and tau) indicate completeness, though the sources are late (b. Shabb. 55a; G. Kittel, TDNT 1:1–3). A link with the divine name is suggested by a Greek form of “Yahweh,” which was Ιαω (Iaō) and includes both alpha (α) and omega (ω) (cf. the LXX of Leviticus at Qumran 4Q120 6–7, 12; 20–21, 4; manuscripts of Jer 1:6; 14:13; 39:16–17 LXX; Diodorus Siculus, Libr. 1.94.2). This form of the name was used in later magical sources (Aune, Apocalypticism, 361–64; RAC 17:1–11), but whether Rev 1:8 is a polemic against such magical usage is unclear.

says the Lord God, “the one who is and who was and who is to come. Lord God (kyrios ho theos) was the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew yhwh ‘e˘lōhîm (Gen 2:8; Amos 5:14; Pss. Sol. 5:1; Jos. As. 7:4; 8:3; T. Benj. 3:1). On past, present, and future, see the NOTE on Rev 1:4.

“the Almighty.” The Hebrew expression Lord “of hosts” (ṣĕbāʾôt) was rendered into Greek as Lord “Almighty” (pantokratōr, Amos 3:13; Nah 3:5). The Hebrew word “hosts” identifies God with the heavenly armies, whereas the Greek “Almighty” affirms that he is all-powerful. Inscriptions from Asia Minor often call the emperor autokratōr, or self-ruler (I.Eph 1523; I.Smyr 591.5; 731.2; I.Sard 8.22; I.Laod 9.1, 4; 15.1; 24.1). Revelation, however, refers to God as pantokratōr, ascribing to him power over all things. In Revelation God’s supreme might is expressed in his acts of creation, judgment, and righteous rule (Rev 1:8; 4:8; 18:8; 19:6; 21:22; 22:5–6). Patristic writers often used Rev 1:8 to affirm the deity of Christ (Andreas; Origen, Princ. 2.10; Athanasius, C. Ar. 3.4; Gregory of Nazianzus, Or. Bas. 29.17; Didymus, Comm. Zach. 5). Here, however, God is the focus.

 

 

Craig R. Koester, Revelation: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, ed. John J. Collins, vol. 38A, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2014), 220.

[Ιακοβ]

Also meant to mention that there are a couple of commentary series aimed at the Greek language. EGGNT and BHGNT, The Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament and the Baylor Handbook of the Greek New Testament. I wrote a comparison between the two that is in the forums somewhere. Here : http://www.accordancebible.com/forums/topic/4470-baylor-handbook-on-the-greek-new-testament/?do=findComment&comment=65778

 

Thx

D

 

This review is really helpful, thanks. I'm sad they are not in Accordance, because I have a strong dislike of carrying around heavy books.

[Julia Falling]

Thanks for sharing, while they don't answer my question both of these look like they would be worth owning at some point in the future. I'll add them to the wish list.

 

Thanks.

 

Definitely worth having.  I own both and use both regularly.  Comfort has the advantage of being useful even to those who don't know a scrap of Greek.  He has recently published what seems, by the description, to be an updated version of his book.  I'm hoping it will come to Accordance soon!

[Daniel Francis]

Definitely worth having.  I own both and use both regularly.  Comfort has the advantage of being useful even to those who don't know a scrap of Greek.  He has recently published what seems, by the description, to be an updated version of his book.  I'm hoping it will come to Accordance soon!

 

I cannot be sure but I would almost bet the Tyndale print edition is going out of print and they decided not to reprint it and it's rights got transferred to Kregel. Or this may actually be an abridgement since the new edition is the same physical page size but it contains less than have the number of pages or the original.

 

-Dan

[Julia Falling]

The new book takes into account the latest GNT, NA28th/USB5.

[Emanuel Cardona]

Definitely worth having.  I own both and use both regularly.  Comfort has the advantage of being useful even to those who don't know a scrap of Greek.  He has recently published what seems, by the description, to be an updated version of his book.  I'm hoping it will come to Accordance soon!

Does this help? http://www.accordancebible.com/forums/topic/16498-back-to-school-commentaries/?p=80179

[ukfraser]

He has also published this which is slightly off topic but also looks relevant to this thread

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Encountering-Manuscripts-Introduction-Testament-Paleography/dp/0805431454/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1441045846&sr=8-4&keywords=Comfort+new+testament

 

Though the reviews are not kind

Edited August 31, 2015 by ukfraser