Procedure

... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

Procedure

Prayer

Each session of study must begin with prayer.  We have no ability to understand or interpret Scripture on our own.  Since God promises us the gift of the Holy Ghost to lead us into all truth, it is imperative that we begin by earnestly asking for His help, support, and leadership.  Nothing of any substance can be accomplished without the Holy Ghost.  This is why each meditation is begun with the above set of prayers.  Others of my own prayers, intended for both morning and evening, are posted separately in this blog.  Please commit to beginning each day of relaxation, study, work, or any other activity with the prayer or prayers of your choice.  In days cluttered by emergencies, you may find, “Lord, Have mercy!” very useful.

Learning Greek

This procedure will be very simple and straightforward for anyone wishing to take this step.  It is not necessary to learn Greek in order to study or read your Bible; however, this paper is written for the benefit of those who might wish to take such a step, or for those who are already struggling with Greek.

I am a dunce when it comes to language studies.  I am terrified when it comes to foreign languages.  Classes did not help me overcome my fears.  I failed high school Latin: the teacher gave me a D, when I promised to never take Latin again.  I struggled with seminary Greek and Hebrew, and after over twenty credit hours of each was still frightened to death; nowhere near attaining fluency.  I frankly don’t know how I passed.  My teachers must have realized that I was trying to do my best, and showed mercy.  Still, I wasn’t doing very well.  I’m not much better with English.  The only language where I am comfortable and fluent is algebra.  You may find it strange to see algebra referred to as a language: yet, in the world of engineering, mathematics, science, and technology, algebra, together with its higher related brothers and sisters, algebra is the language of preference.

You don’t need to attend seminary in order to study the Greek Bible.  You don’t need to go back to college.  You don’t need to spend a lot of money, especially not on expensive language courses.

What do you need to do?

†       You need to learn the Greek alphabet, or ἀλφάβητο.  Maybe you know it already.

†       You need to learn to say the Greek alphabet out loud.  If you have already learned the Erasmian pronunciation of Greek, you would be better off unlearning it.  The Erasmian pronunciation of Greek is wooden and artificial, it is a contrive scholar’s tool.  This is not how the Greeks speak Greek.  When you were a baby, you learned English, or whatever your first language was, simply by hearing sounds over and over again.  When your mom, dad, or other adult played with you, you saw the way their lips moved, how their throat mussels tightened and relaxed, and all the other ways that sounds and words are formed.  This baby experience is what we want to repeat as closely as possible.  The Greek pronunciation of Greek is graceful and fluid: this is what we want to learn.  There are several options.

†       Find a Greek friend and get them to teach you the Greek ἀλφάβητο the Greek way.  Or, go to a Greek Orthodox Church and ask if they have a Greek language class for children that you could attend.  Or, buy the beginner’s book and discs from Papaloizos Publications.[1]  Or, come to my house for study sessions.  Or I will look for a way to post the Greek ἀλφάβητο on the web.  Here is a place you can find help, but I suspect that it is wrong about Attic Greek.[2]

†       Say the Greek alphabet out loud several times a day.  You need to get used to hearing the sounds.  Even after you are very comfortable with the Greek alphabet you should still repeat it out loud once a day for at least a month.  After a month repeat the Greek alphabet out loud every once in a while, just for fun, or just to impress your friends, or possibly recruit them to all the fun you are having.  Learning a language is fun for a child: don’t lose that.

†       Sound out a simple Greek word out loud.  After a day or two you will know the Greek alphabet, you only need the repetition to imbed the knowledge and build confidence.  Take the word ἀλφάβητο for example.  Break it into syllables, ἀλ φά βη το, all pha vee toe.  Be sure to put the accent on the φά (pha or fa).  Wasn’t that easy.  Repeat out loud all the words you learn to say in the same way you are repeating the alphabet: several times a day for at least a week; once a day for a month; occasionally after that.  You do not need to learn what they mean.  A child learns many words before the understanding of meanings develops.  You can find Greek words to say in lots of places.  The place where you learned the alphabet is an excellent place to start.

†       As soon as you are comfortable breaking Greek words into syllables and sounding them out, you are ready for your first Greek New Testament.  Here is a free Greek New Testament.[3]  We are going to look up John 3:13-17 in the SBLGNT.  Don’t try to look up a whole book: settle for a chapter or two.  The Society of Biblical Literature Greek New Testament is only one of four Greek New Testaments available on Bible Gateway.  You can find the others by picking the pull down arrow just to the right of the red letters SBLGNT: but we are getting ahead of ourselves.  For now, we won’t worry about the fact that there are different editions or why.  For now, we are just starting to read.

†       Type John 3:13-17 into the first text box.

†       Press the tab key.

†       Type SB in the first text box.

†       Pick the yellow-orange square with the magnifying glass in it.

†       This is what your computer display should look like:

ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 3:13-17 SBL Greek New Testament (SBLGNT)

¹³ καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ^[a]ἀνθρώπου. ¹⁴ καὶ καθὼς Μωϋσῆς ὕψωσεν τὸν ὄφιν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, οὕτως ὑψωθῆναι δεῖ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ¹⁵ ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ^[b]ἐν αὐτῷ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.

¹⁶ Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον ὥστε τὸν ^[c]υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλὰ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον. ¹⁷ οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ^[d]υἱὸν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλ’ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος δι’ αὐτοῦ.

Footnotes:

a.     ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 3:13 ἀνθρώπου WH NIV ] + ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ Treg RP

b.     ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 3:15 ἐν αὐτῷ WH Treg NIV ] εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλ᾽ RP

c.      ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 3:16 υἱὸν WH NIV ] + αὐτοῦ Treg RP

d.     ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 3:17 υἱὸν WH NIV ] + αὐτοῦ Treg RP

SBL Greek New Testament (SBLGNT)

Scripture quotations marked SBLGNT are from the The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software

†       Now you can practice sounding out the Greek New Testament out loud: καὶ, k-e, ke, αὶ is a diphthong pronounced as a short e, your alphabet should have a section on Greek diphthongs and consonant blends; οὐδεὶς, ou th (the) iys, ou thiys, εὶ is a diphthong pronounced as a long e, ς tells you that it’s the end of the word; ἀναβέβηκεν, a na ve viy ken, ε is short e, η is long e; εἰς, iys.  If you pronounce Greek out loud several times a day for a week, and every day after that, you will soon become very comfortable with Greek and its sounds.

†       You are ready for your first Greek dictionary.  I recommend:
The Analytical Greek Lexicon (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1973 reprint)[4]  I cannot vouch for the updated versions.  This will be the only Greek Lexicon that you will be able to use profitably for some time.  You can start looking up words.  Keep notes, you will need them later.  Don’t try to memorize definitions though: remember that a child doesn’t work at this, a child just listens and looks; laughs and plays.
καὶ, conjunction, and.[5]
οὐδεὶς, no one or nothing.  The lexicon lets you know that this word has a bunch of forms that you don’t need to learn right now.  Eventually, you will also understand that this is a compound word, οὐδέ & εἷς, not & one.  Because one letter disappeared it is also a contraction, but it won’t be marked with an ’.  Finally, we remember that οὐδέ has two syllables οὐ δέ.
ἀναβέβηκεν, oops – it’s not there, Greeks have a bad habit of frequently dropping that last ν.  You will find ἀναβέβηκε on page 20 of the 1973 reprint.  It is a 3 pers. sing. perf. indic.  This means it is a third person singular perfect indicative.  Now it’s time to remember some English.  These are verb properties, so it’s a verb.  It doesn’t say otherwise, so it’s also active voice, not middle or passive.  It’s third person singular: he, she, or it.  It’s a perfect tense, which means that the action is completed.  It’s indicative, which means that it is a statement of fact.  If these grammatical definitions give you fits, you can look them up in Google and/or you can see what various translations did with the word.  On the far right it says id., which means identical or ditto.  Looking straight above we see the word ἀναβαίνω, so now we know that the word we are looking for is a form of ἀναβαίνω.  Now we look up ἀναβαίνω to learn that it means ascend or go up.  We learned all these things without touching a Greek grammar, or memorizing a bunch of complicated forms.  We can go as fast or as slow as we wish.
εἰς, into, into is a preposition in English so it must be a Greek preposition.

†       After you are comfortable with finding your way around The Analytical Greek Lexicon you are ready for another book:
Wigram, George V., The Englishman’s Greek Concordance of the New Testament, Ninth Edition (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1840, 1844, 1860, 1885 previous editions and notes, 1903, 1974 reprint).[6]

†       Now you can start looking up words in the Greek Concordance.
καὶ, oops – it’s not there, καὶ is too common a word for real concordance study.  However, there is a great article starting on page 12 in my appendix section.
οὐδεὶς, we’ve already discovered that εἷς means one, as in 1, 2, 3…, as we scan down the columns we see the interpretation, no man, over and over again, instead of the literal, no one.  Still, too many occurrences to study them all: thankfully, there is not a lot of variation.  We also remember from the lexicon that οὐδεὶς has other forms οὐδεὶς, οὐδεμία, οὐδέν: no one (masculine), no one (feminine), no one or nothing (neuter), respectively.  The three forms are a dead giveaway that οὐδεὶς is an adjective.  My lexicon has an article about adjectives in the front on page viii.  We don’t need all this information, we only need to recognize that this is an adjective that could refer to males, females, or inanimate objects.  Let’s just note a view places in John: John 1:18; 3:2, 13, 27, 32.
ἀναβέβηκεν, we will look up ἀναβαίνω, the basic word we found in the lexicon.  Wow, that sure is a funny looking β, it looks more like ϐ.  We look over all the references to get a feel for the work and keep notes on John 1:51(52); 2:13; 3:13, and any other place that looks interesting.  Later, if ἀναβαίνω turned out to be a really interesting word, we could use a few of these references in a Bible study, looking them up in ordinary English Bibles of any kind.
εἰς, well, what do you know, same spelling as εἷς: pay attention to punctuation.  John 3:4, 5, 13, 15.  Hmmm….  I made up my mind a long time ago that εἰς means into, so that these other translations need to be changed back to into, if I want to get the look and feel of the Greek word εἰς.  I wish that tactic worked all the time: sometimes it produces a really strange result.  If you decide that changes are necessary, test your decision by running your change against as many verses as you can.

†       If you keep this up, working out loud, you will be steadily building a vocabulary and even a feel for grammar without really killing yourself at it.  If you keep this up for four years, you’ll be ready to attend seminary, if that’s what you want, and get straight A’s in Greek.

†       After you’ve been doing this a while you’ll begin to catch errors in the lexicon and in the concordance; that’s cool, because you’ll appreciate how hard these authors had to work to give us a good lexicon and concordance, with so few mistakes.  You’ll also see words that are really old or have changed meaning completely; as in, “Nobody says that anymore,” or, “What?  How did bad turn out to mean good?”  Look up confusing old words with an on-line dictionary to find out what they used to mean, and what they mean now.  You can do this straight from an English Bible if you don’t want to learn Greek.  Then crack open an on-line thesaurus to find whatever you think the best modern word might be.  Finally, test the word of your choosing against every verse you can handle; especially, all the verses in your notes.  If it doesn’t work in every place, figure out why, or start over.  When you’ve found and tested a good fit, stick with it.

†       The results should look something like this:

The Gospel

John 3:13-17

“No man has ascended up to heaven, except He Who came down from heaven, even the Son of Man Who is in heaven.  As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of Man must be lifted up; so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life: for God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life: for God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world might be saved through Him.”

†       Here is another example from my study in Romans 1

The Epistle

Romans 1:1-7

₁ Παῦλος[7] δοῦλος[8] Χριστοῦ[9] Ἰησοῦ[10] [11], κλητὸς[12] ἀπόστολος[13], ἀφωρισμένος[14] εἰς[15] εὐαγγέλιον[16] Θεοῦ[17].  ₂ ὃ[18] προεπηγγείλατο[19] διὰ[20] τῶν προφητῶν[21] Αὐτοῦ[22] ἐν[23] Γραφαῖς[24] ἁγίαις[25], ₃ περὶ[26] τοῦ Υἱοῦ[27] Αὐτοῦ²², τοῦ γενομένου[28] ἐκ[29] σπέρματος[30] Δαυὶδ[31] κατὰ[32] σάρκα[33], ₄ τοῦ ὁρισθέντος[34] Υἱοῦ²⁷ Θεοῦ¹⁷ ἐν²³ δυνάμει[35] κατὰ³² Πνεῦμα[36] ἁγιωσύνης^{25 [37]} ἐξ²⁹ ἀναστάσεως[38] νεκρῶν[39], Ἰησοῦ¹⁰ Χριστοῦ⁹ τοῦ Κυρίου [40] ἡμῶν[41],[42] ₅ δι’²⁰ Οὗ¹⁸ ἐλάβομεν[43] χάριν[44] καὶ[45] ἀποστολὴν¹³ [46] εἰς¹⁵ ὑπακοὴν[47] πίστεως[48] ἐν²³ πᾶσιν[49] τοῖς ἔθνεσιν[50] ὑπὲρ[51] τοῦ ὀνόματος[52] Αὐτοῦ²², ₆ ἐν²³ Οἷς^{18 [53]} ἐστε[54] καὶ⁴⁵ ὑμεῖς[55] κλητοὶ¹² Ἰησοῦ¹⁰ Χριστοῦ⁹,

₇ πᾶσιν⁴⁹ τοῖς οὖσιν⁵⁴ ἐν²³ Ῥώμῃ[56] ἀγαπητοῖς[57] Θεοῦ¹⁷, κλητοῖς¹² ἁγίοις²⁵,

Χάρις⁴⁴ ὑμῖν⁵⁵ καὶ⁴⁵ εἰρήνη[58] ἀπὸ[59] Θεοῦ¹⁷ Πατρὸς[60] ἡμῶν⁴¹ καὶ⁴⁵ Κυρίου⁴⁰ Ἰησοῦ¹⁰ Χριστοῦ⁹.

The Epistle Translation

₁Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, a called Apostle, having been severed into God’s good message, ₂which He foretold through His prophets in sanctified writings,[61] ₃about His Son, having come from the seed of David according to the flesh, ₄being proclaimed the Son of God in [the] power of sanctification according to [the] Spirit, from [the] resurrection of [the] dead,[62] Jesus Christ our Lord.  ₅Through Whom we received joy[63] and apostleship for [the] heeding[64] of conviction in all the nations, on behalf of His name, ₆in Whom you all are also called by Jesus Christ,

₇To all being in Rome, beloved by God, called saints,

Joy to you all, and peace from God our Father and [our] Lord Jesus Christ.

[65]

---

[1] On YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uywlriZAP8&list= PL1CB0013B4A5C3EB3

On the web, http://www.greek123.com/, look for Ages 6 – Adult Level One.  Prices have gone up, sorry.  Put together a study group to defray the expenses.

[2] http://www.biblicalgreek.org/links/pronunciation.php

[3] https://www.biblegateway.com/  In the window that says, “Enter keyword, passage, or topic,” type in John 3:13-17, or copy and paste it from this line.  In the next window, type in SB: it will change to SBL Greek New Testament (SBLGNT).  Pick the yellow square with the magnifying glass in it.

[4] https://openlibrary.org/books/OL16579363M/The_analytical_Greek_lexicon

http://www.worldcat.org/title/analytical-greek-lexicon-revised/oclc/4082515

[5] You don’t need to know this yet, but καὶ or καί is a stop in Greek; it works like a stop in English: except English has so many (. ? ! , ; : - – —).  Here the καὶ tells us that a new sentence has begun that continues the thought of the previous sentence.  It’s better to leave it untranslated, finish the previous word with a punctuation mark (in this case a ?), and start the next word with a capital letter.

[6] My old reprint may not be available anymore.  Visit your local Christian bookstore, or try http://www.alibris.com/The-Englishmans-Greek-Concordance-of-the-New-Testament-George-V-Wigram/book/2066245.  I can’t guarantee that these are better, the same, or worse.  Good luck.  Also, if your old (70 and retired) minister is throwing books away, you may be able to get a copy for free.  Most ministers have and love their own libraries, so by all means, ask a minister.

[7] Παῦλος, masculine nominative singular noun, a proper name Παῦλος, ου, ὁ: Paul.  Acts, Chapters 13 through 28.  Peter, Philip, Stephen, and others dominate the first twelve chapters of Acts.  The last chapters of Acts read like a life history of Paul.

[8] Δοῦλος, masculine nominative singular adjective δοῦλος, ου, ὁ: servant, slave.  Romans 1:1; 6:16, 17, 20.  Slavery was certainly known in the first century; yet the cruelty of modern practice appears to be mostly unknown in the Bible; such cruelty was forbidden among the Jews.  The term slave of God refers to the prophetic office: a slave of God is a bearer of His Word.

[9] Χριστοῦ, masculine genitive singular titular adjective or noun χριστός, ου, ὁ from χρίω: to anoint; Χριστός: the Anointed, Christ, Messiah, the One, Who by anointing, is the designated king, priest, and prophet.  Romans 1:1, 3, 6, 7, 8; a total of 67 times in Romans, more than any book other than 1 Corinthians.

[10] Ἰησοῦ, masculine genitive singular noun, a proper name Ἰησοῦς, ου, ὁ: Jesus, Joshua; from Hebrew for Savior; in Greek, Σωτήρ.  Romans 1:1, 3, 6, 7, 8; a total of 38 times in Romans.

[11] Tregelles (1813-1875), and the NIV (1973-1978) have Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ; Westcott (1825-1901) and Hort (1828-1892); as well as Robinson (contemporary) and Pierpont (1915-2003) have Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.  The difference in word order between Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (B) and Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ (many other texts) is not significant.  The fact that the Alexandrian text type is divided indicates that this is a matter of local style.  Some cultures prefer last names first (Bond, James Bond), while other cultures prefer first names first (James Bond).  Similarly, some cultures prefer titles first (King Henry VIII), while other cultures prefer titles last (Henry VIII, King).  American Bibles should be translated Jesus Christ.  English readers may be more comfortable with Christ Jesus.  It is a local idiomatic issue, not a serious translatable difference.  The Byzantine text type simply preserves the style that was more popular in Byzantium, Constantinopolitan scholarly circles.

[12] Κλητὸς, κλητοὶ, κλητοῖς, masculine nominative singular, nominative plural, and dative plural (respectively) adjective κλητός, ή, όν from καλέω: to call; κλητός: one who is called or invited to official action, duty, position, or privilege; κλητοί: ones who are called; κλητοῖς: to the ones who are called.  Romans 1:1, 6, 7; 8:28.  This word, though sparsely used is fundamental to the argument of Romans.  Paul equates the calling of the laity in the congregation to his own calling as an Apostle.  All of the Romans are as much called as is Paul.  They may not have the full power of Paul’s prophetic office; but all are “δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ”.  All are πλήρειν σύν τοῖς “κλητοῖς ἁγίοις”, παθητοῖς, καὶ λατρείαις; all are to be filled with the calls: saints, sufferers, and service, the priestly service of worship.  It is extremely important that this fact be firmly established in the minds of Roman Christians before the corruption of Rome is addressed.  With this information the Roman Christians will be able to face the difficult conversation that follows and accept it for what it is: namely, tough love.  Romans is not a call to condemnation, but rather a call to repentance.  All believers are to understand that they are called by God to sainthood, suffering, and service; taking this call with all seriousness and sobriety.

[13] Ἀπόστολος, masculine nominative singular noun ἀπόστολος, ου, ὁ from ἀποστέλλω, a compound of ἀπο + στέλλω: to send far away; ἀπόστολος: an ambassador, Apostle.  Matthew 10:2; Mark 6:30; Luke 6:13; 9:10; 11:49; 17:5; 22:14; 24:10; John 13:16; Acts 14:4, 14; 15:2, 4, 6, 22, 23, 33; 16:4; Romans 1:1; 11:13; 16:7.

Ἀποστολὴν, feminine accusative singular noun ἀπόστολή, ῆς, ἡ, from ἀποστέλλω: to send; ἀπόστολή: an apostleship, expedition, mission, or sending.  Acts 1:25; Romans 1:5; 1 Corinthians 9:2; Galatians 2:8.

Paul is the thirteenth Apostle.  This presents a difficulty for some people; but Israel always had thirteen sons and thirteen tribes: for Israel adopted both of Joseph’s sons in Joseph’s place (Genesis 48:1-6).  The number thirteen is a curse to some people, but it is a blessing among the Jews.  All Christians are στέλλειν, to be sent; however, very few are ἀποστέλλειν, to be sent far away, cut off from family, friends, children, and even wives.

[14] Ἀφωρισμένος, perfect passive participle, masculine nominative singular from ἀφορίζω, a compound of ἀπό + ὁρίζω: to be far away from a boundary (horizon); ἀφορίζω: to be removed from one category or realm and placed in another category or realm, to be separated, or severed; implicitly: cut off, distinguished, excommunicated, ordained, selected, separated, set apart, severed; ἀφωρισμένος: having been severed.  Found only here in Romans, and ten times in the New Testament.  This word and its following phrase are adjectival, descriptive of what it means to be an Apostle, to be sent far away.  Paul is no longer the freeborn Jew, but the slave Apostle and evangelist of Christ; such is the true nature of ordination, a severing from ordinary life and society.  However, this is a distinguished ordination.  Not that Paul is naturally distinguished in his service; rather God and the gospel distinguish Paul in this service: it is a high honor to serve God and His gospel.  Nevertheless, Paul feels this severing intensely, and takes pains to bridge it in his brotherhood with the Romans.  Even so, the call to God’s service is a lonely life where God and His good message are one’s only constant companions and friends: as with the battle runners of old, only three things matter: the destination, the message, and the Sender.

[15] Εἰς, preposition of direction εἰς: into; implicitly: in, or unto; here with the connotation for the duty, love, purpose, service or slavery of….  However, none of these do justice to the word: Paul is severed from ordinary life and thrust into a life wherein the “εὐαγγέλιον Θεοῦ”, God’s good message becomes the center of life.  After the Damascus road, Paul can never be the same (Acts 9:1-30).  Romans 1:1, 5, 11, 16, 17, 20, 24, 25, 26, 26, 27, 28.

[16] Εὐαγγέλιον, εὐαγγελίῳ, neuter nominative or accusative singular and dative singular (respectively) noun εὐαγγέλιον, ου, το, a compound of εὖ + ἄγγελος: a good angel or messenger; εὐαγγέλιον: a good message or news, evangel, the gospel.  Romans 1:1, 9, 16; 2:16; 10:16; 11:28; 15:16, 19, 29; 16:25.

Εὐαγγελίσασθαι: aorist middle infinitive from εὐαγγελίζω: to address, bring, preach, proclaim, teach the good message; to good message; to evangelize.  Romans 1:15; 10:15, 15; 15:20.  Please note that Paul himself intends to evangelize a believing congregation, a congregation of colleagues and saints.  Obviously, evangelize has a broader meaning than we commonly give it; it needs to be applied to believers and unbelievers; it needs to be heard more than once.

[17] Θεός, Θεοῦ, Θεῷ, Θεόν, masculine nominative, genitive, dative, accusative (respectively) singular noun, more titular than a proper name Θεός, οῦ, ὁ or ἡ: God; from the Hebrew idea: one who leads or grants petitions, an angel, a judge, or ruler; from the Greek idea: a male or female idol; in the Bible: nearly always God, Yahweh, the Supreme Being, the uncreated and consubstantial Trinity; feminine only of idols or judges.  Romans 1:1, 4, 7, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17, 18, 19, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 28, 32, a total of 153 times in Romans, more than any book other than Acts.

[18] Ὅς, ἥ, ὃ, masculine, feminine, and neuter nominative singular (respectively); οὗ, masculine or neuter genitive singular (of); ᾧ masculine or neuter dative singular (to); ἣν, feminine accusative singular; ὅ, may also be neuter accusative singular; αἵ, feminine nominative plural; οἷς, masculine or neuter dative plural (to); the relative or interrogative pronoun ὅς, ἥ, ὅ: who, whom, whose, which, why.

Ὡς, adverb, conjunction, or particle from ὅς, ἥ, ὅ: how, why; correlative adverb: about, as, how, like, why; conjunction: how, that, when, why; exclamatory particle: how, why; explanatory particle: accordingly, how, provided that, why.

Romans 1:2, 5, 6, 9, 9, 20, 25, 26, 27.  The difficulty with translating ὅς is seen in the great variety of translation attempts: which (395/11), whom (262/25), that (129/9), who (84/10), whose (53/6), what (42/4), that which (20/1), whereof (13/0), the thing which (10/0), wherewith (9/0), he that (7/0), whereunto (6/0), when (6/0), those things which (5/1), wherein (4/0), and (4/0), such as (3/0), what things (3/0), and he (2/0), whence (2/0), things which (2/0), not translated (9/1), miscellaneous (46/4): the first numeral represents the number of a particular translation found the KJV New Testament; the second numeral represents the number of a particular translation found in Romans.

[19] Προεπηγγείλατο, aorist indicative active, third singular of προεπαγγέλλομαι, a compound of προ + ἐπί + ἀγγέλλομαι: to deliver a message or promise beforehand, to foretell or prophesy.  It is used only here in the New Testament.

[20] Δι’, διὰ, preposition δι’, διὰ: by or through, we prefer through to by; with the genitive, of immediate agency, causation, or instrumentality: by, through; with the accusative, of indirect or mediate agency, causation, or instrumentality emphasizing the result: by, on account of, because of, for the sake of, through, with a view to.  Romans 1:2, 5, 8, 12, 26.

[21] Προφητῶν, masculine genitive plural noun προφήτης, ου, ὁ: a prophet; τῶν προφητῶν: of the prophets; ὁ προφήτης: the prophets.  Romans 1:2; 3:21; 11:3.  Doubtless, Paul has the former and the latter prophets of the Old Testament in mind.  However, this knowledge is not necessary for the understanding of his Greek or Roman audience, since omen seeking was prevalent among them.  It is only necessary to support the force of “foretold” adequately.  The correction of any lingering superstitions may be corrected elsewhere, and later.  It is not necessary for a Greek or Roman to become a Jew.

[22] Αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό, masculine, feminine, and neuter nominative singular (respectively); αὐτοῦ, masculine or neuter genitive singular (of); αὐτῷ, masculine or neuter dative singular (to); αὐτὰ neuter nominative or accusative plural; αὐτῶν, genitive plural (of); αὐτοῖς, masculine or neuter dative plural (to); αὐτοὺς, masculine accusative plural; the third person personal pronoun αὐτός, ή, ό: he, she, it, his, hers, its, of him, of her, of it, to him, to her, to it, him, her, it, they, theirs, of them, to them, them.  Romans 1:2, 3, 5, 9, 17, 19, 19, 20, 20, 20, 21, 21, 24, 24, 24, 24, 26, 26, 27, 27, 28, 32.

Ἑαυτοῖς, masculine dative plural reflexive pronoun ἑαυτοῦ, ῆς, οῦ: themselves.  Romans 1:27.

We maintain that Greek αὐτός is never a reflexive pronoun; that the third person reflexive pronoun in Greek is invariably ἑαυτός, unused because it is impossible for the nominative in Greek or subjective in English to be reflexive: heself, sheself; only the objective ἑαυτοῦ may be reflexive: himself, herself, itself, themselves; sub ἑαυτοῦ.

If the personal pronoun has reflexive force in the opinion of the translator this will be indicated by [self] after the pronoun.  If the personal pronoun has demonstrative force in the opinion of the translator this will be indicated by [this, that, these, those] after the pronoun.

[23] Ἐν, preposition of condition, location, place, or position ἐν: in, among; occasionally with (accompaniment, instrument, or means).  Romans 1:2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10, 12, 12, 13, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 24, 25, 27, 27, 27, 28.

[24] Γραφαῖς, feminine dative plural noun γραφή, ῆς, ἡ: the scripture or writings, specifically the Old Testament.  Romans 1:2; 4:3; 9:17; 10:11; 11:2; 15:4; 16:26.  The Γραφαῖς are about or concerning the gospel found in the Old Testament, as well as the Old Testament itself, which is about God’s Son.  God’s Son is the One Who speaks in the Sh^əkinah.  God’s Son is the One Who fulfills what He foretold through His Prophets.  God’s Son is the One Who lives an exemplary life in perfect accord with what He spoke and fulfilled.

Γέγραπται,·perfect indicative passive, third singular of γράφω: to write; γέγραπται: (paying special attention to the rare perfect tense and the passive voice) he, she, or it stands written.  Romans 1:17; 2:24; 3:4, 10; 4:17, 23; 8:36; 9:13, 33; 10:5, 15; 11:8, 26; 12:19; 14:11; 15:3, 9, 15, 21; 16:22.  Evidently, Paul intends to inculcate the idea in Greco-Roman Christian thought that they must become as well acquainted with the Old Testament as any Jew.  In Chapter 1 this idea is rather subliminal, but the impact increases as Paul persists in making the point.

[25] Ἁγίοις, ἁγίαις, masculine and feminine dative plural (respectively) dative plural adjective ἅγιος, ία, ιον, related to ἁγιάζω: to distinguish, sanctify, set apart; ἅγιος: sanctified, set apart, set apart for service; substantive: saint; archaic: hallowed, holy, sacred, all of which imply piety or purity, which may or may not be part of the context.  Romans 1:2, 7; 5:5; 7:12, 12; 8:27; 9:1; 11:16, 16; 12:1, 13; 14:17; 15: 13, 16, 25, 26, 31; 16:2, 15, 16.

Ἁγιωσύνης, feminine genitive singular noun ἁγιωσύνη, ης, ἡ: sanctification, sanctity; archaic: holiness; modifying the feminine δυνάμει.  Romans 1:4; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Thessalonians 3:13.

[26] Περὶ, preposition περί: about, around; with the genitive, of place: about, around, concerning, respecting; with the accusative, of place: about, around; one’s circumstances, companions, conditions, environment, or time.  Romans 1:3; 8:3; 14:12; 15:14, 21.

[27] Υἱοῦ, masculine genitive singular noun υἱός, οῦ, ὁ: son, the Son.  Romans 1:3, 4, 9: 5:10; 8:3, 14, 19, 29, 32; 9:9, 26, 27.  The concept of son-ship is significant in Roman thought.  If Caesar were succeeded by an unrelated male, that male would be adopted and declared to be Caesar’s son.  Jesus’ credentials are extremely important in the Roman worldview.

[28] Γενομένου, aorist active participle, masculine genitive singular from γίνομαι: to come, be, become, born, be created, exist, grow, produce; γενομένου: coming, becoming, having come.  Romans 1:3; 2:25; 3:4, 6, 19, 31; 4:18; 6:2, 5, 15; 7:3, 3, 4, 7, 13, 13; 9:14, 29; 10:20; 11:1, 5, 6, 9, 11, 17, 25, 34..  The denotative or explicit meaning appears to be come; many other nuances develop in specific contexts into a wide variety of connotative or implicit meanings.  We think it best to stay as close to the explicit meaning as possible, letting the reader derive the more idiomatic ideas.

[29] Ἐκ, ἐξ, preposition of location or separation ἐκ before consonants, ἐξ before vowels: from; the Greek expression of the ablative; at, by, from, of, out of, with (instrumental).  Romans 1:3, 4, 17, 17.  Ἐκ, ἐξ emphasizes the source of the separation (they came from, coming from His presence), while ἀπό emphasizes the distance of separation (they are far apart from, cast away from His presence).

[30] Σπέρματος, neuter genitive singular σπέρμα, ατος, τό, from the verb σπείρω: to plant or sow seed; σπέρμα: seed.  Romans 1:3; 4:13, 16, 18; 9:7, 7, 8, 29; 11:1.  The scientific nature of seeds and sperm would not be understood for many centuries; here, [the] seed.

[31] Δαυὶδ, masculine nominative singular noun, a proper name Δαβίδ, Δαυΐδ: David.  Romans 1:3; 4:6; 11:9.  Spelled with a letter “b” in Hebrew, Dabid, but pronounced similarly to a letter “v”, except that the upper lip vibrates, rather than the lower lip.  Since this sound is very difficult for most Europeans to form, the “v” letter or sound is commonly substituted.  Also, the letter “d” is pronounced “th” as in the, not as in thin.  Note that the accent is over the “ι”, not over the “α”.  Thavíth or Thawíth, hence in English, David.

[32] Κατ᾽, κατὰ, preposition: κατ᾽, κατά: according to, below, beneath, down, under; with the genitive, down: down from, down over or throughout, down upon, concerning; with the accusative, of place: about, around, near, during (of time); to bow or be under authority.  Romans 1:3, 4, 14.  In accordance with or conformity to an established or set standard, especially when contrasted to παρά, which means beside, avoiding accordance and conformity, and therefore opposing that standard.

[33] Σάρκα, feminine accusative singular noun σάρξ, σαρκός, ἡ: flesh; by connotation: the seat of carnality, frailty, human weakness, passion, and sin in the body.  Romans 1:3; 2:28; 3:20; 4:1; 6:19; 7:5, 18, 25; 8:1, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 12, 13; 9:3, 5, 8; 11:14; 13:14.  Here, Paul has simply declared that Jesus has all the earthly physical credentials required for recognition as the Emperor, or King.  Later, he will have pause to devalue the earthly values of σάρξ.

[34] Ὁρισθέντος, aorist passive participle, masculine genitive singular from ὁρίζω: to set bounds, announce, appoint, constitute, declare, decree, define, fix, introduce, present, proclaim, settle, to set forth distinctively to resolve; being declared or proclaimed.  Found only here in Romans.  Moo contends sharply for designated as the explicit meaning of ὁρισθέντος (page 47f).  This puts a lot of weight on seven instances, only to end in the same place.  This certainly does fulfill Psalm 2, and refers to the coronation of Jesus, performed by the Holy Ghost on Pentecost, 33 AD (Acts 2).  We think that the idea of proclamation captures this idea best.  Christ, having fulfilled His earthly mission, now as a battle tested hero and warrior, returns to His kingdom to receive the Crown and Glory that are rightfully His.  In the Roman worldview, the True Caesar of all, has returned from His many campaigns to be proclaimed Emperor and King.

[35] Δύναμις, δυνάμει, feminine nominative and dative (respectively) singular noun δύναμις, εως, ἡ, from δύναμαι: to be able or powerful; δύναμις: ability, power, strong; strength.  Romans 1:4, 16, 20; 8:38; 9:17; 15:13, 19.

[36] Πνεῦμα, πνεύματί, neuter nominative or accusative and masculine dative (respectively) singular noun πνεῦμα, ατος, το, from πνέω: to blow (denoted) or breathe (implied); πνεῦμα: breath, spirit, either the divine or the human spirit.  Romans 1:4, 9; 2:29; 5:5; 7:6; 8:1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 9, 10, 11, 11, 13, 14, 15, 15, 16, 16, 23, 26, 26, 27; 9:1; 11:8; 12:11; 14:17; 15:13, 16, 19, 30.  Some of the connotative meanings include aroma, aromatic, essence, or wind.  When used as the proper name of divine spirit we prefer the term, Holy Ghost, because it emphasizes His person; however, Holy Spirit is also acceptable.

Πνευματικὸν, neuter nominative or accusative singular adjective πνευματικός, ή, όν, from πνέω: to blow (denoted) or breathe (implied); πνευματικός: the nature of an object as being part of the spiritual reality, not part of the physical reality, the spiritual realm.  Romans 1:11; 7:14; 15:27.  Paul intends to share more than his mere presence or words; he intends to deepen the indwelling relationship of God in their lives: the depth to which Scripture cuts the heart, spiritual.

[37] If we see, “ἐν δυνάμει κατὰ Πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης,” as the whole prepositional phrase, which it is, then most of Moo’s concerns (page 49f) fade away.  Translators are overly swayed by the word order, “in power, according to [the] Spirit, of sanctification.”  We may translate in sequence: however, both δυνάμει and ἁγιωσύνης are feminine, while Πνεῦμα is neuter accusative following κατὰ.  It seems strange in English to disrupt a phrase in its middle with another phrase; but this is a perfectly normal means of expression in Greek.  On the other hand, since ἁγιωσύνης is genitive, this is not necessarily the case.  Nevertheless, Paul was perfectly capable of using ἁγίου, had that been his intent.  When δυνάμει and ἁγιωσύνης are more closely associated, as they may be in English, the translation becomes, “in [the] power of sanctification according to [the] Spirit.”  It is precisely the “power of sanctification” which the Holy Ghost brings to the table: first, He sets Christ apart as the enthroned King of All; the, He sets us apart, in Christ, as both body and bride to do the will of God in this world.

[38] Ἀναστάσεως, feminine genitive singular noun ἀνάστασις, εως, ἡ, from ἀνίστημι: to cause to raise, rise, or stand; ἀνάστασις: resurrection.  Romans 1:4; 6:5.

[39] Νεκρῶν, genitive plural adjective νεκρός, ά, όν: dead; substantively: as the class or place of the dead.  Romans 1:4; 4:17, 24; 6:4, 9, 11, 13; 7:4, 8; 8:10, 11; 10:7, 9; 11:15; 14:9.  Christ’s resurrection from the dead is intimately related to His Coronation.

[40] Κυρίου, masculine genitive singular titular noun κύριος κύριος, ίου, ὁ: lord or master; closely related to κυρία, ας, ἡ: lady.  Here, it refers to the Lord.  Romans 1:4, 7, 4:8, 24; 5:1, 11, 21; 6:11, 23; 7:25; 8:39; 9:28, 29; 10:9, 12, 13, 16; 11:3, 34; 12:19; 13:14; 14:4, 6, 6, 6, 6, 8, 8, 8, 11, 14; 15:6, 11, 30; 16:2, 8, 11, 12, 12, 13, 18, 20, 22, 24.

[41] Ἐμοῦ or μου, ἐμὲ, ἡμῶν, genitive singular, accusative singular, genitive plural (respectively) first person personal pronoun ἐγώ: I, my or mine, me, we, our or ours, us.  Romans 1:4, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10, 12, 15.

[42] Paul has now declared that Jesus has all the heavenly spiritual credentials required for recognition as the Emperor, or King of All.  The Father’s royal ambassador, the Holy Ghost will proceed to carry out the divine plan and will on earth.  Again, in the Roman mindset, this is an extremely important point, for Roman Emperors were commonly considered to be gods.  Confirmation in the superiority of Jesus is essential for the Roman audience.

[43] Ἐλάβομεν, aorist indicative active, first plural of λαμβάνω: to take, in this context to receive.  Romans 1:5; 4:11; 5:11, 17; 7:8, 11; 8:15, 15; 13:2.

Ἀπολαμβάνοντες, present active participle, masculine nominative plural from ἀπολαμβάνω, a compound of ἀπό + λαμβάνω: to take away.  Romans 1:27.

[44] Χάρις, χάριν, feminine nominative and accusative singular (respectively) noun χάρις, ιτος, ἡ, from χαίρω: to cause joy, to rejoice; χάρις: joy which is shown; connotatively: beauty, charm, gracefulness, grace.  Romans 1:5, 7; 3:24; 4:4, 16; 5:2, 15, 17, 20, 21; 6:1, 14, 15, 17; 11:5, 6, 6; 12:3, 6; 15:15; 16:20, 24.

Χάρισμα, neuter nominative or accusative singular noun χάρισμα, ατος, το, from χαίρω: to cause joy, to rejoice; χάρισμα: joy which is received; connotatively:  beauty, charm, gracefulness, joy, grace, a gift.  Romans 1:11; 5:15, 16; 6:23; 11:29; 12:6.

As we seek more technical meanings for this cognate family of words we unfortunately stray farther and farther away from the denotative, explicit root meaning of joy.  Paul intends to impart joy.

[45] Καὶ, continuative conjunction καί: and, but, also, even, too, as well; continuing the previous phrase or sentence; connecting two words, connecting a series; coordinating with both … and (τε καὶ, invariably with postpositive τε); emphasizing or marking additional information (also, as well, too); concessive in the prior clause to a contrast with even though … even so, or and … but (καί (with a negative) … ἀλλὰ).  Romans 1:5, 6, 7, 7, 12, 13, 13, 13, 14, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 23, 23, 23, 25, 25, 27, 27, 28, 32.

Καί has two main functions in both Greek and Hebrew: it both connects and divides at the same time.  Since the original text is most likely neither punctuated, nor even separated into words: how did the reader know what to read or when to pause?  Since sentences frequently begin with καί; καί may indicate a full stop: both the beginning of a new sentence and the period at the end of the old sentence: it is not usually necessary to translate this sort of καί.  Καί may also connect and divide in a partial stop, a comma, between items in a series.  This process of connecting and dividing takes on other significance when melded with other conjunctions.  To the Greek ear, these are simply so many ands.  Yet the English ear expects more elaboration: this elaboration must be drawn from the context.  This flexibility and variety make καί into a very profound concept: one we take for granted.

[46] Moo (page 51) pursues the editorial “we” in verse 5, as well as the idea that Paul writes of the grace of apostleship.  We are compelled to reject both ideas.

First, there is little difference between an apostle and an ambassador.  An apostle speaks on behalf of another, the Triune God, the Jerusalem Council, all the other apostles, who are equally committed to speak with one voice.  It is impossible that an apostle speak for himself, arrogating personal authority with the editorial “we”.  Second, χάριν and ἀποστολὴν are separated by καὶ, indicating the relationship of distinct items of similar weight: a two member series.  In any case, Paul knew how to write χάριν ἀποστολῆς, the joy of apostleship, and chose not to do so.

[47] Ὑπακοὴν, feminine accusative singular noun ὑπακοή, ῆς, ἡ, from ὑπακούω, a compound of ὑπό + ἀκούω: to hear under, hear in subjection, hear and act, to heed; ὑπακοή: there are no English substantive equivalents, obedience is close.  However, this is not about blind rote obedience; this is about the sort of obedience that hears and acts in faith and love.  Romans 1:5; 5:19; 6:16, 16; 15:18; 16:19, 26.

[48] Πίστις, πίστεως, πίστιν, feminine nominative, genitive, and accusative (respectively) singular noun πίστις, εως, ἡ, from πείθω: to convince, persuade from the force of experience or life; πίστις: the confidence, commitment, conviction, and persuasion that derive from concrete reality, experience, pain and pleasure, rigor and satisfaction; connotatively: assurance, belief, confidence, faith, trust in a demonstrated and tested reality.  Romans 1:5, 8, 12, 17, 17, 17.

Πιστεύοντι, present active participle, masculine dative singular from πιστεύω (also sub also from πείθω): to be convinced or persuaded; πιστεύοντι: being convinced or persuaded.  Romans 1:16.

The classical theological definition, “πίστις notitia, assensus, and fiducia est,” tends to obscure, rather than clarify the heart meaning of the word.  Even if fiducia is replaced with obedience, the force of persuasion from experience is still lost.  Here is a different opinion: http://theology.shawndumas.com/2008/02/what-is-faith-is-faith-same-thing-as.html.

[49] Παντὶ, πάσῃ, πᾶσαν, πάντων, πᾶσιν, masculine or neuter dative singular, feminine dative singular, feminine accusative singular, masculine and neuter genitive plural, masculine or neuter dative plural (respectively) adjective πᾶς, πᾶσα, πᾶν: all, connotatively: the whole, every one, man, woman, or thing.  Romans 1:5, 7, 8, 16, 18, 29.

Πάντοτε, adverb from πᾶς, πᾶσα, πᾶν: always.  Romans 1:10.

[50] Ἔθνεσιν, neuter dative plural noun ἔθνος, εος, τό: nations or peoples.  The Hebrew idea would be derogatory, the gentiles, the equivalent of dogs and hogs.  It is dubious that the Greeks and Romans would use the term in such a manner.  The Roman practice was to gather all nations under one legal umbrella of peace, a fellow-citizenry.  Paul goes to extreme lengths to embrace the Romans as brothers and officially called fellow-workers: he has nothing to gain, and everything to lose by even letting his thoughts stray into the pejorative.  Romans 1:5, 13.  Moo’s support of the translation “Gentiles” contradicts common sense and good reason (page 53).

[51] Ὑπὲρ, preposition ὑπέρ: hyper, super; with the genitive of place: above, over, on behalf of; with the accusative of place: beyond, more than, over, super.  Romans 1:5, 8 (See note 61.); 5:6, 7, 7, 8; 8:26, 27, 31, 32, 34; 9:3, 27; 10:1; 14:15; 15:8, 9, 30; 16:4.

[52] Ὀνόματος, neuter genitive singular noun ὄνομα, ατος, τό: a name, a proper name.  Romans 1:5; 2:24; 9:17; 10:13; 15:9.  Usually referring to the sacred Name of God, Yahweh, Yehoshua, or Yeshua.  The Roman hearer would understand Θεός, Ἰησοῦς, or one of the titles associated with them, titles which Paul has used thus far.

[53] It is unnecessary to connect Οἷς to ἔθνεσιν, as Moo suggests (page 53f), simply because both are dative.  The preposition ἐν requires an objective form.  The dative provides the force of the indirect object.  It is true that they were called in the condition of being gentiles: but they are no longer in that condition.  Now they are in ὀνόματος Αὐτοῦ.  The act of calling severs one relationship, replacing it with a complete new relationship.  The verb is in the present tense, indicating a distinct preference for the new relationship.  In a few verses, Paul will prove that The Church is the true Israel of God.

[54] Εἰμί, ἐστιν, ἐστε, εἰσίν, present indicative active, first singular, third singular, second plural, third plural (respectively) of εἰμί: to be; εἰμί: I am; ἐστιν: he, she, or it is; ἐστε: you are all; εἰσίν: they are.  Romans 1:6, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 25, 32; 2:2, 11, 28; 3:8, 10, 11, 12, 18, 22; 4:15, 16, 21; 5:14; 6:14, 16; 7:3, 14, 14; 8:9, 9, 24, 34; 9:2; 10:1, 8, 12; 11:1, 6, 13, 23; 13:1, 4, 4; 14:4, 7, 23; 15:14; 16:5.

Εἶναι, present active infinitive of εἰμί: to be.  Romans 1:20, 22; 2:19; 3:9, 26; 4:11, 13, 16; 6:11; 7:3; 8:29; 9:3; 14:14; 15:16; 16:19.

Οὖσιν, present active participle, masculine or neuter dative plural from εἰμί: to be; οὖσιν: to the ones being.  Romans 1:7.

[55] Ὑμεῖς, ὑμῶν, ὑμῖν, ὑμᾶς, nominative plural, genitive plural, dative plural, accusative plural (respectively) personal pronoun σύ, σοῦ, σοῦ: you; ὑμεῖς you all (subject), frequently redundant and emphatic; ὑμῶν: of you all, or all of yours; ὑμῖν: to or with you all; ὑμᾶς: you all (object).  Romans 1:6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11, 11, 12, 12, 13, 13, 13, 15.

[56] Ῥώμῃ, feminine dative singular noun, an ethnic, geographic, or national name Ῥώμη, ης, ἡ: Rome.  Romans 1:7, 15.

[57] Ἀγαπητοῖς, masculine dative plural adjective ἀγαπητός, ή, ό from ἀγαπάω: to love; ἀγαπητός: beloved.  Romans 1:7; 11:28; 12:19; 16:5, 8, 9, 12.

[58] Εἰρήνη, feminine nominative singular noun εἰρήνη, ης, ἡ: peace.  Romans 1:7; 2:10; 3:17; 5:1; 8:6; 10:15; 14:17, 19; 15:13, 33; 16:20.

[59] Ἀπ’, ἀπό, preposition of departure or distance, similar to and synonymous with ἐκ, ἐξ: the Greek expression of the ablative; at, by, from, of, out of, with (instrumental).  Romans 1:7, 18, 20.  Ἀπό emphasizes the distance of separation (they are far apart from, cast away from His presence), while ἐκ, ἐξ emphasizes the source of the separation (they came from, coming from His presence).

[60] Πατρὸς, masculine genitive singular titular noun πατήρ, τέρος, τρός, ὁ: father; here, the Father, the first person of the Trinity.  Romans 1:7; 4:1, 11, 12, 12, 16, 17, 18; 6:4; 8:15; 9:5, 10; 11:28; 15:6, 8.

[61] We understand this to mean the Old Testament Scripture, but such wisdom may have escaped the average Greek or Latin listener.  Paul is making a friendly point, not sharpening an axe.

[62] The power of resurrection declared by the Holy Ghost on the day or Pentecost in 33 AD.  Jesus is resurrected (singular) from among the dead (plural).  However, in conquering death by death He is bringing about the eventual resurrection of all; some of whom follow Him and walk about Jerusalem in the flesh in 33 AD.

[63] Joy

[64] Obedience is too strong a translation; hearing is too weak a translation.

[65] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.  No rights are reserved.  They are designed and intended for your free participation.  They were freely received, and are freely given.  No other permission is required for their use.