Greek I; Lesson 25

John 3:1

Ἦν δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τῶν Φαρισαίων, Νικόδημος ὄνομα αὐτῷ, ἄρχων τῶν Ἰουδαίων·

  • ἄρχων looks genitive plural but it actually is nominative singular (cf. MBG p. 196). With what is it in apposition?
  • Ἰουδαίων is a genitive of subordination (GGBB p. 103).

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John 3:2

οὗτος ἦλθεν πρὸς αὐτὸν νυκτὸς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ῥαββί, οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἐλήλυθας διδάσκαλος· οὐδεὶς γὰρ δύναται ταῦτα τὰ σημεῖα ποιεῖν ἃ σὺ ποιεὶς, ἐὰν μὴ ᾖ ὁ θεὸς μετ’ αὐτοῦ.

  • νυκτὸς is a genitive of time (GGBB p. 122).
  • What case is ῥαββί?
  • ἐὰν μή is an idiom meaning “unless…”

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οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἐλήλυθας διδάσκαλος
There are two ellipses in this speech of Nicodemus.

  • You need to assume ει in, “we know that [you are] a teacher…”
  • You need to assume a relative pronoun “…[who] has come from God.”

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ὅτι ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἐλήλυθας διδάσκαλος

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John 3:3

ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν, οὐ δύναται ἰδεῖν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ.

Evolution of γεννηθῇ:

γεννα-          stem
εγεννα          no augment in subjunctive mood (principle 13)
γενναθη         tense formative
γεννηθη         principle 12
γεννηθηη         lengthened connecting vowel for subjunctive
γεννηθηηι         add the verb ending
γεννηθηι            contraction (BBG p. 343)
γεννηθ            the iota subscripts

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John 3:4

λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Νικόδημος· πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος γεννηθῆναι γέρων ὤν; μὴ δύναται εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν καὶ γεννηθῆναι;.

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John 3:5

ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς· ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος οὐ δύναται εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ.

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John 3:6

τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς σάρξ ἐστιν καὶ τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος πνεῦμα ἐστιν.

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John 3:7

μὴ θαυμάσῃς ὅτι εἶπον σοι· δεῖ ὑμᾶς γεννηθῆναι ἄνωθεν.

  • Why μὴ here?
  • How do you know that θαυμάσῃς is subjunctive?
  • The subjunctive is here used as a prohibition (BBG 33.18.4).

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John 3:8

τὸ πνεῦμα ὅπου θέλει πνεῖ καὶ τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ ἀκούεις, ἀλλ’ οὐκ οἶδας πόθεν ἔρχεται καὶ ποῦ ὑπάγει· οὕτως ἐστὶν πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ πνεὐματος.

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John 3:10

ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καῖ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· σὺ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ταῦτα οὐ γινώσκεις;

Note what RWP says about the articles in this verse.

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