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The Logos Academic Blog

Why Verbal Aspect Improves Preaching, Part 1: Apprehension

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by Donald C. McIntyre

Verbal Aspect is Critical to an Accurate Apprehension of the Text

Verbal aspect theory arose to prominence in 1989 and 1990 with the simultaneous work of Stanley Porter and Buist Fanning, who both sought to show how linguistics could further effect exegesis of the Greek New Testament (GNT).1 Upon the publication of the dissertations, a debate sprang forth between the two views, with Dr. Fanning’s views being more conservative to previous methods, and Dr. Porter’s being a hard break from previous grammatical theory. Thirty years later, their works are still cited in all relevant works on the subject.

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Understanding Those Strange Relatives (the Koine Greek kind)

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Image source: Hector Abouid, Flickr

Logos Bible Software Helps You Recognize Grammatical Dependence in Biblical Discourse

Relative pronouns are one of those unglamorous grammatical concepts you likely learned about and filed away into long-term memory. Greek pronouns like ὅς (hos; which, who) introduce a phrase or clause that modifies another phrase or clause. These pronouns tend to restrict the potential scope of meaning, clarifying whatever the speaker or writer is talking about. But paying attention to these basic details can pay huge exegetical dividends when it comes to interpreting the strange roles they can play in discourse.

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