An Idiom Book of New Testament Greek

by C.F.D. Moule

The student or translator of the New Testament will often find difficulties which can only be solved by considering the syntax of the passage concerned. Professor Moule here provides a reference book which gives guidance on such problems of exegesis. It is a work which presupposes a knowledge of Greek and makes frequent allusions to the standard works; it is intended primarily for theological students. After an introductory section on 'The Language of the New Testament' Professor Moule considers in turn particular syntactical divisions (tenses, moods, voices, cases), certain parts of speech and types of clauses, and idiosyncrasies in usage. The last four chapters are 'The order of words', 'Semitisms', 'Latinisms', and 'Miscellaneous notes on style'. In each section New Testament usages are defined and distinguished. A number of examples of each type of problem are discussed. They were chosen as being sufficiently representative to provide a guide to the treatment of similar difficulties.

Genres: Linguistics, Language

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful for some practice and interesting notes on Greel idioms, but wildly uneven in formatting and presentation. Sometimes he translated to highlight nuance and provided comments, other times, he simply presents untranslated sentences with no comment. He assumes knowledge of Hebrew script most of the time, and then a few places have transliterations. This would have been more helpful if the presentation was done in a more consistent manner.

[Emil Avedisian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I began reading this book after finishing all the basic Greek grammar. A friend who does not know Greek found it at her church and gave it to me. It was very hard for me to read and make sense of most of it.
After studying a syntax textbook, things began to make more sense!
In conclusion, the level of this book is somewhere between intermediate and advanced. But the style is still old and full of Latin phrases and references to the Latin language which most contemporary grammar and syntax texts avoid.