Biblical Readings 8.1

Note: There is a printable version of this reading in the "printables" tab to the right.

For each of the following Greek sentences: 

1). Read it aloud. 

2). Parse each verb and noun (gender, number, and case). 

3). Translate each sentence into English.

1. God calls out to Adam in the Garden of Eden:

ποῦ εἶ;

Adam responds in part:

γυμνός εἰμι

LXX Gen. 3:9

2. King David, after putting down a rebellion by his son Absalom, who died in the fighting, is in mourning. Joab, nephew to David, chastises him, saying that such grief disrespects those who serve in David’s loyal army. It sends the message, Joab says, that…:

οὔκ εἰσιν οἱ ἄρχοντές σου οὐδὲ παῖδες

LXX 2 Kings 19:7

3. After suffering much at Satan’s hands, Job is visited by friends who seek to reassure him of God’s justice. At one point, Job throws one of his friends’ own questions back at him:

Ποῦ ἐστιν οἶκος ἄρχοντος;

LXX Job 21:28

4. The prophet Isaiah imagines an appeal in the face of God’s wrath:

Σὺ μόνος εἶ ἄρχων

LXX Is. 10:8

5. In the Maccabean revolt, Jews rebelled against persecution by King Antiochus IV. At one point, royal forces attack a group of rebels and challenge them to repent and surrender. The rebels refuse, saying in part:

ἀκρίτως ἀπόλλυτε ἡμᾶς.

LXX 1 Maccabees 2:37

6. And now a sentence from the New Testament. As Jesus teaches in Jerusalem, some wonder about his claims and how it is that he is allowed to preach openly at the temple:

ἀληθῶς ἔγνωσαν οἱ ἄρχοντες ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός;

          κατὰ Ἰωάννην 7:26

7. In addition to scripture, a wide range of related writings were popular with early Christians and these circulated in a range of languages, especially Greek. Among these writings were romantic stories about an early Christian named Clement. While there were multiple historically important men named Clement in the early Christian church, these stories focus on a Clement who travelled with the apostle Peter. The Clementine Homilies is a collection of such stories.

The Clementine Homilies includes an extended version of the conflict between the apostle Peter and Simon Magus (cf. Acts 8:9-24). Peter wins over one of Simon’s disciples, Zacchaeus, and makes him bishop of Caeserea. As part of the process of installing Zacchaeus, Peter prays to God:

σὺ γὰρ ἄρχων ἀρχόντων [εἶ]

Homily 3 72.3