Acts 1:17, part 1: a hapax legomenon

Even though Acts 1:17 is a short verse we'll cover it in two posts, looking at the verb forms κατηριθμημένος and ἔλαχεν in more detail. 

ὅτι κατηριθμημένος ἦν ἐν ἡμῖν καὶ ἔλαχεν τὸν κλῆρον τῆς διακονίας ταύτης

for numbered he was among us, and he obtained a share of this ministry

From the previous verses we know that it is Peter speaking, and that the subject here is Judas Iscariot.

Κατηριθμημένος

Κατηριθμημένος is a hapax legomenon.  It is the masculine singular nominative, perfect middle/passive participle, of the verb καταριθμέω - 'I number among'.  

Acts 1:16

 Ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί, ἔδει πληρωθῆναι τὴν γραφὴν ταύτην, ἣν προεῖπεν τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον διὰ στόματος Δαυὶδ περὶ Ἰούδα, τοῦ γενομένου ὁδηγοῦ τοῖς συλλαβοῦσιν τὸν Ἰησοῦν.

Men, brethren, it was necessary for this Scripture to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David concerning Judas, the one becoming a guide to the ones arresting Jesus.

The verse begins with a capitalized Ἄνδρες, as a convention for reporting direct speech (Peter is speaking, from verse 15).

New version of '101 Quizzes in NT Greek' now available

This is a new version of the original '101 Quizzes'.  The original (still available) has the answer key on the page facing the quiz.

This alternate edition has the answer key on the back of the quiz page.

Click here ➤    Alternate edition of '101 Quizzes in NT Greek'

The noun όνομα, 'name'

If you look up the etymology of the English word 'name', you'll probably find it given a Germanic or Old English origin, but its roots go much deeper, to the proto-Indo-European no-men-.

No-men-, in turn, gives us everything from the Sanskrit nama, to the Latin nomen, to the Greek /ὄνομα.

Ὄνομα has been used from Homer down, and is still in use (without the breathing

Mea culpa: answers to comments

[UPDATE:  New edition of '101 Quizzes in New Testament Greek' is now available!]

My sincere, and highly chagrined, apologies to several people who have left comments, and - because of an unanticipated technical glitch - did not receive a reply.  Due to the glitch, I can no longer directly access your comments to reply, but will reply below:

1  Question from Nicky on the use of ἰδίαν in the New Testament. Why is the accusative feminine singular ending used when (in, for example, Matt 14:13) it seems to be referring to Jesus? 

The first part of Matthew 14:13 reads as follows:

Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀνεχώρησεν ἐκεῖθεν ἐν πλοίῳ εἰς ἔρημον τόπον κατ’ ἰδίαν

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself

Κατ' ἰδίαν seems to correspond to 'by himself', but it is an idiomatic shortening for κατ' ἰδίαν χώραν - something like - "to his own place", "to his private place".  The feminine ending agrees with the (understood) feminine noun χώραν. 

2  Question from Aaron on "101 Quizzes in New Testament Greek", and whether it is possible to get copies with the answer keys on the back of each quiz page.  

I should still be able to do this.  I will check and get back to you.

Thanks, everyone, and again - I'm very sorry for the delayed replies.

A new verb conjugation resource

Thomas Lorenz has added a conjugation chart to his website, and promises that more is to come.  See it here:

Conjugation chart

I will note that the verbs are written entirely in upper case, and use the lunate ('C-shaped') sigma.

  Welcome to the new Workbooks website:

www.koineworkbook.com

Posts from the older wordpress site can still be accessed: click on the Codex Sinaiticus snip, down and to your right, below.

Newer posts will show up on the blog archive for this site, also to your right.

Comments are now enabled!  You can comment or ask questions; scroll down to the bottom of any post.  If you don't see the comments box, click on 'no comments', which should bring it up. 

The verb ἀνίστημι: transitive or intransitive? Active? Middle?

It helps to understand the difference between a transitive and intransitive verb: this difference exists in both Greek and English.

1  A transitive verb does not make sense without a direct object.

I saw the tiger.   The child broke the vase.  

He opened the door.

Acts 1:15

καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ταύταις ἀναστὰς Πέτρος ἐν μέσῳ τῶν μαθητῶν εἶπεν· ἦν τε ὄχλος ὀνομάτων ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ὡς ἑκατὸν εἴκοσιν·

At that time, Peter got up among the disciples (there were about 120 people present) and said -  (NIV)

This verse is confusing for a couple reasons. 

First, because it is incomplete without verse 16.  (Sometimes one wonders at the verse choices made by early editors.  Admittedly, 15 and 16 together would be quite long.)