GREEK NOUNS
It is important to understand what the case of each Greek noun indicates.
A noun in the Greek language is viewed just like the English noun. But because Greek is a highly inflected language (i.e. the form of words change to indicate the role each word plays in the sentence), a noun changes forms based upon its relationship to other words and how it functions in the sentence. The stem of the noun contains the basic meaning of the noun, but a suffix is added to indicate the noun’s role in the sentence. The endings are changed according to certain patterns, or ‘declensions’, that indicate what is the number, case, and gender of the noun form. To "decline" a noun means to analyze it and break it down into its basic parts according to number, gender, and case - see below. ('Declension' is a subset of the broader term 'inflection', in that it only refers to nouns and pronouns, not to verbs. There are a number of different patterns in which nouns decline; these patterns are referred to as 'paradigms'.)
I. Grammatical Number of Nouns
Number can either be singular or plural. A noun that is in a singular form indicates "only one". A noun that is in the plural form indicates "more than one." In English, most nouns change forms depending on whether it is singular or plural. However, some nouns and pronouns do not change form for singular or plural; e.g. "you" - singular, and "you" - plural. The Greek language always makes a distinction between singular and plural forms.
II. Grammatical Gender of Nouns
Gender, as it relates to nouns and other substantives in the Greek language,
does not necessarily refer to "male" and "female". It refers to grammatical
gender, which is determined purely by grammatical usage and must be learned by
observation. Although nouns referring to people or animals that are obviously
"male" or "female" would normally (but not always) be classified as masculine or
feminine accordingly, the gender of most nouns seems to be somewhat arbitrary.
Every noun must fall into one of three categories of gender: masculine,
feminine, or neuter. The fact of gender, when considering a word
in isolation, is of little importance to the student of the Greek New Testament.
But in analyzing a sentence as a whole, gender may play a key role, especially
when considered along with the adjectives, pronouns , and relative clauses that
may be present. Taking note of the gender may alter altogether what a sentence
may seem to be saying in English.
For example: "And receive...the sword of the spirit which is the word of God"(
Eph 6:17). The word "sword" in Greek is feminine gender and the word "spirit" is
neuter gender. So it is important in this sentence to find out what is the
antecedent of the relative pronoun "which". (i.e. What is the "which" referring
back to?) The word "which" in this sentence is neuter, therefore it is referring
back to the word "spirit" and not "sword." Thus this sentence means: "And
receive...the sword of the spirit which (spirit) is the word of God."
III. Noun Cases
The term "case" relates to substantives ( nouns and pronouns ) and adjectives (including participles). It classifies their relationship to other elements in the .sentence Noun cases are formed by putting the ‘stem’ of the noun with an ‘ending’. The case form is shown by the ending of the word. There are four different case forms in Greek. The four cases are Nominative, Genitive, Dative and Accusative . Following is a discussion of these four different cases. There is another case not included in the four main noun cases because it is so closely related to the nominative: the Vocative. (Note that in the following definition of each noun case, it only refers to nouns which are not in . When a noun is the object of a preposition, the preposition usually dictates the case of the noun).
Nominative Case
A noun or pronoun that is the subject of the sentence is
always in the nominative case. Likewise a noun that is in the predicate part of
a sentence containing a linking verb should also be in the nominative case.
For example: "Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her" (Eph 5:25). The
word "Christ" is in the nominative case in Greek and is therefore the subject of
this sentence.
Galatians 5:22 says: "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, ..." As the subject of the sentence, the Greek word for
"fruit" is in the nominative case. Likewise the words in the predicate part of
the sentence, that are equated to "fruit" by the "is", are also in the
nominative case in Greek.
Genitive Case
For the most part, the genitive is often viewed as the case of possession.
In more technical terms one noun in the genitive case helps to qualify another
noun by showing its "class" or "kind". The genitive case has more uses than most
other cases, but in general a noun in the genitive case helps to limit the scope
of another noun by indicating its "kind" or "class". It is generally translated
into English with a prepositional phrase starting with the word "of". The most
common use of the genitive is to show possession (although it does not
necessarily indicate actual, literal ownership).
For instance: "the servant of the high priest" (Mark 14:47). The words
"of the high priest" are in the genitive case in Greek and modify the word
"servant". (In Greek the word "of" is not present, but it is supplied in English
in the translation of the genitive case). Here the genitive helps to qualify
"which" servant the writer is referring to. It is helping to limit the sphere of
all servants to a particular one.
And: "But you have received a spirit of sonship..." (Rom 8:15). Again the
word "sonship" is in the genitive case, telling what kind of spirit we have
received.
(Please be sure to see the list of '' where the genitive and other uses and
classifications can be printed out for quick reference.)
Dative Case
The dative is the case of the indirect object , or may
also indicate the means by which something is done. The dative case also
has a wide variety of uses, with the root idea being that of "personal interest"
or "reference". It is used most often in one of three general categories:
Indirect object, Instrument (means), or Location.
Most commonly it is used as the indirect object of a sentence. It may also
indicate the means by which something is done or accomplished. Used as a dative
of location, it can show the "place", "time", or "sphere" in which something may
happen.
For example: (Indirect object): "Jesus said to them", or
"he will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask" (Luke 11:13).
(Instrument or Means): "Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by (by means of) prayer and petition prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6). In this
sentence, there is a single Greek word translated into the phrase "by prayer"
showing the means by which to let our requests be made known to God.
(Location): "... and on the third day He will be raised up"
(Matt 20:19). The phrase "the third day" is in the dative case, showing the time
in which Jesus will be raised. In this sentence, there is no Greek word present
that is translated into the English word "on"; it is added to show the meaning
of the dative of location.
Accusative Case
The accusative case is the case of the direct
object, receiving the action of the verb.. Like the other cases, the
accusative has a wide variety of uses, but its main function is as the direct
object of a transitive verb. The direct object will most often be in the
accusative case.
For example: "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word" (1
Peter 2:2). The word "milk" is in the accusative case and is functioning as the
direct object of the transitive verb "desire" .
Vocative Case
The vocative is the case of direct address. It is used
when one person is speaking to another, calling out or saying their name, or
generally addressing them. With many nouns, the case form of the vocative is the
same as the nominative, but the context and function leave no question as to
whether the person is being addressed or, contrariwise, spoken about. (Note
that, obviously, the vocative is used most often in conjunction with the second
person form of the verb).
For example: "... Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts 7:59). Here
Stephen is directly addressing the Lord, so the form of "Lord Jesus" is in the
vocative case. (Note that the verb "receive" is also in the second person, as
would be expected).
Direct Object
Indirect Object
An indirect object is the person or thing that is indirectly affected by the
action of the verb. It is often translated in English by the phrase "to
somebody" or "for somebody (or something)".
For example: "I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens"
(Matt 16:19). The word "keys" is the direct object of the transitive verb
"give", and thus receives the action of the verb. But the action of the verb is
also indirectly affecting "you" and therefore "to you" is said to be the
indirect object of this sentence. "To you" is answering the question, "give to
whom?" or "for whom?"