I, II, III John: A Handbook on the Greek Text (Baylor Handbook on the Greek New Testament)

200 Pages·2004·0.71 MB·English

by  Martin M. Culy

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1, 2, 3 JOHN
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© 2004 by Baylor University Press Waco, Texas 76798
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior permission in writing of Baylor University Press.
Scripture translations are the author’s.
Book Design by Diane Smith
Cover Design by Pamela Poll
The Greek font is Payne; used by permission from Linguist’s
Software.
The Greek New Testament, Fourth Revised Edition, edited by Barbara
Aland, Kurt Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, and
Bruce M. Metzger in cooperation with the Institute for New Testament
Textual Research, Münster/Westphalia, @ 1993 Deutsche Bibelgesell-
schaft, Stuttgart. Used by permission.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Culy, Martin M.
1, 2, 3 John : a handbook on the Greek text / Martin M. Culy.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-932792-08-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Bible. N.T. Epistles of John--Commentaries. 2. Bible. N.T.
Epistles of John--Language, style. I. Title: First, second, third John. II.
Title: 1st, 2nd, 3rd John. III. Title.
BS2805.53.C85 2004
227'.94077--dc22
2004018681
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
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1, 2, 3 JOHN
A Handbook on the Greek Text
Martin M. Culy
Baylor University Press
Waco, Texas USA

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Contents
Preface vii
List of Abbreviations ix
Introduction xi
1 John 1:1-4 1
1 John 1:5-2:2 10
1 John 2:3-6 24
1 John 2:7-11 31
1 John 2:12-17 38
1 John 2:18-29 46
1 John 3:1-6 66
1 John 3:7-12 74
1 John 3:13-18 82
1 John 3:19-24 91
1 John 4:1-6 99
1 John 4:7-10 106
1 John 4:11-21 109
1 John 5:1-12 119
1 John 5:13-21 131
2 John 1-3 141
2 John 4-7 143
2 John 8-11 148
2 John 12-13 152
3 John 1-4 155
3 John 5-8 160
3 John 9-12 162
3 John 13-15 167
Bibliography 169
v

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Preface
As I have wrestled with the text of 1, 2, and 3 John in preparing this
handbook, I have once again not only been challenged by its frank
message, which leaves little room for a complacent faith, but have also
been reminded that there remains much to learn about the language of
the New Testament. After more than 20 years of working with Koine
Greek, I still frequently discover something that I had overlooked in
the past. Only a fellow linguist or Greek scholar can appreciate the
excitement of such a discovery! My hope is that this handbook will
both provide a reliable guide through the intricacies of the biblical text
and occasionally shed fresh light on how the Greek language works.
Completion of this handbook in a timely fashion would not have
been possible without the support of Dr. Paul Magnus, past President
of Briercrest Family of Schools, Dr. Dwayne Uglem, Executive Vice
President of Briercrest Family of Schools, and Dr. David Shepherd,
Dean of Briercrest Seminary. I am privileged to work in an environ-
ment where both ministry and scholarship are held in high esteem.
Throughout the writing process I have greatly benefited from the
input of others. Four of my current students—David Atmore, Joshua
Drake, Bernd Heyde, and Josh Stigall—carefully worked through an
early draft of the handbook, section by section, and then met with me
to discuss the biblical text and critique the manuscript. Their helpful
comments and words of encouragement were greatly appreciated and
our time together was spiritually enriching. Susan Wendel, a former
student and future New Testament scholar herself, offered many help-
ful suggestions for how the handbook could be improved and gra-
ciously raised questions where my argument was weak. Dr. Wes
Olmstead, my Briercrest colleague and friend, was always ready to
give immediate feedback on issues I was struggling to resolve in spite
of his heavy responsibilities. Dr. Mikeal Parsons, friend and mentor,
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viii Preface
offered encouragement throughout the process. Two individuals
deserve special thanks for the time and energy they invested in this
project. Jim Stewart, a former student and faculty assistant, saved me
from many misplaced or incorrect accents and other typographical
errors through his incredible eye for detail and saved readers from
potential confusion by identifying numerous places where my expla-
nations were not as clear as they should have been. Dr. Carl Conrad
graciously and thoroughly reviewed a late draft of the manuscript,
noted a significant number of problems, and offered numerous helpful
suggestions for improving the handbook. Our ongoing dialogue on
various issues not only saved me from many careless mistakes but also
frequently led my wife to ask what was giving me so much pleasure.
This handbook would have been far weaker without the generous
input of these friends, students, and colleagues, and I offer them my
sincere gratitude.
I also owe a debt of gratitude to the staff at Baylor University Press.
Dr. Carey Newman, Director, not only encouraged me to take on this
project but also provided the support and guidance needed to bring it
to completion. Diane Smith, Production Editor, once again made the
process of moving from manuscript to publication almost painless
through the competence and dedication that she brings to the task.
Finally, to my wife Jo-Anna, and my children, Chris, Calvin, and
Charissa, I am grateful for your graciousness as I often took time and
energy away from you to complete this project, and for your patience
as we struggle together to “walk as Jesus did.”
Martin Culy
Briarcrest Seminary
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List of Abbreviations
act active
aor aorist
BAGD W. Bauer, AGreek-English Lexicon of the NT, 1979
BDAG F. Danker, AGreek-English Lexicon of the NT, 2000
BDF F. W. Blass, A. Debrunner, and R. W. Funk.AGreek
Grammar of the NT
CEV Contemporary English Version
dat dative
dep deponent
fem feminine
fut future
gen genitive
GW God’s Word (version)
impf imperfect
impv imperative
ind indicative
inf infinitive
KJV King James Version
LN Louw and Nida, Greek-English Lexicon
LXX Septuagint
masc masculine
mid middle
NASB New American Standard Bible
NCV New Century Version
NEB New English Bible
NET New English Translation
neut neuter
NIV New International Version
NJB New Jerusalem Bible
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