Lesson 4: Second Declension Nouns

Vocabulary:

1. Verbs

a0gw- I lead

a0kouw- I hear

blepw- I see

e0xw- I have

luw- I loose, I destroy

2. Second Declension Nouns

a0ggeloj- messenger

a0delfoj- brother

douloj- slave, servant

karpoj- fruit

logoj- word

a0nqrwpoj- man

a0postoloj- apostle, messenger

a0rtoj- bread

gamoj- marriage

dwron- gift

qanatoj- death

i&eron-- temple

liqoj- stone

nomoj- law

o0xloj- crowd

ui&oj- son

kai- and

ASSIGNMENT: Memorize the vocabulary words above. Note that list 1 are verbs, and list 2 are nouns of the second declension.

There are three ways of classifying nouns in Greek. The second declension (class) are the most frequent in the New Testament, so it is with these that we begin our study of nouns.

The following endings are attached to the noun root to obtain the endings of the second declension:

Singular	Plural	Case
-oj	-oi	nominative
-ou	-wn	genitive
-w\|	-oij	locative, instrumental, dative (note the w\| subscript)
-on	-ouj	accusative
-e	- (none)	vocative

All that one needs to do to decline a noun in Greek, if it is a second declension noun, is add these endings to the stem.

For example, the stem of a0nqrwpoj is a0nqrwp- to which are added the endings of the second declension as follows:

Singular	Plural
a0nqrwp- oj	a0nqtwp-oi
a0nqrwp-ou	a0nqrwp-wn
a0nqrwp-w\|	a0nqrwp-oij
a0nqrwp-on	a0nqrwp-ouj
a0nqtwp-e	(none)

To find the stem of any noun, simply drop off the nominative ending (the way it is listed in the dictionary) and add the endings above. (See how simple it is!)

ASSIGNMENT: Decline (or add the appropriate endings, as above) all the nouns in the vocabulary at the beginning of lesson 4.

Now, we must briefly discuss the meanings of these endings:

The Nominative case (or ending) is the case that the subject of the sentence is found in.

The Genitive case is the case used to describe ownership of something. For example, oi0kou a0nqrwpou means "a man's house" or "a house of a man".

The Locative case indicates where something is located. "oi0kw| " means "in a house"

The Instrumental case indicates the means by which something is. "oi0kw| " means "by means of a house".

The Dative case indicates the direction of something. "oi0kw| " means "to a house".

The astute reader will notice that the Locative, Instrumental and Dative cases are all the same in form. The correct translation can only be gained by means of the context.

The Accusative case shows limits. "oi0kon" means "the house" (only).

The Vocative (which occurs only in the singular) is the case of address. "a0nqrwpe" means "man!"

Accurate translation means that the translator must know these forms and their meanings.

ASSIGMENT: Translate the following sentences:

a0nqrwpoj ginwskei ton nomon

pempete dwra tw| i&erw|

lambanw dwra karpou kai a0rton