Greek Studies: John 3:16

I'm really praying no one hates me or gives up on the faith because of what I'm about to start. But thinking through it, you don't have to read it. I want you to, definitely! But I understand if you choose to skip over this series. Hopefully, enough of you would enjoy a series like this. If anyone wishes to contribute their own Greek word study, I would be happy to feature you on the blog!

This series is going to be simple and, again, confined to a 5-8 min read time (tops!). Just looking at the Greek New Testament, breaking it down, and picking out something that otherwise is missed in most, if not all, English translations. No application necessary, just geeking out on the Greek.

Let's take a fairly well-known verse to start things off: John 3:16

οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλ’ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.

My Translation:

"for God loved the world in this way: that he gave the unique son, in order that everyone who continues to believe in him would not perish but would have eternal life"

1. οὕτως (houtos) is often translated as "so." Which is right, but we take it the wrong way in English. I hear people emphasize the word like, "God SO loved the world" and go on to talk about how big God's love is. Again, not a wrong statement, they just got there the wrong way. A better gloss of that word is "in this way, thus." John is telling the reader in what manner God loves the world. He's not speaking in hyperbole or trying to overemphasize this point. The New Living Translation translates in closer to how we speak in modern English by stating "God loved the world in this way..." I think that sounds pretty good.

2. ἠγάπησεν (egapesen) "loved" the world is an aorist verb. This is usually translated as a simple past tense, but the aorist can have a wider meaning depending on the context. (Aorist verbs can be tricky for the most part and I am thinking of doing a post on the aorist as well as the importance of knowing the difference between aspect and tense with the Greek verb.) This appears to the basic usage of the aorist - looking at the event as a whole without reference to a particular point of time within the action (not the beginning or the end of an action or if it's repetitive, etc...)

3. τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ this is a common Greek construction where a noun and an adjective are in an attributive position. Literally, "the son the only son." Good English would just say, "the only son." A lot of other languages do this just not in the same way. Spanish always places the attributive adjective after the verb it modifies for example. However, Greek does have to do this like Spanish. The Greek can place it in several other positions to communicate the same meaning.

4. μονογενῆ (monogene) is translated as "only-begotten" in the KJV which is understandable. Looking at the word, the Greek easily breaks into two greek words μονος (monos) and γενναω (gennao). However, it could be μονος and γενος (genos) which would allow one to translate it as the "uniquely born" In which case, there is a greater theological weight behind the term. This can be illustrated in the way how Luke and John use this word. Luke uses the μονογενῆ a few times (7:12; 8:42; 9:38) but in reference to an earthly parent-child relationship (between a mother and son, a father and daughter, and a father and son; respectively). John uses it four times but always in reference to the relationship between the Father and the Son (1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9). While I agree with D. A. Carson that the gloss should be "the only son" I do also think there are theological pointers that encourage deeper reading. There is one other NT passage that pushes me to think that John uses this term more theologically than simply to note genealogy - Hebrews 11:17. Abraham had another son besides Isaac. Isaac is not the "only son" of Abraham but is the "unique" son of Abraham in that the promises of YHWH were to come through him and not Ishmael.

5. ἔδωκεν (edoken) "he gave" another goos aorist with a similar meaning to that of the previous one. One "debate" around this verse is whether or not if Jesus is still speaking to Nicodemus or has John taken back over narration. If John is still narrating, then no big deal. If Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus then I wonder if Jesus is trying to bring Nicodemas back to thoughts of Abraham with the idea of the loving father giving his "unique son" and following that up with having faith in him.

6. ὁ πιστεύων (ho pisteuon) is a participle. A verbal noun. Specifically, it is a Customary Present which means it is emphasizing the repetitive nature of the action. Salvation comes to those who believe in Christ "continually." To really bring it out in translation we could say, "...that whoever continues to believe in him has eternal life."

7. ἀπόληται of the seven uses of this word in the NT (Matt. 5:29-30; 18:14; Luke 21:18; John 3:16; 6:12; 11:50) only one does use it in the sense of perishing but rather as "lost"(John 6:12). Those who are not placing their continued faith in the only son of God will be lost. While this is a great thematic verse to use in telling others of the gospel, it hits just as hard as the OT prophets in terms of the Father's justice.

8. ἔχῃ (exe) Of the three uses of this form of the verb in John (John 3:15–16; 6:40), they are all used in this gnomic sense of a timeless fact - all in the context of salvation through the only son.

9. γὰρ...ὥστε...ἵνα...μὴ... ἀλλ’ (gar...oste...hina...me...all) "for...that...in order that...not...but..." paying attention to adverbs, prepositions, and the overall flow of the sentence is important. It brings highlights to what the author is intending to highlight. For instance, with these conjunctions and negations, we can place the appropriate emphasis markers,

"FOR, God loved the world in this way: THAT he gave his unique son THAT whoever continually believes in him would NOT perish BUT have eternal life."

There we have it! Simple, quick, and hopefully informative, or at least a reminder of things you have already heard before. I am NOT a Greek expert. I would love corrections or suggestions. I really enjoy Greek, but I am very poor at getting around to practicing/translating as much as I should. I think this gives an avenue to keep sharpening this tool. I believe that these practices are essential for the future of the church.