Greek Nouns & Adjectives
The Greek language has its nouns and adjectives divided into three divisions called declensions. Greek also has masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns and adjectives. These are called genders, and they are recognized by their different endings. For example, the noun ἀγάπη (agapē) is a feminine noun of the first declension because it ends with η. Other feminine nouns end with an α, such as ἁμαρτία (hamartia). Thus, the first declension is primarily comprised of feminine nouns, but there are also a few masculine nouns in this declension as well whose endings are ης and ας.
The second declension is the most dominant declension in the Greek New Testament, and it is made up of masculine and neuter nouns. The masculine nouns of this declension end with ος, and the neuter nouns end with ον. The noun λόγος (logos) is a masculine noun of the second declension, while δῶρον (dōron) is a neuter noun of the second declension.
The third declension contains all three genders, but due to the variety of stem changes, the forms are quite different. For instance, αἰών (aiōn), πατὴρ (patēr), and ἀρχιερεὺς (archiereus) are all masculine nouns of the third declension, but all three have different stem endings. Likewise, νύξ (nux), χάρις (charis), and μήτηρ (mētēr) are also all feminine nouns of the third declension, but they too have different stem endings. And lastly, βάθος (bathos), αἷμα (haima), and ὕδωρ (hudōr) are all neuter nouns of the third declension with different stems.
However, the most important aspect of Greek nouns and adjectives is the various cases that affect the interpretation of the text. Thus, even though the endings may vary in the three declensions, the meaning and application of the different cases will uniformly be the same. Therefore, we will only use the paradigm of the second declension masculine noun to learn the different cases.
Verse-Reference
Square — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]
Abbreviate Books
Use SBL Abbrev.
