Wuest-Studies in The Vocabulary of The Greek New Testament

Preface

One who undertakes to study God’s Word and to explain it to others, should be a student of words. To the extent that he understands the meaning of the words in the New Testament, to that extent is he able to understand its statements and make them clear to others.

While the words used in the English New Testament are for the most part simple and easy to understand, yet there are factors involved which make a knowledge of the Greek words very helpful in arriving at an accurate, full-orbed interpretation of the passage in question.

For instance, some English words have changed their meaning in the 300 years since the Authorized Version was translated. Since this version still remains the most widely used translation of the Scriptures, there is need of bringing that particular part of the translation up to date. Then again, a student of the English Bible often interprets a word according to its current usage in ordinary conversation instead of in its more specialized meaning. Again, in the case of synonyms, one English word may be the translation of four Greek words, each having a shade of meaning slightly different from the other. This added light is denied the student of the English Bible. Consequently, while he may not arrive at an erroneous interpretation of the passage where the particular word occurs, yet he does not have as accurate and clear an interpretation of it as he might have. Or again, a Greek word may have a very rich content of meaning which would demand a few sentences if not a paragraph to bring out. But in a translation like the a.v., where the translation is held down to a minimum of words, it is impossible to bring out this richness of meaning. A knowledge of the Greek word is of help here. Then, there are some words dealing with the theology of the n.t., or its doctrines, which are not understood by the English reader, but where a knowledge of the Greek word and its usage is of great help.

The purpose of this book is to make available to the Bible student who does not know Greek, an English-Greek vocabulary of some of the words used in the New Testament. The plan has been to give the English word, the Greek word of which it is the translation, in transliterated form, the various meanings of the Greek word, and where necessary, every place where the Greek word is found in the New Testament. The student of the English Bible can therefore obtain a clearer, more comprehensive view of the English word he is studying, by understanding the Greek word of which it is the translation.

Where no concordance is given of a word, the student should understand that the English word is in its every occurrence, the uniform translation of the Greek word. Where a concordance is given, the reason for the same may be that various English words are used to translate the one Greek word, the variants being given in each case. Or, in the case of synonyms, a concordance is necessary, since two or more Greek words are translated by the one English word. Again, a concordance is given at times so that the student can make a study of the word in its every occurrence in the New Testament. There are a few words that are treated only in particular passages, where the definitions of the Greek word will not hold in other places where this English word is used, and for the reason that other Greek words are found in the text. These will be marked “Limited.”