Hellenistic Greek: Lesson 5: Masculine and Neuter Adjectives

Vocabulary: 29 Common Words You Need to Know

Eighteen Adjectives

ἀγαπητός, -ή, -όν

Look at the collage below. Can you guess the meaning of ἀγαπητός?

In each slide the person or persons being treated with ἀγαπη is ἀγαπητός.

πονηρός, -ά, -όν

Examine each slide below. What is the sense of πονηρός in each one?

τὸ ἀγαθόν ἀντίθεσίς ἐστιν τοὺ πονηροῦ. (ἀγαθός is the opposite of πονηρός.)

Select the English words below that could represent a meaning of the Ancient Greek word πονηρός.

Practice typing in Greek. Set your keyboard to Greek, then for each slide below, type the words you see (γράψον τοὺς λόγους οὕς βλέπεις).

Browse through the following list of adjectives followed by two quantifiers. You will then view some images representing nine Greek nouns. Adjectives are listed with their nominative, masculine, singular ending, followed by the feminine, and neuter endings for that same case and number. Lesson five does not address the feminine forms, but they are shown here for later reference.

Frequency	Greek Adjective	English Gloss
102	ἀγαθός, -ή, -όν	good
61	ἀγαπητός, -ή, -όν	loved, beloved
233	ἅγιος, -α, -ον	holy
71	αἰώνιος, -α, -ον	eternal (aeon = an extremely long period)
54	δεξιός, -ά, -όν	right (as opposed to left) When δεξιός is used as a noun it should be translated as “right hand” or “right side.”
79	δίκαιος, -α, -ον	righteous, just
82	ἕκαστος, -η, -ον	each
52	ἔσχατος, -η, -ον	last, final (eschatology = theory of last things or end times)
98	ἕτερος, -α, -ον	other, another (of a different kind)
195	Ίουδαῖος, -α, -ον	Jewish (Judea = the land of the Jewish people) The adjective Ἰουδαῖος is sometimes used like a noun. In such cases it must be translated “Jew” or “Judean.” The feminine form (to be studied later) is often used as a noun to refer to the region of Judea.
50	κακός, -ή, -όν	bad (cacophony = a lot of noise/bad sounds)
100	καλός, -ή, -όν	good, beautiful (caligraphy = beautiful writing)
128	νεκρός, -ά, -όν	dead, useless (necrophilia = a psychological disorder involving obsession with dead bodies) The adjective νεκρός is sometimes used as a noun. In such cases it should be translated “dead person,” “dead body,” or “corpse.”
67	πιστός, -ή, -όν	faithful, trustworthy
78	πονηρός, -ά, -όν	bad, useless, painful
66	πρεσβύτερος, -α, -ον	older, elder The adjective πρεσβύτερος is frequently used as a noun. In such cases it should be translated “elder,” “presbyter,” or “older person.”
155	πρῶτος, -η, -ον	first, earlier, foremost (prototype = first model)
50	τυφλός, -ή, -όν	blind When τυφλός is used as a noun it should be translated “blind person.”

Two Quantifiers

Frequency	Greek Word	English Gloss
109	ὅλος, -η, -ον	whole, entire, complete, altogether
114	μόνος, -η, -ον	only, alone, deserted, isolated (monogamy = marriage to only one person)

Nine Nouns

Here are a few more second declension nouns. Use the slider to advance from one picture to the next. Look at each picture and the Greek word it contains. Rather than trying to think of an English word with a similar meaning, just associate the Greek word with the image.

The words in the list below are given in the same way as in lesson four, beginning with the nominative singular form, followed by the genitive singular ending, then the appropriate form of the article.

Frequency	Greek Word	English Gloss
186	κόσμος, -ου, ὁ	world, universe, earth, humankind (Cosmos = universe)
142	λαός, -οῦ, ὁ	people, crowd, populace
100	ὀφθαλμός, -οῦ, ὁ	eye, sight (ophthalmologist = eye doctor)
273	οὐρανός, -οῦ, ὁ	sky, heaven The word οὐρανός is sometimes used figuratively to refer to God.
175	ὄχλος, -ου, ὁ	crowd, multitude
158	Παῦλος, -ου, ὁ	Paul
156	Πέτρος, -ου, ὁ	Peter
377	υἱός, -οῦ, ὁ	son The plural form of υἱός is often used to refer to groups of both sons and daughters. In such instances it should be translated as "children."
529	Χριστός, -οῦ, ὁ	Christ, Anointed One, Messiah

Now work on the Reading and Translation exercise below. After completing all of the exercises, return to this vocabulary lists and see how many words you recognize. Pay particular attention to any you do not.

Reading and Translation

[Translate τίς as “who” in this first example.]

τίς. . . ἐστὶν ὁ πιστός δούλος; (Matthew 24:45)

Who. . . is the faithful servant?
ὁ υἱός μου

my son (Matthew 3:17)
ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπιτός

my beloved son (Matthew 3:17)
[οὕτος = this]

οὕτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπιτός (Matthew 3:17)

This is my beloved son
[σύ = you]

σύ εἶ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπιτός (Mark 1:11)

You are my beloved son
How is εἶ translated in the previous sentence?

εἶ is the second person singular form of the verb εἰμί that you studied in Lesson 3. It is translated as "You are."

Notice that the little word σύ ("you") is redundant in the sentence above. εἶ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπιτός would be enough to communicate "You are my beloved son." Including σύ might seem to make the sentence say “You, you are...” This is not the case however. The inclusion of σύ simply makes the subject emphatic. The sentence means “You are my beloved son” (with emphasis on “you”).
[ἐγώ = I; ποιμὴν = shepherd]

Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός

I am the good shepherd.

This sentence must not be translated “I am the shepherd the good.”

Notice that while you cannot yet recognize the form of the noun ποιμὴν, if you recognize the form of the article (ὁ), you will know the case, gender, and number of the noun (ποιμήν) that follows it since the case, gender, and number of the article always match the case, gender, and number of the noun it modifies
[ὄνομα is a neuter 3rd declension noun. Translate it as “name” in the sentence below. Use the article (τό) to determine its function in the sentence.
αύτός = he, she, it]

ἅγιον τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ (Luke 1:49)

Holy is his name
His name is holy

Notice that there is an article in this construction, but that there is not one before the adjective (ἅγιον). This is a predicate construction.
πιστὸς ὁ θεός (1 Corinthians 1:9)

God is faithful
πιστός ἐστιν καὶ δίκαιος (1 John 1:9)

He is faithful and just

How is ἐστιν translated in the sentence above?

ἐστιν is the third person singular form of the verb εἰμί that you studied in Lesson 3. It is translated in this sentence as "He is."
[οὕτος = this]

οὕτοι οἱ λόγοι (Revelation 22:6)

These words
οὕτοι οἱ λόγοι πιστοί (Revelation 22:6)

These words are trustworthy
ὁ. . . νόμος ἅγιος (Romans 7:12)

The Law is holy
[ὑπηκόος + dative = listening (to someone)
ὑπηκόος + genitive = obedient (to someone)
ἡμᾶς = us
γενέσθαι = to be]

ὑπηκόους ἡμᾶς . . . γενέσθαι τῷ θεῷ (1 Clement 14.1)

(for) us to be listening to God
[δίκαιος = right, correct, righteous
ὅσιος = holy
οὖν = therefore]

Δίκαιον οὖν καὶ ὅσιον, ὑπηκόους ἡμᾶς . . . γενέσθαι τῷ θεῷ (1 Clement 14.1)

Therefore it is right and holy for us to be listening to God
For us to be listening to God, therefore, is right and holy.
Where does "it is" come from in the translation above?

While there is no article in this construction to guide us, it is clear that this is a predicate construction. Δίκαιον and ὅσιον are both neuter because they do not describe any person in particular, but refer to "right" and "holy" in their most general senses. They make an assertion (predicate) about the entire clause ὑπηκόους ἡμᾶς . . . γενέσθαι τῷ θεῷ (for us to be listening to God).

Vocabulary Quiz

Review the vocabulary lists above, then take the Vocabulary Quiz provided here.

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Lesson 5: Masculine and Neuter Adjectives

The Lesson at a Glance