b. Greek - Kohlenberger, III, John. R, Edward W. Goodrick, James A. Swanson. The Greek-English Concordance to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997. 3. Lexicon / Dictionary 1152pp. An exhaustive concordance, this book lists every appearance of every Greek word in alphabetical order. Words are coded with both Strong s numbers and the Goodrick-Kohlenberger numbering system. A lexicon lists in alphabetical order the words in the Bible together with their meaning(s). (Remember that an exhaustive English concordance has hyperconcise Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek dictionaries in the back.) - Abbott-Smith, G. A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark Ltd, 1937; first paperback edition 1999. 512pp. Contains many references of specific appearances, and includes Septuagint counterparts. - Bauer, W., F. W. Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W. Gingrich. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3d ed. Chicago, 1999. This third edition, 1999, is abbreviated BDAG. The first edition, 1957, is abbreviated BAG (Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich). The second edition, 1979, is abbreviated BAGD (Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich-Danker). 4. Theological wordbook - Zemek, George J. A Biblical Theology of the Doctrines of Sovereign Grace: Exegetical Considerations of Key Anthropological, Hamartiological, and Soteriological Terms and Motifs. N.p., 2002. 277pp. Zemek provides a thorough, contextual, lexical-theological discussion of the key biblical words involving man, sin, and salvation in both the Old and New Testaments. Some of the words include: man, body, soul, spirit, flesh, heart, mind, sin, transgression, save, life, grace, atonement, propitiation, election, regeneration, adoption, justification, faith, repentance, conversion, discipleship, sanctification, etc. (Many Hebrew and Greek terms are discussed which stand behind one English word; e.g., man. ) There are also several helpful appendices. Aramaic script (for the Hebrew language) and Greek script are used, but are also 17
transliterated. Spilling over with Scripture references and heavily footnoted, this work provides more substance than any other two-thirds of an inch on one s bookshelf could provide. It is incomparably substantive while also accessible. 5. Vocabulary guide 6. Grammar a. Stand-alone vocabulary guides often use word frequency concept or word group approach - Trenchard, Warren C. Complete Vocabulary Guide to the Greek New Testament, rev. ed. Grand Rapids: MI, Zondervan, 1998. 340pp. This is a very thorough vocabulary guide. The five parts to the book are: Cognate Word Groups, Frequency List of Words, Principal Parts of Verbs, Proper Words, and Other Lists (which includes many unusual words grouped by category). b. Grammars often contain vocabulary lists c. Flashcards (Benefit of hard copy cards, writing words, mnemonic devices, arrangement of homophones and easily confused words) d. Internet resources and flashcard software/apps - Mounce, William D. Basics of Biblical Greek. 3d ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009. 448pp. This is a standard first-year Greek grammar. 7. Intermediate grammar/syntax - Black, David Alan. It s Still Greek to Me: An Easy-to-Understand Guide to Intermediate Greek. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998. 191pp. Like a bite-size, more digestible version of Daniel Wallace s syntax, this is about as user-friendly as a Greek grammar/syntax can get. Black scales back the magnitude for this approachable little book; he incorporates humor, writes with a fresh style, and begins each grammatical concept by laying out the English analogue. (This is not a highly technical work, but provides a bridge from first-year studies to Wallace s work.) 18
- Wallace, Daniel B. Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996. 827pp. This hefty volume adds substantially to Mounce s grammar. It is very thorough and filled with textual examples. This is a standard secondyear Greek grammar. Using it as a reference work can help nuance one s exegesis. 8. Diagramming - Kantenwein, Lee L. Diagrammatical Analysis. Fourth revised edition. Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1979. 111pp. Tremendously helpful for someone new to, or brushing up on, line diagramming. Kantenwein walks through the whole procedure, including many examples of diagrammed Scripture. 9. General linguistics and learning the biblical languages (relevant to both Hebrew and Greek) - Silzer, Peter J. and Thomas J. Finley. How Biblical Languages Work: A Student s Guide to Learning Greek and Hebrew. 2d ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional, 2004. 288pp. From the back cover: An ideal supplement to first-year Hebrew and Greek grammars, this practical guide makes learning the biblical languages a less daunting task. By introducing students to characteristics and functions of all human languages, experienced linguists... [Silzer and Finley] create the basis from which to describe the major features of Hebrew and Greek: how the sounds are pronounced, how words are put together, how phrases and clauses are structured, how words convey meaning, and how languages change. 10. Electronic resources (software and Internet) - www.billmounce.com 19
A qualified church elder must meet Paul s aspirational qualification. It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer [episkopēs 1 ], it is a fine work he desires to do (1 Tim 3:1). Three elements in this statement indicate a qualification of aspiring with strong desire: a. if (eí) This conjunction introduces a conditional statement. If any man.... Contingency lies in whether or not the man does the two verbs that follow ( aspires and desires ). Both aspiration and desire are necessary components of the calling to church eldership. These twin necessities may be illustrated as follows: a young man may have the desire for the work and title of physician. But if he fritters away his time with diversions and never undertakes the necessary preparation, he will never, and should never, be a physician. Likewise, if he vigorously pursues medical school and the rigors of residency, but he doesn t really desire to be a physician, he shouldn t pursue it. b. aspires (orégetai) The church elder must be one who aspires (orégetai) to the work of church oversight. Here it means to reach/stretch oneself out to something. A qualified church elder s aspiration means he will undertake the necessary preparation to be fully qualified, tested, proven, and affirmed. c. desires (epithumei) Paul now comments on what he just wrote: the work of church oversight which a man aspires to is a fine work he desires to do (kalou érgou epithumei). The two verbs the man does are aspires and desires. Both are used similarly to indicate the man s desirous pursuit of biblical church oversight. Here, essentially in apposition, Paul writes that an elder desires (epithumei) church oversight. (1) The strength of the desire Stronger than thélō (wish/want/desire), epithuméō indicates strongly desiring. For example: - many prophets and righteous men desired [epethúmēsan] to see what the disciples saw (Matt 13:17). - Lazarus was longing [epithumōn] to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man s table 1 Noun, oversight. The phrase the office of overseer (NASB) renders the single word, episkopēs.
(Luke 16:21). - And He said to the disciples, The days will come when you will long [epithumēsete] to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it (Luke 17:22). - things [of the gospel] into which angels long [epithumousin] to look (1 Pet 1:12) - And we desire [epithumoumen] that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end (Heb 6:11) To be qualified for eldership, a man must aspire with strong desire to the work of church oversight. (2) The goodness of the desire This desire is for a fine [or good] work (1 Tim 3:1) and not a desire driven by human ambition. The desire for personal gain belongs to an altogether different category of men men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain (1 Tim 6:5). This desire is: - voluntary (1 Pet 5:2) - according to the will of God (1 Pet 5:2) - eager (1 Pet 5:2) - to set an example to the flock (1 Pet 5:3) This desire is not: - an external compulsion (1 Pet 5:2) - for sordid gain (1 Pet 5:2) - to be domineering (1 Pet 5:3) - for preeminence (cf. 3 John 1:9) - found in many (cf. Jas 3:1) 2 2 This text refers to teachers, but by it we understand that even fewer men should become elders because all elders are teachers, but not all teachers are elders.
A qualified church elder must be characterized by having a well-ordered life (kósmion, 1 Tim 3:2). A well-ordered life is the practical result of being temperate and sensible. The commonly-rendered respectable (NASB, ESV, NIV, NRSV) is an inference, not a translation. Paul s term, kósmion, indicates a well-ordered life. Men are considered respectable for different reasons. Respectability may follow from having a well-ordered life, but respectability is semantically foreign to kósmion. An adjectival verbal form is used in Matthew 12:44 and Luke 11:25 of a house put in order (kekosmēménon). A verbal form is used in Matthew 25:7 for the those who trimmed (ekósmēsan) lamps. Believers recognize the elder as having exemplary orderliness, a life worthy of imitating (cf. 1 Cor 11:1; Heb 13:7).