New Testament Greek Trivia Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. We call the New Testament Greek text the "Koine". What does the word "Koine" mean?

Answer: common

The Koine is written in the common Greek dialect that was spoken by the Greek-speaking Jews and others. It is close to Ancient Greek.

2. John 1:1 says, "...kai theos En o Logos.", "...and the Word was God." Which of these is a plausible explanation for why there is no article before the word "theos" ("God")?

Answer: John is emphasizing one of several attributes of the Word (Christ), that is, He is God

In almost all cases, the article precedes the noun in Greek. But this passage is one of those rare exceptions, just as is I John 4:8 ("God is love"--"o Theos agapE estin"), the word "love" ("agapE") in this case being the exception. When this is the case, we can think of the noun in one of three different ways.

In Greek it isn't necessary for a noun to have the article in order to be definite. However, a noun cannot be INdefinite when it HAS the article. So it may be definite without the article and it must be definite with it. Having said that, without the article, a Greek noun can have three different forces: indefinite, qualitative, or definite.

An indefinite noun refers to one member of a group or class, without specifying which member. John uses this construction, for example, in John 4:7, "a woman from Samaria". In the Greek, the noun "ghunE" --"woman", has no article and is indefinite, telling us nothing about this woman. The noun "Theos" ("God"), in John 1:1 is not indefinite. It is qualitative. A qualitative noun places the stress on quality or essence or nature. It doesn't just indicate membership in a group or class in which there are other members like an indefinite noun does, nor does it stress individual identity like a definite noun. It focuses on the kind or sort and emphasizes class traits. But it often has in view one individual rather than the group as a whole. "God is love" (I John 4:8), is a perfect example of this. "Love" is the noun in question: it is one of a group, but John here is stressing one particular trait of God. In other words, God is love, but He is a lot of other things too, and John is emphasizing this particular trait of God. In John 1:1, John is not saying the Logos (Word) was a god (one of several), he is saying that the Logos was (and is) not only God, but He is several other things as well. If you take the rest of the context of this passage, it is clear that John is referring to Christ's humanity and the reality of the Incarnation of Christ the God-Man (verse 14--"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us"). If John had meant that the Logos (Word) was one of several Gods, he would have written "kai enas Theos En o Logos" ("...and the Word was a (meaning a specific one of several) God..."

The definite noun stresses individual identity. I can think of one Scriptural example offhand--it seems John likes to not use the article at times when he wants to stress something in particular since that construction is not the norm-- and that verse is Revelation 1:10, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day..." In this case, "Spirit" has no article in the Greek. He is not being indefinite: there is only one Spirit and He is not part of a group other than the other members of the Godhead. John is emphasizing his state of being.

3. John 18:12 reads, "E oun speira kai o chiliarchos kai oi upEretai tOn IoudaiOn sunelabon ton IEsoun, kai edusan auton." Judging strictly from the Greek text alone, approximately how many Roman soldiers were likely present at Jesus' arrest?

Answer: about 1000

"Chiliarchos" means "leader of 1000", just as "centurion" in Latin means "leader of 100". The word "speira" also indicates a large contigent. A speira was a group of about 800 to 1200 soldiers. You get no sense of this number when reading it in most English translations. The movie, "The Passion of the Christ", had it right, a rarity in Hollywood.

4. Consider Revelation 4:6: "...kai kuklO tou thronou tessara zOa ghemonta ophthalmOn emprosthen kai opisthen." The King James Version reads, "...and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind." The Revised Standard Version translates "zOa" as "living creatures". Which is a more correct translation? Are both good renderings of the Greek? Or are both wrong?

Answer: living creatures

"ZOa" (singular "zOon") more properly means "living creatures". The King James Version properly translates this word in Ezekiel 1:5. "ThErion" means "wild beast", and that is the word used to refer to the Beast in Revelation 6:8, Revelation 13:1, etc.

5. Revelation 22:19 says, "...aphelei o Theos to meros autou apo tou xulou tEs zoEs..." The King James Version translates "xulou tEs zoEs" as "book of life". How should this phrase be translated?

Answer: "tree of life"

"Xulon" (in this case, "xulou" because it's in the genitive case) means "tree" or "wood" or "stick". "Biblion" means book. This is a gross mistranslation by the King James. There is a huge difference in the meaning, as anyone who has studied Revelation should know. By the way, our English word "xylophone" is derived from "xulon". ("Xulon"--"wood" plus "phonE"--"voice" or "sound".)

6. Romans 1:7 tells us, "...charis umin kai eirEnE apo Theou Patros umon, kai Kuriou IEsou Christou uper pantOn umOn." The Revised Standard Version says, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Knowing what I'm sure you do about Greek grammar and word construction, what can you infer from this passage about how Paul thought about the relationship between God the Father and Jesus Christ?

Answer: He thought that they were essentially equal

In the debate on whether or not the Bible ever refers to Jesus Christ as God, in a lot of cases a good working knowledge of Greek grammar is essential if you are preparing any kind of exegetical argument or discussion. This is one of those cases.

Whenever you have the construction "apo + noun + kai + noun", with the nouns in the genitive case, the writer means that he considers the two nouns to be essentially the same, since the preposition "apo" is not repeated before the second noun. If "apo" had been repeated, that would mean that the writer considered them unequal. Then you would have to add an extra "from" before the words "the Lord Jesus Christ", as the King James Version incorrectly does.

7. Back to John's Gospel again! John 15:26 says, "otan de elthE o paraklEtos, on ego pempsO umin para tou Patros, to pneuma tEs alEtheias, o para tou Patros ekporeuetai, ekeinos marturEsei peri emou." "But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me". In ancient Greece, what was a "paraklEtos", here translated as "Counselor"?

Answer: a defense attorney in a court of law

"ParaklEtos" literally means "someone who walks beside you". In the ancient courts of Athens, the "paraklEtos" was like today's public defender or defense lawyer. In case you didn't know, the word "Satan" means "accuser".

8. Galatians 3:27 reads, "osoi gar eis Christon ebaptisthEte, Christon enedusasthe." The Revised Standard Version says, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." What would be another correct way to translate the last phrase of this verse, "...have put on Christ"?

Answer: "...in Christ you have been clothed."

"Enedusasthe" is the first aorist middle indicative of the verb "enduO", which means to put on, clothe, or wear. In this case it would be in the metaphorical sense like a badge or uniform of a soldier, but the word could also be used in a literal sense of putting on garments.

9. Matthew 6:11 (part of the Lord's Prayer) says, "ton arton EmOn ton epiousion dos Emin sEmeron.", which is translated by most versions as, "Give us this day our daily bread." The word "epiousion", translated as "daily", does not really mean that at all. Nor does it mean what is footnoted in some versions, "our bread for the morrow." When you break it down to its roots, what does "epiousion" actually mean?

Answer: super-essential

"Ousios" means "essence" or "substance"; the prefix "epi" can mean, among other things, "over", "upon", "in addition to", or "besides" . So the meaning is literally "beyond what is essential or necessary". A debate can certainly be had here as to whether Christ is referring to bread in the literal sense, or is referring to His body, which he referred to as bread on many occasions.

10. Luke 22:34, "o de eipe, Lego soi, Petre, ou mE phonEsei sEmeron alektOr, prin E tris aparnEsE mE eidenai me." "He said, 'I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you three times deny that you knew me." This "cock-crowing" was, in Jerusalem, Greek slang for what?

Answer: the Roman changing of the guard

According to Jewish law, no roosters were allowed in Jerusalem during Passover, so this has nothing to do with fowl. The Romans had a guard in a castle that overlooked the Jewish temple. They divided their night watches into four parts, the last two of which (beginning at midnight and at 3 a.m.) were called cock-crowings, and they were indicated by trumpet call. If, after reading this passage, you ever wondered how a rooster could crow at night, now you know the real story!

Source: Author manny96

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor CellarDoor before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

How well do you know the "Koine", the Greek New Testament? All Greek quotes are from the Vatican Manuscript #1209; the English text is from the Revised Standard Version except where noted. Capital E=eta, capital O=omega, ch=chi, etc.

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