Reviewed by:

• Intermediate Greek Grammar: Syntax for Students of the New Testament by D. L. Mathewson and Elodie B. Emig
• Markus Cromhout

David L. Mathewson is associate professor of New Testament, and Elodie Ballantine Emig is instructor of New Testament Greek at Denver Seminary in the USA. The rationale for the book is to incorporate modern linguistic developments in an intermediate-level Greek grammar, to serve as an accessible textbook for students, professors, and pastors. As the authors say, “We have particularly endeavored to make accessible to students advances in the areas of verbal aspect theory, the voice system, conjunctions, as well as linguistic and discourse studies” (xvi). Part of their project is to keep grammatical labels and categories to a minimum and to expose students to a very broad spectrum of NT texts. This book is clearly also an act of piety. “As authors,” they write, “we are committed to the authority and inspiration of Scripture” (xviii–xix). They have produced this book as a labour of love for the Greek text of the NT, as well as its usage in translation and preaching within the church. So, inevitably, as you read the book, you are exposed to the theological sensibilities of North American evangelical Baptist Christianity as much as you are exposed to Greek grammar. Generally speaking, however, their views are balanced and nuanced.

All in all, thirteen chapters cover various aspects of Greek grammar in a systematic way. The authors are to be commended for writing in a way that students will easily follow and understand. Their explanations throughout are clear, concise, and facilitate easy learning. Each aspect of grammar is elucidated by multiple examples of quoted biblical text. Students will especially appreciate the authors’ efforts to keep labels and categories to a minimum. According to Mathewson and Emig, theological content must not be mined from individual words or grammatical contexts, but from the broader context of any text (e.g., xvii–xix, 16). Part of their [End Page 408] “minimalist” approach is that we need to distinguish “between the semantics (meaning) of a given grammatical unit and its pragmatic function in various contexts” (xxi). For example, when they discuss the five cases, without denying the usefulness of refined case labels, they prefer to keep it simple and insist that the different labels (e.g., to see τὴν πίστιν τοῦ θεοῦ variously as a subjective genitive, objective genitive, possessive genitive, or genitive of source) are not the meanings of the cases, “but reflect the different contextual realizations of the meanings of the case forms” (2). Language is something intuitive and does not follow set rules. This simplification of labels and categories the authors follow throughout the book, including, for example, verb tenses in which labels such as progressive present, iterative present, inceptive imperfect etcetera, are not utilised at all (117). Basically, for Mathewson and Emig, it is about fewer labels, but also to demonstrate that any grammatical unit can have multiple pragmatic applications depending on the context. Each aspect of grammar also ends off with a “For Practice” section in which a substantial portion of text is given.

One problem with the book is the authors’ undying commitment to “verbal aspect theory.” “For much of the twentieth century,” Mathewson and Emig write, in agreement with Stanley Porter and others, “grammarians of NT Greek understood Greek verb tenses to communicate two things: kind of action (known as Aktionsart) and the time of action (past, present, and future) in the indicative mood” (111–112, emphasis original). But according to verbal aspect theory, “the Greek verb tenses do not indicate the kind or even the time of action, but how the author chooses to conceive of or view the action. Aspect concerns the author’s perspective on an action” (112, emphasis original). The authors do acknowledge that not all grammarians agree with the basic tenets of verbal aspect theory.¹ Even so, for all intents and purposes, for the authors time is a non-issue in the Greek tenses. Time is primarily indicated by other...

审核人：

• 中级希腊文语法： DL Mathewson和Elodie B. Emig针对新约学生的语法
• 马库斯·克罗姆豪特（Markus Cromhout）

David L. Mathewson是新约圣经的副教授，Elodie Ballantine Emig是美国丹佛神学院的新约希腊语的讲师。本书的基本原理是将现代语言学的发展融入希腊文的中级语法中，作为学生，教授和牧师的便捷教科书。正如作者所说，“我们特别努力使学生在言语方面理论，语音系统，连词以及语言和话语研究领域取得进步”（xvi）。他们的项目的一部分是使语法标签和类别最小化，并使学生接触大量的NT文字。这本书显然也是虔诚的举动。他们写道：“作为作者，我们致力于圣经的权威和灵感”（xviii–xix）。他们制作这本书是对新约希腊文文本的热爱，也是其在教堂内翻译和宣讲中的运用。因此，不可避免地，当您阅读本书时，您所遭受的北美福音派浸信会基督教的神学敏感性与希腊语法一样。但是，总的来说，他们的观点是平衡和细微的。

总而言之，十三章以系统的方式涵盖了希腊语法的各个方面。作者的写作方式值得学生称赞，使学生可以轻松地跟随和理解。他们的解释通俗易懂，简洁明了，易于学习。引用圣经的文本的多个示例阐明了语法的每个方面。学生将特别欣赏作者将标签和类别保持在最低限度的努力。根据Mathewson和Emig的说法，神学内容一定不能从单个单词或语法语境中挖掘，而应从任何文本的更广泛的语境中挖掘（例如，xvii–xix，16）。他们的一部分[结束页408]“极简主义”方法是我们需要区分“给定语法单元的语义（含义）与其在各种情况下的语用功能”（xxi）。例如，当他们讨论这五个案例时，他们不否认精致案例标签的用处，而是倾向于保持简单并坚持使用不同的标签（例如，将τὴνπίστιντοθθεῦ看作是主观的主观的，主观的，所有格的，所有格的）。格或来源格）不是案例的含义，“而是反映了案例形式含义的不同语境实现”（2）。语言是直觉的东西，不遵循既定规则。作者在整本书中都遵循的这种标签和类别的简化，例如动词时态，其中诸如渐进的礼物，反复的礼物，不完美的感受等根本没有被利用（117）。基本上，对于Mathewson和Emig来说，它的标签较少，而且还证明了任何语法单元都可以根据上下文具有多种实用的应用程序。语法的每个方面也以“练习”部分结尾，在该部分中给出了大部分的文本。

这本书的一个问题是作者对“语言方面理论”的不懈承诺。“在20世纪的大部分时间里，”马修森（Mathewson）和埃米格（Emig）与史丹利·波特（Stanley Porter）等人一致认为，“新界希腊语语法学家理解希腊动词时态可以传达两件事：一种动作（称为Aktionsart）和动作时间（过去，现在和未来）”（111-112，强调原文）。但是根据言语方面的理论，“希腊动词时态并不表示动作的种类甚至时间，而是作者如何选择构想或观察动作的方式。方面涉及作者对行为的看法”（112，重点是原创）。作者的确承认并非所有语法学家都同意言语方面理论的基本原则。¹即使如此，从所有意图和目的来说，对于作者来说，时间在希腊时态中都是不重要的。时间主要由其他指示。