A GRAMMAR OF
NEW TESTAMENT GREEK
BY
JAMES HOPE MOULTON
M.A. (CANTAB.), D.LIT. (LOND.)
LATE FELLOW OF KING'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
GREENWOOD PROFESSOR OF HELLENISTIC GREEK AND INDO-EUROPEAN
PHILOLOGYIN THE VICTORIAUNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
TUTOR IN NEW TESTAMENT LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
WESLEYANCOLLEGE, DIDSBURY
VOL. I
PROLEGOMENA
THIRD EDITION
WITH CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS
Digitized by Ted Hildebrandt, GordonCollege, Wenham, MA
March 2006
EDINBURGH: T. & T. CLARK, 38 GEORGE STREET
1908
IN PIAM MEMORIAM
PATRIS
LABORVM HERES DEDICO
PREFACE.
THE call for a second edition of this work within six or seven
months of its first appearance gives me a welcome opportunity
of making a good many corrections and additions, without
altering in any way its general plan. Of the scope of these new
features I shall have something to say later; at this point I
have to explain the title-page, from which certain words have
disappeared, not without great reluctance on my part. The
statement in the first edition that the book was "based on
W. F. Moulton's edition of G. B. Winer's Grammar," claimed
for it connexion with a work which for thirty-five years had
been in constant use among New Testament students in this
country and elsewhere. I should hardly have yielded this
statement for excision, had not the suggestion come from one
whose motives for retaining it are only less strong than my
own. Sir John Clark, whose kindness throughout the progress
of this work it is a special pleasure to acknowledge on such
an opportunity, advised me that misapprehension was fre-
quently occurring with those whose knowledge of this book
was limited to the title. Since the present volume is entirely
new, and does not in any way follow the lines of its great
predecessor it seems better to confine the history of the
undertaking to the Preface, and take sole responsibility. I
have unhappily no means of divining what judgement either
Winer or his editor would have passed on my doctrines; and
it is therefore, perhaps, due to Pietat that I should drop what
Pietat mainly prompted.
It is now forty years since my father, to whose memory
this book is dedicated, was invited by Messrs T. & T. Clark
to translate and edit G. B. Winer's epoch-making Grammatik
des neutestamentliehen Spraehidioms. The proposal originated
with Bishop Ellicott, afterwards Chairman of the New Testa-
vii
viii PREFACE.
ment Revision Company, and the last survivor of a band of
workers who, while the following pages were in the press,
became united once more. Dr Ellicott had been in corre-
spondence on biblical matters with the young Assistant Tutor
at the Wesleyan Theological College, Richmond; and his
estimate of his powers was shown first by the proposal as to
Winer, and not long after by the Bishop's large use of my
father's advice in selecting new members of the Revision
Company. Mr Moulton took his place in the Jerusalem
Chamber in 1870, the youngest member of the Company;
and in the same year his edition of Winer appeared. My
brother's Life of our father (Isbister, 1899) gives an account
of its reception. It would not be seemly for me to enlarge
on its merits, and it would be as superfluous as unbecoming.
I will only allow myself the satisfaction of quoting a few
words from one who may well be called the greatest New
Testament scholar this country has seen for generations. In
giving his Cambridge students a short list of reference books,
Dr Hort said (Romans and Ephesians, p. 71):—
Winer's Grammar of the New Testament, as translated
and enlarged by Dr Moulton, stands far above every
other for this purpose. It does not need many minutes
to learn the ready use of the admirable indices, of
passages and of subjects: and when the book is con-
sulted in this manner, its extremely useful contents
become in most cases readily accessible. Dr Moulton's
references to the notes of the best recent English com-
mentaries are a helpful addition.
In 1875 Dr Moulton was transferred to Cambridge,
charged by his Church with the heavy task of building up
from the foundation a great Public School. What time a
Head Master could spare to scholarship was for many years
almost entirely pledged to the New Testament and Apocrypha
Revision. Naturally it was not possible to do much to his
Grammar when the second edition was called for in 1877.
The third edition, five years later, was even less delayed for
the incorporation of new matter; and the book stands now,
in all essential points, just as it first came from its author's
pen. Meanwhile the conviction was growing that the next
PREFACE.
edition must be a new book. Winer's own last edition,
though far from antiquated, was growing decidedly old;
its jubilee is in fact celebrated by its English descendant
of to-day. The very thoroughness of Winer's work had made
useless for the modern student many a disquisition against
grammatical heresies which no one would now wish to drag
from the lumber-room. The literature to which Winer
appealed was largely buried in inaccessible foreign periodicals.
And as the reputation of his editor grew, men asked for a
more compact, better arranged, more up-to-date volume, in
which the ripest and most modern work should no longer be
stowed away in compressed notes at the foot of the page.
Had time and strength permitted, Dr Moulton would have
consulted his most cherished wish by returning to the work
of his youth and rewriting his Grammar as an independent
book. But "wisest Fate said No." He chose his junior col-
league, to whom he had given, at first as his pupil, and
afterwards during years of University training and colleague-
ship in teaching, an insight into his methods and principles,
and at least an eager enthusiasm for the subject to which he
had devoted his own life. But not a page of the new book
was written when, in February 1898, "God's finger touched
him, and he slept."
Since heredity does not suffice to make a grammarian,
and there are many roads by which a student of New Testa-
ment language may come to his task, I must add a word
to explain in what special directions this book may perhaps
contribute to the understanding of the inexhaustible subject
with which it deals. Till four years ago, my own teaching
work scarcely touched the Greek Testament, classics and com-
parative philology claiming the major part of my time. But
I have not felt that this time was ill spent as a prepara-
tion for the teaching of the New Testament. The study of
the Science of Language in general, and especially in the field
of the languages which are nearest of kin to Greek, is well
adapted to provide points of view from which new light may
be shed on the words of Scripture. Theologians, adepts in
criticism, experts in early Christian literature, bring to a task
like this an equipment to which I can make no pretence.
But there are other studies, never more active than now,
PREFACE.
which may help the biblical student in unexpected ways.
The life-history of the Greek language has been investi-
gated with minutest care, not only in the age of its glory,
but also throughout the centuries of its supposed senility
and decay. Its syntax has been illuminated by the com-
parative method; and scholars have arisen who have been
willing to desert the masterpieces of literature and trace the
humble development of the Hellenistic vernacular down to
its lineal descendant in the vulgar tongue of the present day.
Biblical scholars cannot study everything, and there are some
of them who have never heard of Brugmann and Thumb.
It may be some service to introduce them to the side-lights
which comparative philology can provide.
But I hope this book may bring to the exegete material
yet more important for his purpose, which might not otherwise
come his way. The immense stores of illustration which have
been opened to us by the discoveries of Egyptian papyri, ac-
cessible to all on their lexical side in the brilliant Bible Studies
of Deissmann, have not hitherto been systematically treated
in their bearing on the grammar of New Testament Greek.
The main purpose of these Prolegomena has accordingly been
to provide a sketch of the language of the New Testament as
it appears to those who have followed Deissmann into a new
field of research. There are many matters of principle need-
ing detailed discussion, and much new illustrative material
from papyri and inscriptions, the presentation of which will, I
hope, be found helpful and suggestive. In the present volume,
therefore, I make no attempt at exhaustiveness, and of ten
omit important subjects on which I have nothing new to say.
By dint of much labour on the indices, I have tried to provide
a partial remedy for the manifold inconveniences of form
which the plan of these pages entails. My reviewers en-
courage me to hope that I have succeeded in one cherished
ambition, that of writing a Grammar which can be read.
The fascination of the Science of Language has possessed me
ever since in boyhood I read Max Muller's incomparable
Lectures; and I have made it my aim to communicate what
I could of this fascination before going on to dry statistics
and formulae. In the second volume I shall try to present
as concisely as I can the systematic facts of Hellenistic acci-
PREFACE. xi
dence and syntax, not in the form of an appendix to a
grammar of classical Greek, but giving the later language
the independent dignity which it deserves. Both Winer
himself and the other older scholars, whom a reviewer thinks
I have unduly neglected, will naturally bulk more largely
than they can do in chapters mainly intended to describe
the most modern work. But the mere citation of authori-
ties, in a handbook designed for practical utility, must
naturally be subordinated to the succinct presentation of
results. There will, I hope, be small danger of my readers'
overlooking my indebtedness to earlier workers, and least
of all that to my primary teacher, whose labours it is
my supreme object to preserve for the benefit of a new
generation.
It remains to perform the pleasant duty of acknowledging
varied help which has contributed a large proportion of any-
thing that may be true or useful in this book. It would be
endless were I to name teachers, colleagues, and friends in
Cambridge, to whom through twenty years' residence I con-
tracted debts of those manifold and intangible kinds which
can only be summarised in the most inadequate way: no
Cantab who has lived as long within that home of exact
science and sincere research, will fail to understand what I
fail to express. Next to the Cambridge influences are those
which come from teachers and friends whom I have never
seen, and especially those great German scholars whose labours,
too little assisted by those of other countries, have established
the Science of Language on the firm basis it occupies to-day.
In fields where British scholarship is more on a level with
that of Germany, especially those of biblical exegesis and
of Greek classical lore, I have also done my best to learn
what fellow-workers east of the Rhine contribute to the
common stock. It is to a German professor, working
upon the material of which our own Drs Grenfell and
Hunt have provided so large a proportion, that I owe the
impulse which has produced the chief novelty of my work.
My appreciation of the memorable achievement of Dr Deiss-
mann is expressed in the body of the book; and I must
only add here my grateful acknowledgement of the many
encouragements he has given me in my efforts to glean
xii PREFACE.
after him in the field he has made his own. He has now
crowned them with the all too generous appreciations of
my work which he has contributed to the Theologische
Literaturzeitung and the Theologische Rundschau. Another
great name figures on most of the pages of this book.
The services that Professor Blass has rendered to New
Testament study are already almost equal to those he has
rendered to classical scholarship. I have been frequently
obliged to record a difference of opinion, though never with-
out the inward voice whispering "impar congresses Achilli."
But the freshness of view which this great Hellenist brings
to the subject makes him almost as helpful when he fails
to convince as when he succeeds; and I have learned more
and more from him, the more earnestly I have studied for
myself. The name of another brilliant writer on New
Testament Grammar, Professor Schmiedel, will figure more
constantly in my second volume than my plan allows it to
do in this.
The mention of the books which have been most fre-
quently used, recalls the need of one or two explanations
before closing this Preface.The text which is assumed
throughout is naturally that of Westcott and Hort. The
principles on which it is based, and the minute accuracy with
which they are followed out, seem to allow no alternative to
a grammatical worker, even if the B type of text were held
to be only the result of second century revision. But in
frequently quoting other readings, and especially those which
belong to what Dr Kenyon conveniently calls the d-text,
I follow very readily the precedent of Blass. I need not
say that Mr Geden's Concordance has been in continual
use. I have not felt bound to enter much into questions
of "higher criticism." In the case of the Synoptic Gospels,
the assumption of the "two-source hypothesis" has suggested
a number of grammaticul points of interest. Grammar helps
to rivet closer the links which bind together the writings of
Luke, and those of Paul (though the Pastorals often need
separate treatment): while the Johannine Gospel and Epistles
similarly form a single grammatical entity. Whether the
remaining Books add seven or nine to the tale of separate
authors, does not concern us here; for the Apocalypse,
PREFACE. xiii
1 Peter and 2 Peter must be treated individually as much
as Hebrews, whether the traditional authorship be accepted
or rejected.
Last come the specific acknowledgements of most generous
and welcome help received directly in the preparation of this
volume. I count myself fortunate indeed in that three
scholars of the first rank in different lines of study have
read my proofs through, and helped me with invaluable
encouragement and advice. It is only due to them that I
should claim the sole responsibility for errors which I may
have failed to escape, in spite of their watchfulness on my
behalf. Two of them are old friends with whom I have
taken counsel for many years. Dr G. G. Findlay has gone
over my work with minute care, and has saved me from
many a loose and ambiguous statement, besides giving me the
fruit of his profound and accurate exegesis, which students
of his works on St. Paul's Epistles know well. Dr Bendel
Harris has brought me fresh lights from other points of
view and I have been particularly glad of criticism from a
specialist in Syriac, who speaks with authority on matters
which take a prominent place in my argument. The third
name is that of Professor Albert Thumb, of Marburg. The
kindness of this great scholar, in examining so carefully the
work of one who is still a]gnoou<menoj t&? prosw<p&, cannot
be adequately acknowledged here. Nearly every page of my
book owes its debt either to his writings or to the criticisms
and suggestions with which he has favoured me. At least
twice he has called my attention to important articles in
English which I had overlooked and in my illustrations
from Modern Greek I have felt myself able to venture often
into fields which might have been full of pitfalls, had I not
been secure in his expert guidance. Finally, in the necessary
drudgery of index-making I have had welcome aid at home.
By drawing up the index of Scripture quotations, my mother
has done for me what she did for my father nearly forty years
ago. My brother, the Rev. W. Fiddian Moulton, M.A., has
spared time from a busy pastor's life to make me the Greek
index. To all these who have helped me so freely, and to
many others whose encouragement and counsel has been a
constant stimulus—I would mention especially my Man-
xiv PREFACE.
chester colleagues, Dr R. W. Moss and Professor A. S. Peake
—I tender my heartfelt thanks.
The new features of this edition are necessarily confined
within narrow range. The Additional Notes are suggested
by my own reading or by suggestions from various reviewers
and correspondents, whose kindness I gratefully acknowledge.
A new lecture by Professor Thumb, and reviews by such
scholars as Dr Marcus Dods, Dr H. A. A. Kennedy, and Dr
Souter, have naturally provided more material than I can at
present use. My special thanks are due to Mr H. Scott, of
Oxton, Birkenhead, who went over the index of texts and
two or three complicated numerical computations in the body
of the book, and sent me unsolicited some corrections and
additions, for which the reader will add his gratitude to
mine. As far as was possible, the numerous additions to the
Indices have been worked in at their place; but some pages
of Addenda have been necessary, which will not, I hope,
seriously inconvenience the reader. The unbroken kindness of
my reviewers makes it needless for me to reply to criticisms
here. I am tempted to enlarge upon one or two remarks in the
learned and helpful Athenaeum review, but will confine myself
to a comment on the "awkward results " which the writer