It would be a mighty dreary world without adjectives. In fact, it would just be a world, because there'd be no words like dreary. Thus far in Greek, all we've had are nouns. Nouns are fascinating, true, but the fun really starts when you get to describe things. And that's where adjectives come in. For example, in 1 Tim. 3:2-3, Paul uses eleven adjectives in just two short verses to describe a pastor. See for yourself! This morning I went to a well-known pastor's website and noted how frequently he uses adjectives in his sermon titles:
- A wise life.
- An encouraging prospect.
- The sight of the pure.
- A hardened heart.
- Constructive teamwork.
- Am I a balanced person?
- Love of the poor.
- The penitent prayer.
- The right purpose.
- The glorious Father.
I suppose we could also think of movie titles like Sleepless in Seattle, Senseless, Big, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, and, of course, Dumb and Dumber.
In today's Greek class we'll learn adjectives like good, beloved, powerful, new, bad, evil, first, wise, holy, worthy, righteous, strong, small, and impossible. I have 5 word studies prepared for today's session but will probably be able to only get through two or three of them!
P.S. Don't tell my students, but there are 24 forms for every adjective in Greek. That's right, 24 ways of spelling "good." There might be more I could add about adjectives at this point, but I'm going to get me some Ethiopian coffee at the moment.
Have a wonderful week!