Evaluating the Exegetical Benefit of Integrating New Testament Greek Discourse Grammar with Traditional Grammar

Abstract

Over the past two centuries, there has been a constant shift in the evolution of thought on how Greek grammar should be studied and presented. Modern linguistics entered the scene at the dawn of the twentieth century, bringing a notable shift in language study. This modern linguistics period (1961 to the present) is earmarked for advances in modern linguistics and, in the past ten to twenty-plus years, the emergence of discourse grammar as a recent development in the field. In keeping with this trend, this thesis investigated the exegetical benefit of integrating New Testament Greek discourse grammar with traditional grammar in Greek language studies.

The study began with a documentation of the past and current state of scholarship in Greek grammar. Then, in phase two, Matthew 7:1–20 was examined through the lens of traditional grammar, which provided a baseline for a comparison with the discourse-grammar study. The next logical step was to examine Matthew 7:1–20 through a discourse grammar lens to determine how much it clarified or enriched the interpretation of the four pericopes.

After conducting phases two and three, the key takeaway was that integrating discourse grammar with traditional grammar does not result in a different interpretation of Matthew 7:1–20. Still, there is compelling evidence suggesting that it adds significant nuance and enriches the understanding of the text in three specific discourse-related areas of exegesis: (1) the writer's intent behind constituent order fluctuations (and whether they are "default" or "marked"), (2) the function and pragmatic constraints of conjunctions, and (3) the tasks performed by various other discourse devices.

Accordingly, a holistic approach is proposed that integrates the grammatical and syntactical rules of traditional grammar with the communicative principles (or discourse tasks) of discourse grammar. This finding is significant since, if implemented, it could enrich the learning experience and improve the exegetical skills of future Greek students.