The Apostolic Fathers Greek-English Interlinear

by Rick Brannan

Publisher:

Lexham Press

, 2011

Overview

Those known as “Apostolic Fathers” wrote what has become some of the most important literature in the early church—letters and epistolary documents, homilies and theological tracts, documents on church order, and apocalyptic literature. In fact, some texts came close to inclusion in the New Testament canon. Tertullian regarded Hermas as Scripture, Irenaeus treated 1 Clement as canonical, and Origen regarded the Didache as inspired. Barnabas and Hermas were included in Codex Sinaiticus and 1 Clement and 2 Clement were included in Codex Alexandrinus. The near-canonical status of the writings of the Apostolic Fathers in the early church makes their importance for modern study undisputed.

Following the model of other interlinears produced by Lexham Press (Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Septuagint), The Apostolic Fathers Greek–English Interlinear presents two levels of interlinear translation. The first is the lexical value, which is a gloss of the lexical or dictionary form of the word. The second is the English literal translation, a contextually sensitive gloss of the inflected form of the word. The difference in these glosses is subtle, but powerful. The first gloss answers the question, “What does this word mean?” The second gloss answers the question, “What does this word mean here?”

In addition to the interlinear translations, direct links to Louw and Nida's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains are provided for every Greek word, except for those words not present in the Greek New Testament. These links are context-sensitive and connect directly to the appropriate Louw and Nida article. Those familiar with Louw and Nida's lexicon know that one Greek word may have many different entries in the lexicon, one for each semantic sense. These Louw-Nida references jump to the appropriate article when there is more than one option—providing a contextually-appropriate lexicon definition for the word under study. These links also allow for searching the Apostolic Fathers text by Louw-Nida domain and article information.

This new interlinear from Lexham Press makes the Greek text of the Apostolic Fathers more accessible and useful for a larger audience. It features a literal translation for each word, a grammatically-informed context sensitive gloss, and other interlinear features. It also includes morphological tagging, idioms and cross-references, and lexical, text-critical, and translational notes.

Key Features

• Based on Kirsopp Lake’s Loeb Classical Library Edition
• Each word has a Louw-Nida reference. Where the word is unique in the Apostolic Fathers corpus, this is noted, and no Louw-Nida reference is given
• Each word has a lexical value
• Each word has an English literal translations—the grammatically informed context-sensitive gloss
• Each word is morphologically tagged
• Interlinear features, such as idioms and cross-references, are featured
• Cross-references to biblical material are provided
• Includes lexical, text-critical, and translational notes by the editor

Contents

• 1 Clement
• 2 Clement
• Epistles of Ignatius
• Epistles of Ignatius to the Ephesians
• Epistles of Ignatius to the Magnesians
• Epistles of Ignatius to the Trallians
• Epistles of Ignatius to the Romans
• Epistles of Ignatius to the Philadelphians
• Epistles of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans
• Epistles of Ignatius to Polycarp
• The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians
• The Didache
• The Epistle of Barnabas
• The Shepherd of Hermas
• The Martyrdom of Polycarp
• The Epistle to Diognetus

Top Highlights

“By tradition he is considered to be a disciple of the Apostle John, and as a child Ireneaus met with Polycarp and records some of his teaching (Hill, Lost Teaching, 12).” (source)

“Following the model of other interlinears produced by Logos Bible Software (Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Septuagint), The Apostolic Fathers Greek-English Interlinear presents two levels of interlinear translation. The first is the lexical value, which is a gloss of the lexical form of the word. The second is the English literal translation, a contextually sensitive gloss of the inflected form of the word. The difference in these glosses is subtle, but powerful. The first gloss answers the question, ‘What does this word mean?’ The second gloss answers the question, ‘What does this word mean here?’” (source)

“ὁhoὁhoDNSMthethe₁92.24 κύριοςkyriosκύριοςkyriosNNSMLordLord₂12.9 καὶkaiκαίkaiCandand89.92 πάντεςpantesπᾶςpasJNPMallall59.23 οἱhoiὁhoDNPMthethe92.24 ἅγιοιhagioiἅγιοςhagiosJNPMholyholy ones88.24 μετʼmetʼμετάmetaPwithwith89.108 αὐτοῦautouαὐτόςautosRP-GSMhe, she, ithim.^f92.11. ⁸ τότεtoteτότεtoteBthenThen67.47 ὄψεταιopsetaiὁράωhoraōVFMI3Sto seewill see₃24.1 ὁhoὁhoDNSMthethe₁92.24 κόσμοςkosmosκόσμοςkosmosNNSMworldworld₂9.23 τὸνtonὁhoDASMthethe92.24 κύριονkyrionκύριοςkyriosNASMLordLord12.9 ἐρχόμενονerchomenonἔρχομαιerchomaiVPMP-SAMto comecoming15.81 ἐπάνωepanōἐπάνωepanōBonupon83.49 τῶνtōnὁhoDGPFthethe92.24 νεφελῶνnephelōnνεφέληnephelēNGPFcloudclouds1.34 τοῦtouὁhoDGSMtheof92.24 οὐρανοῦouranouοὐρανόςouranosNGSMheavenheaven.^g1.11” (source)

“These writings, because they are so close to (and, according to some views, contemporaneous with) the New Testament, share many qualities, turns of phrase, and use of Old Testament material.” (source)

“The Epistle to Diognetus is a fascinating peek at arguments for Christianity in opposition to paganism and Judaism in the early centuries of Christianity.” (source)

Praise for the Electronic Edition

These documents are invaluable for the view they give us of the church just after the New Testament period. . . . The Apostolic Fathers provide a bridge between the New Testament and the later fathers of the church. We see in them a diversity of viewpoint but at the same time evidence of a common and uniting faith. Without question there is theological development on some issues from the New Testament writings with the result that we find both continuity and at times a degree of discontinuity with the views of the New Testament writers. The Apostolic Fathers neither simply repeat the theology of the New Testament, nor do they depart radically from it by creating a new theology. Rather than being creators they are supreme adapters of the theology they received. These writings, in short, throw light upon the church of the late first century to the middle of the second, a church faced with a variety of difficult problems. These they address by means of the frequent quotation of Old Testament Scripture, the sayings of Jesus, and the tradition of the apostles. Using these materials and others, they consolidate the faith and practice of the church in an era of increasing challenges. In so doing they remain remarkably faithful to what they had received.

—Ralph P Martins and Peter Davids note in the Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments

Product Details

• Title: The Apostolic Fathers Greek-English Interlinear
• General Editor and Translator: Rick Brannan
• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Publication Date: 2010

About Rick Brannan

Rick Brannan is the translator of The Apostolic Fathers in English, author and translator of Greek Apocryphal Gospels, Fragments, and Agrapha, and managing editor of the Lexham English Septuagint. He has also published Greek Reader Editions of the Acts of Pilate and the First Apocryphal Apocalypse of John. He is currently researching the Greek text of the Shepherd of Hermas for a forthcoming publication.