Word study, or lexical analysis, the process we use to determine the meaning of words in a foreign-language text, was the focus of our last column. We discussed the principles—considering the range of meanings, the context and the significance of the words—as well as the procedures and dangers of doing Greek word study in the New Testament. Here we give an example of a word study based on 1 Thessalonians 5:14 (please turn to this verse). Paul commands the Thessalonians to help “the weak” (twßn ajsqenwßn, toµn asthenoµn, genitive plural). But who are “the weak”? The dominant sense of […]
