Second-Declension Nouns

This chapter discusses nouns that follow a different set of case endings and are grouped together in a pattern called the second declension. This declension (pattern) includes both masculine and neuter nouns. We will also discuss the vocative case and proper nouns. If this grammatical terminology is causing you anxiety, don’t worry. We will explain all these terms below.

I (Rob) recently had a pastor ask me how Jesus being circumcised as a Jewish boy was significant for our salvation. The question took me by surprise! It turned out that this pastor was looking at Col 2:11 in the ESV, and he was confused by the phrase, “the circumcision of Christ.” The surrounding text of the ESV reads:

In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ (Col 2:11).

The Greek text of the passage is instructive:

Ἐν ᾧ καὶ περιετμήθητε περιτομῇ ἀχειροποιήτῳ ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει τοῦ σώματος τῆς σαρκός, ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ.

The final word in the verse is an articular (i.e., preceded by the article) genitive form of Christ (a second declension form you will learn in this chapter). It is rendered above by the ESV as “of Christ.” This is a valid translation, but it also opens up the potential misunderstanding that Paul is writing about the circumcision that Jesus underwent as an eight-day old infant. Nevertheless, “the circumcision of Christ” can also mean the circumcision performed by Christ, as the context here favors. The technical name for this relatively common function of the genitive is the “subjective genitive”—where the genitive functions as the subject of the verbal idea in the head noun. We could rephrase the last few words of the sentence as “Christ circumcises [believers].” To avoid the potential confusion of simply translating the genitive τοῦ Χριστοῦ as “of Christ,” several modern English translations go a different route from the ESV. The NET Bible reads:

In him you also were circumcised—not, however, with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal of the fleshly body, that is, through the circumcision done by Christ.

Similarly, the NIV says:

In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ.

These latter translations bring out more clearly that it was Christ who (spiritually) circumcised us Christians by regenerating us by his Spirit and setting us apart as his people.

As a beginning student of Greek, you are rightly developing a translational reflex to translate genitive nouns with “of” in front of them, but please remember that much more than possession or family relationship can be communicated by the genitive. You will learn more about the nuances of the genitive in intermediate Greek.

English differentiates plural nouns from singular nouns with the addition of an “s” or “es” (boys, boxes). But this is not the only way to form a plural noun in English. Sometimes plurality is communicated by changing a vowel (man → men; foot → feet). Likewise, in Greek there are several ways (patterns) to indicate a change in number (or case), which is communicated through a noun’s ending.

The second declension nouns we will learn in this chapter can be either masculine or neuter (each noun has only one gender). The nouns for this chapter that end in -ος are masculine, and those that end in -ον are neuter. Remember that the gender of a noun refers to the grammatical gender and usually has no correspondence to actual gender/sex.

The cases of the second declension nouns function in the same manner as first declension nouns. At this point, you will need to learn this simplified list of functions:

Although there are two paradigms to memorize in this chapter, they are not unrelated patterns. First, note that the genitive and dative endings and articles (for both singular and plural) are identical. Second, the neuter nominative and accusative forms (singular and plural) have the same endings (context will dictate which case is intended). It is also important to note where first declension and second declension endings overlap in spelling and could be confusing—e.g., the need to distinguish καρδία (feminine, nominative, singular) from τέκνα (neuter, nominative/accusative, plural). Furthermore, observe that the masculine and neuter genitive plural form (-ων) is the same as the feminine genitive plural form (φωνῶν, καρδίῶν). Finally, the dative forms always have an iota, though it is subscripted in the singular. This is true for all three genders. It is easiest to memorize the masculine paradigm first and then learn the neuter forms by simply noting how the endings differ.

From the perspective of historical morphology, our discussion of the paradigms above has been simplified. The actual stems of λόγος and τέκνον are not λογ- and τεκν- but λογο- and τεκνο-. Thus, the case endings for λόγος are technically not -ος, -ου, -ῳ, -ον, -οι, -ων, -οις, -ους. Rather, the real ending has often contracted with the omicron (ο) ending of the stem. Below are the actual historical endings and contractions for both the masculine and neuter forms. Please note that you will never see the uncontracted forms, so most Greek textbooks do not even delve into this history of the word’s formation. Nevertheless, noting the morphology of first and second declension nouns may help you learn third declension nouns more quickly because you will see the underlying similarity that is often veiled in the combined forms. If the morphological discussion below is confusing to you, though, feel free to skip it.

Because the genitive and dative forms are the same for masculine and neuter second declension nouns, and because the nominative and accusative forms for neuter nouns are identical, we need to offer only the singular and plural forms.

Parsing second declension nouns is similar to parsing first declension nouns.

The vocative case is the fifth case in Greek, although it is not included in the paradigms due to its infrequency and overlap with other forms. The vocative case is used for direct address. That is, the vocative is used when an author or speaker addresses someone (or a group) directly. For example, the woman at the well addresses Jesus by saying, “Sir (Κύριε), give me this water” (John 4:15). The masculine singular ending (-ε) is the most common form and should be memorized. Other masculine singular nouns include διδάσκαλε (“teacher”), δοῦλε (“slave”), υἱέ (“son”), and ὦ ἄνθρωπε (“O man!”). Outside of the second declension masculine singular, most vocative forms are identical to the nominative forms of the noun in question (τέκνον μου, “my child” [2 Tim 2:1 ESV]; τέκνα μου, “my children” [Gal 4:19]). Because there is no vocative article, when the article is used before a noun that is directly addressing someone, it is an example of the nominative used to communicate direct address—the “nominative of address” (οἱ ἄνδρες, ἀγαπᾶτε τὰς γυναῖκας, “husbands, love your wives”; [Eph 5:25]). In a manner similar to English, vocatives will typically be set off by commas, making them easy to recognize. Furthermore, they also are commonly found at the beginning of a paragraph.

proper nouns identify a person, place, or thing and are capitalized in Greek (as is the case with proper nouns in English). Many proper nouns are imported from other languages (especially Hebrew and Aramaic) and can often be understood when pronounced. For example, the name Ἀβραάμ is clearly “Abraham.” (Remember, the Greek language does not have an “h” sound except for a rough breathing mark, which can only go over the initial letter of a word.) Here are twenty of the most common proper nouns in the New Testament:

Some proper nouns are declinable (as are those appearing in bold font above). But many, especially foreign names, are not (as in the case of those not bolded above). When a noun does not decline, the article will communicate its function in the sentence (τῷ Ἰσραήλ = “to Israel”). When the article is not provided, then the context determines the meaning (Ἐλέησόν με, κύριε υἱὸς Δαυίδ = “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David”; Matt 15:22). Also note that in Greek the article will often be used before a proper name, but there should not be an equivalent English word in your translation (e.g., ὁ Ἰωσήφ = “Joseph,” not “the Joseph”).

Finally, it will be helpful to highlight the declension of the name “Jesus” (Ἰησοῦς) because of its frequent use. Notice that the genitive and dative forms are the same. Either the distinct articles (τοῦ or τῷ) or the context must clarify whether Ἰησοῦ is genitive or dative.

A. Paradigms: Memorize the paradigms for λόγος and τέκνον (see section 3.6). Then write out each paradigm ten times, including the article and the English meaning.

B. Masculine Nouns: Circle the words that are masculine, including articles.

C. The Article: Parse the following nouns, circling the examples in which the article does not match the noun (in gender, case, and number). Then supply the correct article.

1. τῷ θεῷ

2. τὸν εὐαγγέλιον

3. αἱ ἄνθρωποι

4. τοῦ κυρίου

5. τῶν σημείων

6. τὴν νόμον

7. ὁ υἱός

8. ταῖς οὐρανοῖς

9. τῷ Ἰησοῦ

10. τά ἔργα

D. Case: Circle the Greek word that best translates the English phrase.

E. Translation: Underline the second declension nouns you have learned. Then parse and translate each one.

1. ὥστε κύριός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ τοῦ σαββάτου (Mark 2:28).

2. ἣν προηκούσατε ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας τοῦ εὐαγγελίου (Col 1:5).

3. Καὶ ἐξελθὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἐπορεύετο, καὶ προσῆλθον οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπιδεῖξαι αὐτῷ τὰς οἰκοδομὰς τοῦ ἱεροῦ (Matt 24:1).

4. ἐν τούτῳ φανερά ἐστιν τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου· πᾶς ὁ μὴ ποιῶν δικαιοσύνην οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ (1 John 3:10).

You will note that most Greek verbal lexical forms end in -ω. The verbs whose lexical forms end in -ομαι are considered “middle-only” regarding voice. (The next chapter will explain these terms in more detail.) For now, know that middle-only verbs often describe predictable fields of activity—when the subject both performs and is affected by the action. Whenever a middle-only verb is listed in the vocabulary, we will note its field of subject-affectedness. It is our hope that you will gradually absorb a proper understanding of the middle voice through these brief exposures.