Synesis is an app designed to take intermediate Koine Greek students to fluency through vocab acquisition, form recognition, conversation in Koine, Scripture memorization, and more.
Beginner→Intermediate will come later, but you're welcome to sign up even if all you like is trying to memorize Koine words via pictures.
Beta access“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
οὐ μή σε ἀνῶ οὐδʼ οὐ μή σε ἐγκαταλίπω
That’s five negatives on two verbs, and English leaves out three.
“Never! Never! Never! Never! Never!” — C. H. Spurgeon
Reading the New Testament in English is like settling for 720p when you could have 4K.
“Unless one is born again…”
ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν
again
…δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν…
3:4 · Nicodemus: “enter a second time?”
from above
ὁ ἄνωθεν ἐρχόμενος
3:31 · “he who comes from above”
The Greek reveals the double meaning English can’t.
“Before Abraham was, I am.”
πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι ἐγὼ εἰμί
Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν
EXODUS 3:14 · GREEK OLD TESTAMENT
God to Moses at the burning bush: “I am the One who is.”
Jesus answers with the words God used to name himself.
“So they picked up stones to throw at him.” (8:59)
“…and the Word was God.”
καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος
and the Word was God
The article ὁ marks ὁ λόγος as the subject.
θεός, without the article, tells us what the Word is,
but placed first, it emphasizes the divine nature of the Word.
TRANSLATING WORD BY WORD
Καὶ πρωῒ ἔννυχα λίαν ἀναστὰς ἐξῆλθεν καὶ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς ἔρημον τόπον κἀκεῖ προσηύχετο.
Hard to understand when reading feels more like a word search.
READING FLUENTLY
Καὶ πρωῒ ἔννυχα λίαν ἀναστὰς ἐξῆλθεν καὶ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς ἔρημον τόπον κἀκεῖ προσηύχετο.
“And early, while it was still very dark, having risen, he went out and departed to a solitary place, and there he was praying.”
- εἰρήνη · peace (John 14:27)
- καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν · and he tabernacled among us (John 1:14)
- λόγος · word (John 1:1)
- φῶς · light (John 1:5)
- πνεῦμα · wind · Spirit (John 3:8)
- ἠγέρθη · he has been raised (Matt 28:6)
- ἐκκλησία · assembly (Matt 16:18)
- θεόπνευστος · θεός · God, πνέω · breathe · breathed out by God (2 Tim 3:16)
- συνέστηκεν · hold together (Col 1:17)
- τετέλεσται · it is finished (John 19:30)
- tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword · ὑπερνικῶμεν · we more than conquer (Rom 8:35–37)
- Α … Ω · alpha, omega (Rev 1:8)
- καιομένη · burning (Luke 24:32)
Οὐχὶ ἡ καρδία ἡμῶν καιομένη ἦν ἐν ἡμῖνὡς ἐλάλει ἡμῖν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ, ὡς διήνοιγεν ἡμῖν τὰς γραφάς;
“Were not our hearts burning within us as he spoke to us on the road,as he opened the Scriptures to us?”
LUKE 24:32 · TWO DISCIPLES ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS
τότε διήνοιξεν αὐτῶν τὸν νοῦντοῦ συνιέναι τὰς γραφάς.
“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”
LUKE 24:45 · LATER THAT EVENING, IN JERUSALEM
May your hearts burn like theirsas you better understand the Word of God.
σύνεσις
Synesis