Are there 4 word in Greek for love / to love?
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Are there 4 word in Greek for love / to love?
How many words are there in Greek for love? Is it 4 like what is often claimed?
Γελᾷ δ' ὁ μωρός, κἄν τι μὴ γέλοιον ᾖ
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
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Re: Are there 4 word in Greek for love / to love?
Here's a list from the online Louw-Nida: http://www.laparola.net/greco/louwnida. ... 33&sez2=58
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne, Australia
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Re: Are there 4 word in Greek for love / to love?
ἔρως , ωτος, ὁ, acc. ἔρων love (irrational / passionate love) is not in that list, and nor is
στέργω feel (natural human) affection for
Can anyone else see any omissions?
στέργω feel (natural human) affection for
Can anyone else see any omissions?
Γελᾷ δ' ὁ μωρός, κἄν τι μὴ γέλοιον ᾖ
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
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Re: Are there 4 word in Greek for love / to love?
Ah, the problem with a limited-corpus lexicon. On the other hand, the problem with going the full LSJ McKenzie is that not every word in that lexicon was a live option in the first century or any other particular point in time.Stephen Hughes wrote:Can anyone else see any omissions?
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne, Australia
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Re: Are there 4 word in Greek for love / to love?
ἔρως is LXXStephen Carlson wrote:Ah, the problem with a limited-corpus lexicon. On the other hand, the problem with going the full LSJ McKenzie is that not every word in that lexicon was a live option in the first century or any other particular point in time.Stephen Hughes wrote:Can anyone else see any omissions?
στέργω is the verbal form of ἄστοργος
My main point is that there are not 4 words for love in the the Greek Bible.
Γελᾷ δ' ὁ μωρός, κἄν τι μὴ γέλοιον ᾖ
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
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Re: Are there 4 word in Greek for love / to love?
There is another thing that I have heard, which is that ἀγαπάω / ἀγάπη first occurs in the LXX.
Is that a myth or true?
Is that a myth or true?
Γελᾷ δ' ὁ μωρός, κἄν τι μὴ γέλοιον ᾖ
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
Re: Are there 4 word in Greek for love / to love?
I should think that a quick glance at LSJ would disabuse anyone of that notion: it's in Homer's Odyssey (23.14), appears not infrequently in Attic tragedy and orators, and is used by Plato.
I do think that a lot of nonsense has circulated about the Greek words for "love." While certain of these words are more commonly used in some particular contexts, there's a good deal of overlap in actual usage. While I may perhaps be guilty of distortion myself, I wonder whether some of the most precise accountings for the meanings of nigh-synonymous words or words of overlapping senses are offered by non-native speakers/writers. I sometimes wonder what an extra-terrestrial visitor might think 20th-21st century Americans really mean by "love." How many questionable sermons are preached on the difference between φιλεῖν and ἀγαπᾶν in John 21?
οὔτοι ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς πάντα θεοὶ θνητοῖς ὑπέδειξαν,
ἀλλὰ χρόνῳ ζητέοντες ἐφευρίσκουσιν ἄμεινον. (Xenophanes, Fragment 16)
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
ἀλλὰ χρόνῳ ζητέοντες ἐφευρίσκουσιν ἄμεινον. (Xenophanes, Fragment 16)
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
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Re: Are there 4 word in Greek for love / to love?
BDAG reports that ἀγάπη is rare, at least in literature. "Its paucity in gener. Gk. lit. may be due to a presumed colloq. flavor of the noun (...). No such stigma attached to the use of the verb ἀγαπάω (q.v.)." This is p. 6 of Third Edition.
Re: Are there 4 word in Greek for love / to love?
I suspect that the claim of 4 words (or at least the popularity of the claim) is from C. S. Lewis' book "The Four Loves". I seem to recall that the four words were ἀγαπη, φιλος, ερως, and στοργη (apologies for any misspellings; I've never read the book, and the paragraph I read about this was read before I learned Greek, and was transliterated). HTH,
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Tim Nelson
B. Sc. (Computer Science), M. Div. Looking for work (in computing or language-related jobs).
Tim Nelson
B. Sc. (Computer Science), M. Div. Looking for work (in computing or language-related jobs).
Re: Are there 4 word in Greek for love / to love?
I can't help but think of the atrocities of Amnon in II Samuel 13 verses 4 and 15 when someone talks/writes about these words.cwconrad wrote:How many questionable sermons are preached on the difference between φιλεῖν and ἀγαπᾶν in John 21?
13:4 και ειπεν αυτω τι σοι οτι συ ουτως ασθενης υιε του βασιλεως το πρωι πρωι ουκ απαγγελεις μοι και ειπεν αυτω αμνων θημαρ την αδελφην αβεσσαλωμ του αδελφου μου εγω αγαπω.
13:15 και εμισησεν αυτην αμνων μισος μεγα σφοδρα οτι μεγα το μισος ο εμισησεν αυτην υπερ την αγαπην ην ηγαπησεν αυτην και ειπεν αυτη αμνων αναστηθι και πορευου
I still wouldn't agree, but at least I'd be more interested in what the person had to say if he or she tried to say that Peter was offended because φιλεῖς reminded Peter of Judas' kiss of betrayal.
Ἀσπάζομαι μὲν καὶ φιλῶ, πείσομαι δὲ μᾶλλον τῷ θεῷ ἢ ὑμῖν.-Ἀπολογία Σωκράτους 29δ