Exploring the word Ἰουδαῖος.

How can I best learn new vocabulary items? What aids are there and what pitfalls should be avoided? How does a beginner learn to use a lexicon?
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Stephen Hughes
Posts: 3323
Joined: February 26th, 2013, 7:12 am

Exploring the word Ἰουδαῖος.

Post by Stephen Hughes »

Here is an exercise to explore the word Ἰουδαῖος.

Pre-task activity 1:
Pause for a moment and think about the following question:
  • What do you understand by the word Ἰουδαῖος?
(It is okay if you don't have an answer for this question.)

Hands-on activity 1:
Look in a New Testament Dictionary then write down the answer this question:
  • What does this word mean?
(You should have found two (2) meanings for the word - if you didn't find at least two (2) meanings, then go back and look again).

Reflection on Activity 1:
Think about the following questions and write down your answers before moving on:
Was your understanding of Ἰουδαῖος the same as the dictionary? What parts of the meaning do you need to learn to improve your understanding


Learn the theory - Polysemy.
Read the first two paragraphs of this article on
about.com polysemyThink about how we can understand the structure of the dictionary entry for Ἰουδαῖος. (The other paragraphs of that article give examples of polysemy in English).

Pre-task activity 2:
Pause for a moment and think about the following question:
  • What word do you think that Ἰουδαῖος comes from?
(It is okay if you don't have an answer for this question.)

Hands-on activity 2:
Look at the New Testament Greek Dictionary again and answer this question:"Where does the dictionary say that the word Ἰουδαῖος is from?" (If the dictionary you are using doesn't say where the word is from, look at the entry for Ἰουδαῖος in Thayer's Lexicon on Blue letter bible, studylight or use your favourite search engine with Ἰουδαῖος as the search term.

Reflection on Activity 2:
Think about where the dictionary says Ἰουδαῖος comes from. Is that the same as your understanding or different? How will you need to change your understanding or add to your understanding so that it will be correct?


Learn the theory - Etymology.
Read what etymology means. How does that apply to what we have just looked at with Ἰουδαῖος?


Similar words:
Other similar words can be explored in Trench synonyms.

Supplimentary reading:
This is not about Greek directly, but it is difficult to understand the Greek, if we do not understand the things which the Greek is talking about. Here are a few hyper-links to wiki articles that you could read to get started. Basically, you could read about any thing that you find referred to in the meaning of a dictionary.

The wiki article on Judah the OT figure
The wiki article on Judah one of the tribes of Israel
The wiki article on The Kingdom of Judah
The wiki article on The Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)
The wiki article on Judea the conquered territory
The wiki article on the Roman province of Judea
Γελᾷ δ' ὁ μωρός, κἄν τι μὴ γέλοιον ᾖ
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
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