The mysterious middle : a look at the treatment and teaching of Koine Greek's middle voice

Dunn-Morris, McKenzie

1 online resource (ix, 66 leaves) : illustrations

Abstract

Thesis (M.A.B.T.S.)--Covenant Theological Seminary, 2025

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-66)

Title

The mysterious middle : a look at the treatment and teaching of Koine Greek's middle voice

Last modified

10/02/2025

Creator

Dunn-Morris, McKenzie

Abstract

Koine Greek presents a few difficulties for English translation and interpretation. One of those is the middle voice, which exhibits a challenge in terms of both morphology and semantics. This is not only because of its absence from English, but because of its rarity in other languages. Within the context of the New Testament, the middle voice is also complicated by the intrusion of the passive, which was not present in pre-classical iterations of Greek. As regards the meaning of the middle voice, no universal definition exists, but the cornerstone concept behind it is subject-affectedness. In other words, the subject is in some way affected, involved, or emphasized in the action of the verb. Though middle voice verbs represent a relatively small portion of the New Testament, this study maintains that they play a critical role in biblical interpretation. A few Scripture examples are provided to help display this role. The intention of this work is to explore the characterization of the middle voice and to consider how it is taught in the Greek classroom. A survey of key Greek grammars alongside a few other works in biblical and linguistic studies displays the current landscape of Koine Greek’s middle voice. Also represented in this survey are “hot spots” of the middle voice. One of those hot spots deserving of mention here is the issue of deponency, which has recently experienced major upheaval. Following this is a consideration of how the middle voice is taught to Greek students. The acquisition of ancient languages is unique from that of modern languages. This is primarily because the goal of ancient language acquisition is typically literacy, not oral fluency. So pedagogical methods for teaching Koine Greek are largely deductive in nature. Following a review of how the middle voice is usually introduced in the modern grammars surveyed, a few ideas are presented for the teaching of the middle voice. Ideas range in scope and are dependent on one’s stance on specific components of Koine Greek’s middle voice. First is a two-voice continuum, where the active and passive voice make up the two ends of the continuum and the middle floats along it. Second is less reliance on the category of deponency, which is not only potentially necessary but could help students work harder to understand the meaning of true middles. Third is the application of the linguistic methods Discourse Analysis and Construction Grammar, which encourage a context-based approach. Fourth is the inclusion of visuals with explanation to promote middle voice comprehension. Finally, a few small ideas are presented such as the call for a uniform definition, sentence diagramming, and an emphasis on application. These ideas may benefit the Greek student, but it should also be noted that critical to middle voice comprehension is an attempt to understand its Greek context (instead of via the English context). More linguistic work is needed to thoroughly flesh out the meaning and function of the middle voice. While some progress has been made, further research will greatly enhance understanding of the middle voice, ultimately improving the biblical interpretation that involves it. In the meantime, continued engagement and effort with the middle voice in the New Testament is essential.

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