Using Exegetical Guide for Matthew 7:1 question

I'm doing a study trying to find how many different ways the word "to judge" is used. I would like to show that judging is not just "to condemn", but also has other applications that we can't ignore and that we should do.

When I use the exegetical guide for Matthew 7:1, and go to the word "judge" I see:

krithete and krino - is one the word that is used and the other the root word?

And if I open the DBL Greek for krino, I see definitions such as "decide, prefer, evaluate, hold a view, make a legal decision, condemn, and rule." And it gives a scripture quotation where each is used.

My question is, where those words are used, does that indicate they are the same word, or that they have the same root? I'm not sure how to use the information I'm seeing.

I hope this makes sense. And thank you in advance for the help. I don't want to think I'm sharing one thing in my teaching when that might not be the case.

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

David Thomas

Krino is the basic form of the word that you would find in a dictionary. The same word would have different forms (think of the difference between run, ran, will run, running, etc.) which is why you see "krinete" and "krithete" both in this verse. This screen capture will show all the different ways the same word is translated in the NASB depending upon context.

Joe Gongalski

Thank you David! Very helpful. I love this program but I need to take a class to get better at it.

Mark Barnes

krithete and krino - is one the word that is used and the other the root word?

Krithete is the from of the word that is used in Matthew 7:1 (specifically it is the aorist passive subjunctive second person plural), where as krino is the dictionary form of the word (which we call the lemma). The 'root' is something different. So krithete means "be judged" (aorist passive etc.), whereas krino means simply 'to judge'.

And if I open the DBL Greek for krino, I see definitions such as "decide, prefer, evaluate, hold a view, make a legal decision, condemn, and rule." And it gives a scripture quotation where each is used.

My question is, where those words are used, does that indicate they are the same word, or that they have the same root? I'm not sure how to use the information I'm seeing.

Both krithete and krino are the same word, more specifically they are different forms of the same word. One is the second person plural aorist passive subjunctive, the other is the dictionary form.

The reason the words have different definitions, is because words can mean different things in different contexts. In this case krino has at least seven shades of meaning, depending on context. As you can see, one of those seven shades of meaning is "condemn", but there are lots of other possible meanings.

An important question is therefore "what does krino mean in Matthew 7:1?". Does it mean "condemn", or does it mean "decide" or "prefer" or "evaluate" or any of the other meanings. Context is very important, and in this case Jesus' point is that the way we judge others will be the same way God will judge us (that's what v2 says). So we could ask "what does it mean that God will judge us?", and that will help us understand what 'judge' means in 7:1.

But let me show you how Logos can help you determine the meanings of words in their context.

Instead of using the exegetical guide, turn on the reverse interlinear ribbon, and click on the word you're interested in. In the ribbon, the word should be highlighted, and one row is headed "Louw". This stands for "Louw-Nida number", and if you click on the highlighted Louw-Nida number (LN 56.30 in this case), you'll be taken to a dictionary entry for krino that doesn't list seven options, but just one option "to judge as guilty". That's because the Logos editors have looked at the seven shades of meanings for krino, and consider that this one meaning is the one that best fits the context here. They've assigned the Louw-Nida number that represents that one meaning to this word. They're not infallible, of course, but they're very usually right.

Joe Gongalski

Hey Mark - thank you so much! This really helps and it's actually making sense to me [8-|] ! I've been practicing this morning looking at a few different words and wow, it just opens things up so much. This is going to be fun to play with! Thanks again!

David Thomas

I need to take a class to get better at it.

Mark Barnes is too humble to promote his own work, but this site of video links will move you far down the "effective logos user" road. - http://www.logos4training.com/

Other FREE videos are available here - http://wiki.logos.com/ including http://www.logos.com/support/logos5/bible-word-study which will show you how to get the "translation ring" that I posted last night.

Joe Gongalski

Hey David, thanks so much! I've added the links to the top of my favorites bar. That's awesome, I feel like a kid with a new toy and can't wait to get started watching the videos. I'd start now but need to go print my sermon for tomorrow and go over it again. Have a great and blessed Sunday tomorrow! And thanks again!

Adam Rao

Thank you David! Very helpful. I love this program but I need to take a class to get better at it.

If you're really interested in this stuff - and want to do this kind of work well - you don't need a class in Logos; you need a class in Greek!

Quite seriously - look into auditing a local seminary class or ordering the Basics of Biblical Greek "kit." Even a little Greek would be helpful to you for the question(s) you're asking.

Joe Gongalski

I have been considering that. Hoping in the fall I'll have time to do just that. Thanks Adam.