Using Exegetical Guide for Matthew 7:1 question

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 said:

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'.

Joe Gongalski said:

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 said:

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, am I right in thinking that one of your original problems was that krino and krithete look similar but you wonder what happened to the "n" and where did the "th" come from?

You just have to learn these quirks. It is the same in English but we get used to it. Consider the word "buy". The past form is "bought". Only the first letter is the same!

What about bring and brought?

Unfortunately the more common the verb the more likely it will have unusual forms. Consider the verb "to be" ...am, is, are, were, was etc All forms of the same verb.

Or consider "lie". If you are consider the verb "lie" which means to tell an untruth. The past form is "lied". If you consider "lie" which means to rest on a bed, the past forms are "lain" and "laid".

Some verbs have the same form for nearly everything, eg cut.

We get used to all these quirks in English. Slowly we get used to them in NT Greek too.

Keep going with Logos. It is a great program.

Stephen Miller

Sydney, Australia

Joe Gongalski said:

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.