Question: Is there anyone here that understands koine greek? I have a question about a meaning...

Question

I have attached a copy of the greek in question. (See image at bottom of letter.) It is koine greek, and a Bible verse. The Bible verse is Matthew 24:45. I get different interpretations from different people.

Question...

To my understanding, the greek meaning is this:

- a faithful slave of the Master (Lord) sets the Master(Lord) over the "faithful" slaves household so that the Master(Lord) can "feed" the servants of that household in due time and season before the Master returns.

Is this the meaning?

Or does it mean that the Master(Lord) will appoint [a] "faithful" slave (someone else) over the Masters(Lords) servants and that the "slave" will feed the servants until the Master returns?

Hopefully I am making sense with the question(s).

Thank you for your time and information. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Ash

Answer 1

Hy !

 As I am trying also to study koini, I will offer just a suggestion, and hope that our teacher will correct.

So what I have understood is: "and who is the loyal and good servant, who put him his lord to watch over his servants, and give them the food on time?"

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to practice Ancient Greek.:)

Comments

Yes Nona, that is what I am asking. Is a servant "EVERYONE" that is a servant of the Master, or is the servant "ONE GROUP of self - appointed MEN" that claim to be the servant that "feeds" the flock?

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Searching "κατεστησεν" I found (among other meanings):set as guards, ordain, appoint. So this is it the servants are appointed by the master to watch over others. And parsing it:
λήμμα    μέρος    φωνή    χρόνος    έγκλιση    αριθμός    πρόσωπο
καθίστημι    ρήμα    ενεργητική    αόριστος    οριστική    ενικός    τρίτο

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Thank you for your response. So, am I to understand that the faithful servant that has been appointed by the Master could mean "Anyone" that is taking care of the Masters belongs? It does not apply to a SINGLE "specific" group of men, does it?
Thanks,
A

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Yes, I can't see anything special according to the servant appointed by the master.

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Thank you for your answer. I feel like this can apply to "Anyone" and "Everyone" that is a servant of the Master. Thanks again for clearing up the meaning for me.

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You're welcome :)

Answer 2

Nona is correct. I could not have said it better.

Comments

Thank you very much, your answer encourages me.

Answer 3

Translating it literally,

δούλος ends with -ος, which means it is singular. There is only one servant appointed, not a group of them.

ο κύριος is in nominative case. This means the master is doing the appointing.

όν is in accusative. όν refers to the servant, so it means the servant is being appointed.

Comments

Thanks Chris for the response. So, the -os (singular) is ONLY ONE, correct? So, the ONE is "A" servant within this context of the parable, which would mean "anyone", ie "A SERVANT", and NOT a "GROUP" of men, right? I'm sure that in the BIG PICTURE, eg. the whole world of Mankind, the "Servant", although singular in the parable, would mean "EACH" (singular) person that IS a servant of the Master, right? THE PERSON that is "A" servant is responsible for feeding the slaves of the Master. Let's consider this... Is there ONE SINGLE PERSON on the planet that will be feeding and taking care of the billions of people on the planet? No, there is NO way possible that this can be done, so Jesus, in the parable was referring to EACH individual (singular -os), "A" Servant of the Master, correct? The responsible Servant that carries out the Masters will.  Which is any ONE that serves the Master, right?

This IS NOT referring to a GROUP of men that the Master will put in charge in the last days, but refers to a SERVANT of the Master obeying the Masters request and following through with that responsibility UNTIL the Master returns, right?

Hopefully I'm making sense. :-) Please clarify.  
Thanks, A

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I can only do the literal translation. What Jesus meant the parable to mean is above my pay grade :)

You are right that it is just one person, and that the servant obeys the masters request.

This refers to just one of the master's servants whom he has appointed. So the servant can't appoint himself, and it's not everyone. It is someone wise and faithful.

It's not clear to me (from this verse) whether the master is leaving and returning, or whether the servant is in charge of managing the household even while the master is there.

Where did you find the image with the translation? It makes it very easy to read.

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Hey Chris,
Thanks for the response. I am learning Greek myself and one of the places I use for research is www.Biblehub.com.  The interlinear that I use can be found here, although I use several bibles and interlinears for "comparison" research. Hope this helps. Here's the link:   http://biblehub.com/interlinear/matthew/1-1.htm

Peace,
A

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I think if we see the whole context we can understand that Jesus is talking about every believer in Him, the verse in taken from Mathew 24:45.

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Yes Nona, my spirit tells me that you are 100% correct. A servant is a servant, no matter where they live, if they choose to obey the Masters commands and look after those that belong to him. HIS property and belongings should be looked after and taken care of until HE returns, which, in context, the Master in the parable is none other that Yeshua (Jesus) himself.
Thank you,
A

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OF COURSE ! and I think you can see more information about that in the commentaries of Holy Fathers especially Saint John Chrysostome.

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Hi Ash,

I just realized you might also be asking whether the servant needs to be male. He doesn't.

While ο δούλος is masculine, it is also used in cases when speaking about people of unspecified gender.