Stanley E. Porter

The volume presents Stanley E. Porter's considered thoughts and reflections on key questions of meaning and context, addressing the problems of biblical interpretation and how a close collaboration between hermeneutics and linguistics can help to solve them.The chapters display Porter's work in both fields, examining how hermeneutics functions as a field in modern biblical studies, and how the quest for meaning in biblical texts is underpinned by the study of linguistics. The volume focuses on context for understanding the meanings of biblical texts. Porter suggests that linguists can learn more from the philosophical questions around meaning that hermeneutics apply in their study of biblical texts, and that there is more fruitful work to be done in the field of hermeneutics using insights from linguistics.

This volume examines and outlines a Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) model of discourse analysis and its relationship to New Testament Greek. The book reflects upon how SFL has grown as a field since it was first introduced to New Testament Greek studies by Stanley E. Porter in the 1980s. Porter and Matthew Brook O’Donnell first introduce basic concepts regarding discourse analysis and the major approaches towards it within New Testament studies. They then provide a detailed exploration of discourse analysis in terms of the textual metafunction, beginning with an introduction to the architecture of language within SFL, before exploring several individual elements within it. By focusing upon these individual components – in particular, theme and information structure, markedness and prominence, and coherence and cohesive harmony – Porter and O’Donnell introduce and exemplify the major resources of the textual metafunction.

In four volumes, the classic Moulton's Grammar of New Testament Greek covers every aspect of the Greek language in the New Testament. The authors' innovative and thought-provoking analysis is supplemented by invaluable charts and indices, and continues to act as an invaluable resource for advanced students of New Testament Greek today. This new edition includes an introduction by Stanley E.Porter, one of the leading scholars of New Testament Greek, who provides critical reflection of the style and approach used in this classic work, as well as a discussion of developments in the study of New Testament Greek over the last 40 years.Volume 2: Accidence and Word-Formation deals with three essential components of New Testament Greek: sounds and writing, accidence (word inflection, noun declension and verb conjugation), and word formation.

In four volumes, the classic A Grammar of New Testament Greek covers every aspect of the Greek language in the New Testament. The authors' innovative and thought-provoking analysis is supplemented by a multitude of invaluable charts and indices, and continues to act as an invaluable resource for advanced students of New Testament Greek today. This new edition includes an introduction by Stanley E.Porter, one of the leading scholars of New Testament Greek, who provides critical reflection on the style and approach used in this classic work, as well as a discussion of developments in the study of New Testament Greek over the last 40 years.Volume 4: Style examines the diverse styles of writing exhibited by each author of the New Testament. It explores the grammatical and other linguistic features which distinguish the work of one author form that of another, attempting to isolate and identify varying techniques.

In four volumes, the classic A Grammar of New Testament Greek covers every aspect of the Greek language in the New Testament. The authors' innovative and thought-provoking analysis is supplemented by a multitude of invaluable charts and indices, and continues to act as an invaluable resource for advanced students of New Testament Greek today. This new edition includes an introduction by Stanley E. Porter, one of the leading scholars of New Testament Greek, who provides critical reflection on the style and approach used in this classic work, as well as a discussion of developments in the study of New Testament Greek over the last 40 years.Volume 3: Syntax focuses on the construction of a sentence. Divided into two parts, it begins with a detailed discussion of nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, and pronouns, to give the reader a clear and comprehensive understanding of the individual elements making up the language. Part two concerns the complete sentence and its syntax, featuring sections on the ordinary simple sentence and its construction and on different types of sentences and their varying structures.

In four volumes, the classic A Grammar of New Testament Greek covers every aspect of the Greek language in the New Testament. The authors' innovative and thought-provoking analysis is supplemented by a multitude of invaluable charts and indices, and continues to act as an invaluable resource for advanced students of New Testament Greek today. This new edition includes an introduction by Stanley E. Porter, one of the leading scholars of New Testament Greek, who provides critical reflection of the style and approach used in this classic work, as well as a discussion of developments in the study of New Testament Greek over the last 40 years.Volume 1: The Prolegomena introduces foundational premises upon which the subsequent three volumes build, providing a sketch of the language of the New Testament.

Stanley E. Porter provides descriptions of various important topics in Greek linguistics from a Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) perspective; an approach that has been foundational to Porter’s long and influential career in the field of New Testament Greek. Deep insights into Porter’s understanding of SFL are displayed throughout, based either upon how he positions SFL in relation to other linguistic models, or how he utilizes it to describe topics within Greek and New Testament studies. Porter reflects on his core approach to the Greek New Testament by exploring subjects such as metaphor, rhetoric, cognition, orality and textuality, as well as studies on linguistic schools of thought and traditional grammar.

The volume presents Stanley E. Porter's considered thoughts and reflections on key questions of meaning and context, addressing the problems of biblical interpretation and how a close collaboration between hermeneutics and linguistics can help to solve them.The chapters display Porter's work in both fields, examining how hermeneutics functions as a field in modern biblical studies, and how the quest for meaning in biblical texts is underpinned by the study of linguistics. The volume focuses on context for understanding the meanings of biblical texts. Porter suggests that linguists can learn more from the philosophical questions around meaning that hermeneutics apply in their study of biblical texts, and that there is more fruitful work to be done in the field of hermeneutics using insights from linguistics.

This volume examines and outlines a Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) model of discourse analysis and its relationship to New Testament Greek. The book reflects upon how SFL has grown as a field since it was first introduced to New Testament Greek studies by Stanley E. Porter in the 1980s. Porter and Matthew Brook O’Donnell first introduce basic concepts regarding discourse analysis and the major approaches towards it within New Testament studies. They then provide a detailed exploration of discourse analysis in terms of the textual metafunction, beginning with an introduction to the architecture of language within SFL, before exploring several individual elements within it. By focusing upon these individual components – in particular, theme and information structure, markedness and prominence, and coherence and cohesive harmony – Porter and O’Donnell introduce and exemplify the major resources of the textual metafunction.

Leading New Testament scholar Stanley Porter offers a comprehensive commentary on the Pastoral Epistles that features rigorous biblical scholarship and emphasizes Greek language and linguistics.This book breaks new ground in its interpretation of these controversial letters by focusing on the Greek text and utilizing a linguistically informed exegetical method that draws on various elements in contemporary language study. Porter pays attention to the overall argument of the Pastoral Epistles while also analyzing word meanings and grammatical structures to tease out the textual meaning. Porter addresses major exegetical issues that arise in numerous highly disputed passages and--while attentive to the history of scholarship on First Timothy, Second Timothy, and Titus--often takes untraditional or innovative positions to blaze a new path forward rather than adopt settled answers.This commentary will appeal to professors, students, and scholars of the New Testament.

Recent monographs on Johannine signs tend to focus on a single sign. Other studies that examine multiple signs mainly focus on the first half of John's Gospel. In Christian circles, most preachers and believers remain preoccupied by the traditional view that John's Gospel contains only seven signs. However, what constitutes a sign for John, and how signs function to achieve the purpose of the Gospel (John 20:30-31) is far from settled. Three features of this book explore important clues for solving this puzzle: (1) a fresh hypothesis that Jesus's signs correspond to the four tabernacle signs (a pot of manna, Aaron's staff, the bronze altar cover, and the bronze serpent), which makes sense given the tabernacle/temple theme of John's Gospel; (2) a complete study that examines Johannine signs in the whole Gospel systematically to reveal how signs develop the book's purpose; and (3) an adaptation of a sociolinguistic theory to examine the corresponding texts of the Old Testament and New Testament in light of how language functions in a social event. The author will show how Jesus's signs fulfill the functions of the four tabernacle signs, and how Jesus's crucifixion is the ""all-inclusive"" sign in witnessing to his identity.

Recent monographs on Johannine signs tend to focus on a single sign. Other studies that examine multiple signs mainly focus on the first half of John's Gospel. In Christian circles, most preachers and believers remain preoccupied by the traditional view that John's Gospel contains only seven signs. However, what constitutes a sign for John, and how signs function to achieve the purpose of the Gospel (John 20:30-31) is far from settled. Three features of this book explore important clues for solving this puzzle: (1) a fresh hypothesis that Jesus's signs correspond to the four tabernacle signs (a pot of manna, Aaron's staff, the bronze altar cover, and the bronze serpent), which makes sense given the tabernacle/temple theme of John's Gospel; (2) a complete study that examines Johannine signs in the whole Gospel systematically to reveal how signs develop the book's purpose; and (3) an adaptation of a sociolinguistic theory to examine the corresponding texts of the Old Testament and New Testament in light of how language functions in a social event. The author will show how Jesus's signs fulfill the functions of the four tabernacle signs, and how Jesus's crucifixion is the "all-inclusive" sign in witnessing to his identity.

Renowned biblical scholar Stanley Porter offers an accessible introduction to hermeneutics to help students and pastors better interpret and understand God's Word.Interpretation for Preaching and Teaching focuses on various levels of interpretation and proclamation, which are arranged in a necessary hierarchy: language and linguistics, the biblical text, biblical theology, systematic theology, and homiletics. Stanley Porter grounds the discussion within a conversation of biblical authority and offers a fresh examination of the key issues. The result is a workable method that introduces each of the major topics of interpretation and addresses some of the complexities of their use.This book provides the basics for a Bible interpreter to move from fundamental questions about the task of biblical interpretation to understanding a text and its theology to creating and delivering a sermon. It offers valuable guidance for professors and students of hermeneutics and equips pastors and Bible teachers to deliver a relevant message to those who rely on them to be faithful interpreters.

Stanley E. Porter provides descriptions of various important topics in Greek linguistics from a Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) perspective; an approach that has been foundational to Porter’s long and influential career in the field of New Testament Greek. Deep insights into Porter’s understanding of SFL are displayed throughout, based either upon how he positions SFL in relation to other linguistic models, or how he utilizes it to describe topics within Greek and New Testament studies. Porter reflects on his core approach to the Greek New Testament by exploring subjects such as metaphor, rhetoric, cognition, orality and textuality, as well as studies on linguistic schools of thought and traditional grammar.

In Romans, Stanley E. Porter and David I. Yoon provide a foundational examination of the Greek text of Acts. The analysis is distinguished by the detailed yet comprehensive attention paid to the text. The authors' exposition is a convenient pedagogical and reference tool that explains the form and syntax of the biblical text, offers guidance for deciding between competing semantic analyses, engages important text-critical debates, and addresses questions relating to the Greek text that are frequently overlooked or ignored by standard commentaries. Beyond serving as a succinct and accessible analytic key, Romans also reflects the most up-to-date advances in scholarship on Greek grammar and linguistics. This handbook proves itself an indispensable tool for anyone committed to a deep reading of the biblical text.

The early followers of Jesus drew from Jewish and Greco-Roman traditions and titles to help them understand and articulate who Jesus was. This book opens a window into the Christology of the first century by helping readers understand the eleven most significant titles for Jesus in the New Testament: Lord, Son of Man, Messiah, Prophet, Suffering Servant, Son of God, Last Adam, Passover Lamb, Savior, Word, and High Priest. The authors trace the history of each title in the Old Testament, Second Temple literature, and Greco-Roman literature and look at the context in which the New Testament writers retrieved these traditions to communicate their understanding of Christ. The result is a robust portrait that is closely tied to the sacred traditions of Israel and beyond that took on new significance in light of Jesus Christ.This accessible and up-to-date exegetical study defends an early "high" Christology and argues that the titles of Jesus invariably point to an understanding of Jesus as God. In the process, it will help readers appreciate the biblical witness to the person of Jesus.

In this book, Stanley E. Porter offers a unique, language-based critique of New Testament theology by comparing it to the development of language study from the Enlightenment to the present. Tracing the histories of two disciplines that are rarely considered together, Porter shows how the study of New Testament theology has followed outmoded conceptual models from previous eras of intellectual discussion. He reconceptualizes the study of New Testament theology via methods that are based upon the categories of modern linguistics, and demonstrates how they have already been applied to New Testament Greek studies. Porter also develops a workable linguistic model that can be applied to other areas of New Testament research. Opening New Testament Greek linguistics to a wider audience, his volume offers numerous examples of the productivity of this linguistic model, especially in his chapter devoted to the case study of the Son of Man.

Hermeneutics, as a discipline of the humanities, is often assumed to be in thrall to the same subjectivity of every interpretive method, in direct contrast to the objectivity prized by the natural sciences. This book argues that there is a false dichotomy here, and that ancient and modern ideas of knowledge can be utilized to create a new active form of hermeneutics. One capable of creating a standard by which to judge better and worse models of understanding.This book explores decisive aspects over which the future of hermeneutics—a future inexplicably tied to a history of hermeneutics—will continue to struggle, namely the limits and possibilities of situated human understanding. This book is located in the middle of a number of major, converging discussions within contemporary intellectual discourse. Drawing upon a wide range of ancient and modern hermeneutical thought, including Aristotle, Bernstein, Heidegger, Kant, and Gadamer, the result is a hermeneutical approach that pushes beyond the traditional limits of human understanding. This is a bold attempt to move hermeneutics into a new phase. As such, it will be of significant interest to scholars and academics working in General Hermeneutics, Theology, and the Philosophy of Religion.

Nowhere are the chaotic debates surrounding contemporary aspect theory more heated than in discussions of the theory’s application to Hellenistic Greek, and especially its understanding of the semantics of the Greek perfect tense. This book is a distilled academic debate among three of the best-known scholars on the subject, each defending his own unique interpretation while engaging the other two. The Perfect Storm will prove an indispensable resource for any scholar seeking to write convincingly on the Greek perfect in the future.