Rob Bell further undermines his credibility in the Nooma DVD Store | 016:

And then, the Bible says [in Mark 3:5] that Jesus looked around at them in anger. Jesus gets angry. Now this story was first told in the Greek language, and there’s a subtle nuance to this word “anger” in the Greek language. It’s in what’s called the aorist tense, which is a technical way of saying that Jesus’ anger is a temporary feeling. It comes on him, and then it leaves him.

Response:

1. “Anger” is a noun, not a verb, in Mark 3:5. The participle περιβλεψάμενος (“After looking around at”) is aorist.
   • καὶ περιβλεψάμενος αὐτοὺς μετ᾽ ὀργῆς, συλλυπούμενος ἐπὶ τῇ πωρώσει τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν λέγει τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ• ἔκτεινον τὴν χεῖρα.
   • NET: After looking around at them in anger, grieved by the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
2. Even if Bell had correctly parsed the word he was highlighting, his point is still guilty of the aorist tense fallacy. The aorist tense is not “subtle” or “technical.” It’s the default tense that communicates the very least about a particular action. (See, e.g., D. A. Carson, Exegetical Fallacies [2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), 67–73.)

This is not an isolated example. When Bell talks about ancient history, customs, language, etc., he not infrequently undermines his credibility.

Related:

1. See Greg Gilbert’s thoughtful reviews of Nooma videos 1-19: parts 1 | 2 | 3.
2. C. J. Mahaney, “Rob Bell, the Pastor’s Task of Discernment, and My Heart“
3. D. A. Carson comments on Rob Bell’s ministry
4. Pat Abendroth, “Rob Bell makes me angry: a pastoral response to Velvet Elvis“
5. Ken Silva, “Is Rob Bell Evangelical?“

Update:

1. Justin Taylor highlights this post followed by some related comments.
2. Justin Taylor highlights this post again followed by more related comments.
3. Kevin DeYoung, “This is Not Good“

Jim Hamilton, associate professor of biblical theology at Southern Seminary, teaches both Hebrew and Greek. This week he shared some wise and motivating advice for beginning Hebrew and Greek students (though it applies in some ways to more advanced students, too):

1. How to Prepare for Second Semester Hebrew
2. How to Prepare for Second Semester Greek

One month ago I posted on “Con Campbell’s Primer on Verbal Aspect Theory.”

Constantine R. Campbell. Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008 (coming November 1, 2008). 159 pp.

This week Campbell blogged a five-part mini-series on his book on a Zondervan blog:

• part 1
• part 2
• part 3
• part 4
• part 5

I’ve previously highlighted two of Con Campbell’s books written primarily for NT scholars:

1. Con Campbell’s Book on Verbal Aspect Released in Carson’s SBG Series
2. Con Campbell’s Second Book on Verbal Aspect Released in Carson’s SBG Series

After studying verbal aspect theory a bit, I recognized that nearly everything written on the subject was by scholars and for scholars. I attempted to bridge that gap a little with a short journal article: “A Brief Introduction to Verbal Aspect Theory in New Testament Greek” (Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 12 [2007]: 17–28). Now Con Campbell has superbly bridged the gap with a short book. I’m grateful that Zondervan is publishing a reasonably priced, reliable, concise primer by Con Campbell for students and pastors as well as scholars:

Constantine R. Campbell. Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008 (coming November 1, 2008). 159 pp.

It is clearly written, addressing the subject in a logical order with helpful subdivisions and diagrams. (See the table of contents followed by a sample chapter.) It also includes exercises with an answer key as well as a short glossary of key terms (which is important to make sense of the lingo for linguistics!) This would make a fine supplementary text for a Greek class on any level.

More product info is available here, including an impressive group of endorsements by the following scholars:

1. William D. Mounce
2. Steve Walton
3. D. A. Carson
4. Stanley E. Porter
5. Peter T. O’Brien
6. Rodney J. Decker

Last August I posted on “Con Campbell’s Book on Verbal Aspect Released in Carson’s SBG Series.” His second volume, a companion to the first, is now hot off the press:

Constantine R. Campbell, Verbal Aspect and Non-Indicative Verbs: Further Soundings in the Greek of the New Testament (ed. D. A. Carson; Studies in Biblical Greek 15; New York: Lang, 2008), xiv + 155 pp.

Carson writes in the series editor’s preface,

One of the self-imposed limitations of Dr Campbell’s earlier volume in this series, Verbal Aspect, the Indicative Mood, and Narrative: Soundings in the Greek of the New Testament, was the restriction of the analysis to verbs in the indicative mood found in narrative settings. The book you now hold in your hand plugs part of that gap: Dr Campbell now does for the non-indicative verbs what he earlier did for the indicative. His approach is similar: judicious soundings, careful examination of the context, thoughtful translation—all couched in highly readable prose. The two volumes belong together, and together they establish one of the most credible (and certainly accessible) analyses of verbal aspect in the Greek of the New Testament. The issues are complex and frequently subtle, so inevitably grammarians will differ in their assessments of some elements of Dr Campbell’s presentation. Nevertheless this contribution is strong evidence (if more evidence is needed) that verbal aspect theory has come of age and cannot responsibly be ignored by New Testament scholars (pp. xi–xii).

Endorsements on the back cover are by Peter T. O’Brien (Campbell’s colleague at Moore Theological College) and Rodney J. Decker.

Related (but not available yet online) is my attempt at a primer on the subject: Andrew David Naselli, “A Brief Introduction to Verbal Aspect Theory in New Testament Greek,” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 12 (2007): 17–28.

Rodney Decker informally reviews the latest volume in D. A. Carson’s SBG series: Constantine R. Campbell, Verbal Aspect, the Indicative Mood, and Narrative: Soundings in the Greek of the New Testament [paperback forthcoming] (ed. D. A. Carson; Studies in Biblical Greek 13; New York: Lang, 2007), xxi + 285 pp.

Cf. my earlier post on Campbell’s book.