Date
5-2022
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Theology and Apologetics (PhD)
Chair
Anthony Chadwick Thornhill
Disciplines
Linguistics | Religion
Recommended Citation
Phelps, Ryan Kendall, "An Analysis of the –μός Suffix in the New Testament" (2022). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 3620.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3620
Abstract
This dissertation describes and analyzes the –μός suffix in the New Testament. This suffix indicates a noun derived from a verbal stem, i.e., a deverbal noun. Due to the lack of an in-depth analysis of this suffix, some incomplete ideas about this suffix have appeared in Greek grammars. Along with scholarship in Greek grammar, this dissertation employs terms from the field of linguistics, as well as patterns suggested from studies of deverbal nouns in other languages. This method will reveal two groups of conclusions. First, it will reveal that the suffix and nouns in which it occurs follow traditional expectations, such as morphological and grammatical rules. Second, it will reveal general principles to help scholars interpret –μός nouns. Principles for interpretation will first aid in distinguishing between occurrences that refer to a process and those that refer to a result. For occurrences that refer to a process, a second set of principles will equip scholars to determine the subject, object, and other important parts of the implied process.
