Comparing Matthew 4:4 and Deuteronomy 8:3 (LXX)

 Matthew 4:4- ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν Γέγραπται Οὐκ ἐπ' ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ παντὶ ῥήματι ἐκπορευομένῳ διὰ στόματος θεοῦ.

Deuteronomy 8:3-καὶ ἐκάκωσέν σε καὶ ἐλιμαγχόνησέν σε καὶ ἐψώμισέν σε τὸ μαννα ὃ οὐκ εἴδησαν οἱ πατέρες σου ἵνα ἀναγγείλῃ σοι ὅτι οὐκ ἐπ᾽ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ παντὶ ῥήματι τῷ ἐκπορευομένῳ διὰ στόματος θεοῦ ζήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος

According to Matthew's account, Christ quotes the part of Deut. 8:3 that is relevant for his purpose. Notice how closely his wording mirrors the passage from Deuteronomy.

David L. Turner supplies these observations from the Baker Exegetical Commentary on Matthew:

Jesus’s response simply cites the second half of Deut. 8:3 with an introductory formula that stresses the abiding authority of the Hebrew Bible: “It is  written” (NLT: “The Scriptures say”). In context, this passage rehearses God’s care for Israel during its forty-year wilderness experience. The first half of  Deut. 8:3 alludes to God’s purpose in permitting Israel’s hunger in the wilderness: it was so that the people might learn that they needed not only bread  but also God’s word to survive (cf. John 4:34; 6:35).[5] This purpose of God in  Deut. 8:3 is similar to the statement of purpose in Matt. 4:1. Deuteronomy 8:5  likens the wilderness wandering to a father’s discipline, and this terminology finds its full implications in the testing of Jesus. Satanic temptation is the setting for divine testing, and Jesus no doubt recalls the earlier test, which was not passed with flying colors. He is aware of the daily need to depend on  the Father for bread (Matt. 7:9), and he will not use his power as some sort of  magician. 

Uses of Alpha Prefix in Greek

 1. Alpha may be used privatively. An example is ἄτομος, which one can translate as "indivisible," "undivided" or "uncut." See 1 Corinthians 15:52 where the word refers to "the smallest conceivable instant" (David Garland).

2. Next, the letter alpha is employed copulatively as in ἀδελφός ("brother"). See Matthew 5:23; 10:2.

3. Writers sometimes use alpha intensively as in ἀτενής. See https://lsj.gr/wiki/%E1%BC%80%CF%84%CE%B5%CE%BD%CE%AE%CF%82

Sources: Liddell, Scott, and Jones Greek-English Lexicon.

Garland, David E. 1 Corinthians. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003. Print.

Thiselton, Anthony C. The First Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000. Print.

Robertson, A T . A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research. Hodder & Stoughton, George H. Doran, 1919.

1 Corinthians 15:23-24 (Telos)

Greek: Ἕκαστος δὲ ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ τάγματι· ἀπαρχὴ Χριστός, ἔπειτα οἱ τοῦ χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ αὐτοῦ·

After pointing out that τάγματι (1 Cor 15:23) is a military term, H.L. Goudge notes that "The Captain (Heb 2:10) is first [in the resurrection], and His company afterwards" (See 1 Corinthians, Goudge, p. 148).

Moffatt likewise addresses the issue of what τὸ τέλος might mean in 1 Cor 15:24. He asks whether it applies to "the rest" of humankind "redeemed from the powers of death and evil and made alive in Christ" (The First Epistle to the Corinthians, Moffatt, p. 247) or to the apocalyptic End.

He concludes that the meaning, "the rest of humankind" for τὸ τέλος here is "too remote and ambiguous" to support the idea. Moffatt believes that τὸ τέλος simply denotes the End in view of how it's used at 1 Cor 1:8 and since the construction bears the apocalyptic sense elsewhere in the GNT.

Anthony Thistleton agrees with Moffatt's analysis. He observes that εἶτα "indicates a firmly marked sequence" denoting either "then, afterward" or "thereafter" (First Epistle to the Corinthians, p. 1229).

He argues that τὸ τέλος does not apply to a third group of individuals for the following reasons:

(a) The lexical scope of τέλος suggests that it does not refer to people remaining over.

(b) The syntax and use of εἶτα in 1 Corinthians is far from decisive in affixing the referent as remaining ones.

(c) Jewish apocalyptic expectation concerns the final resurrection of the righteous only and not the unrighteous.

Concerning Thiselton's last point, I am aware that a number of objections could be raised to subvert his claim; nevertheless, his commentary is one of the most thorough that I've seen on 1 Corinthians. Maybe some of these observations will at least give you food for thought.

The Potential Significance of Anarthrous Theon in John 1:18

Greek (SBLGNT): θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακεν πώποτε· μονογενὴς θεὸς ὁ ὢν εἰς τὸν κόλπον τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκεῖνος ἐξηγήσατο.

There is plenty that one could say about the Greek of John 1:18, but notice that the accusative form θεὸν appears as the initial word, and the verb ἑώρακεν modifies the noun while οὐδεὶς and πώποτε emphasize that no one has seen God "at any time" (at all). 

However, just what is significant about the anarthrous and initial word, θεὸν? Why did John produce this construction?

John F. McHugh (John 1:1-4):

The absence of the article before θεόν implies that no one had ever (previously) seen God qua God,55 though they might have ‘seen’ him under shadows and figures at Mamre, at the burning bush, or in a vision (Gen 18; Exod 3; Isa 6). That is, no one had ever seen and known God in the way one knows oneself or another human being (cf. Exod 33.18-20). 

Merrill C. Tenney (John: The Expositor's Bible Commentary, page 34):

The noun God (theon) has no article in the Greek text, which indicates that the author is presenting God in his nature of being rather than as a person. "Deity" might be a more accurate rendering. The meaning is that no human has ever seen the essence of deity. God is invisible, not because he is unreal, but because physical eyes are incapable of detecting him. The infrared and ultraviolet rays of the light spectrum are invisible because the human eye is not sensitive enough to register them. However, photographic plates or a spectroscope can make them visible to us. Deity as a being is consequently known only through spiritual means that are able to receive its (his) communications.

Whitfield Mowbray, D.D. (Durham University Thesis for M.Litt., page 83):

It is pre-eminently as FATHER that the Word reveals God (anarthrous, in v.18, suggesting Nature rather than Person: 'God as God').

Notes on the Resurrection

Definition of resurrection: the act of raising the dead to life again: usually understood as a bodily exaltation from death to life.

1. N.T. Wright argues that resurrection in the ancient world [always] involves raising up a personal body to life again, which would include Christ's resurrection from the dead. He extensively lays out this argument in The Resurrection of the Son of God.

See also https://ntwrightpage.com/2016/07/12/christian-origins-and-the-resurrection-of-jesus-the-resurrection-of-jesus-as-a-historical-problem/

2. Specific Old Testament/Tanakh Texts-See Job 14:13-14; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:1-2.

3.Christian Resurrection of the Body-1 Corinthians 15:3-58; Hebrews 6:2; 11:19, 35.

4. Christian Materialism-Representatives of this school of thought include Kevin Corcoran, Nancey Murphy, Peter van Inwagen, Lynne Rudder Baker, Joel Green.

Bibliography:

Wright, N T. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003. Print.

Corcoran, Kevin.  Rethinking Human Nature. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006. Print.

Murphy, Nancey. Bodies and Souls, or Spirited Bodies? Cambridge University Press, 2006. Print.

Van Inwagen, Peter. Material Beings. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1990. Print.

Baker, Lynne Rudder. Persons and Bodies: A Constitution View. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Print.

Divine Gifts From Above

What a generous God that Jehovah is: his gifts are abundant, diverse or manifold. He's given us the gift of reason, speech, family, friends, food, drink, a planetary home, spiritual enlightenment, life and so many other good things (Romans 1:11; 5:15-16; 11:29). Note what the Bible states about divine gifts. All passages come from the SBLGNT:

Matthew 7:11: εἰ οὖν ὑμεῖς πονηροὶ ὄντες οἴδατε δόματα ἀγαθὰ διδόναι τοῖς τέκνοις ὑμῶν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς δώσει ἀγαθὰ τοῖς αἰτοῦσιν αὐτόν.

Luke 11:13:  εἰ οὖν ὑμεῖς πονηροὶ ὑπάρχοντες οἴδατε δόματα ἀγαθὰ διδόναι τοῖς τέκνοις ὑμῶν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ πατὴρ ὁ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ δώσει πνεῦμα ἅγιον τοῖς αἰτοῦσιν αὐτόν.

Ephesians 2:8: τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι διὰ πίστεως· καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐξ ὑμῶν, θεοῦ τὸ δῶρον·

Ephesians 4:8: διὸ λέγει· Ἀναβὰς εἰς ὕψος ᾐχμαλώτευσεν αἰχμαλωσίαν, ἔδωκεν δόματα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις.

Romans 6:23: τὰ γὰρ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας θάνατος, τὸ δὲ χάρισμα τοῦ θεοῦ ζωὴ αἰώνιος ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν.

Romans 12:6: ἔχοντες δὲ χαρίσματα κατὰ τὴν χάριν τὴν δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν διάφορα, εἴτε προφητείαν κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῆς πίστεως,

James 1:17: Πᾶσα δόσις ἀγαθὴ καὶ πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον ἄνωθέν ἐστιν, καταβαῖνον ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν φώτων, παρ’ ᾧ οὐκ ἔνι παραλλαγὴ ἢ τροπῆς ἀποσκίασμα.

1 Corinthians 1:7: ὥστε ὑμᾶς μὴ ὑστερεῖσθαι ἐν μηδενὶ χαρίσματι, ἀπεκδεχομένους τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ·

2 Corinthians 9:15: χάρις τῷ θεῷ ἐπὶ τῇ ἀνεκδιηγήτῳ αὐτοῦ δωρεᾷ.

2 Timothy 1:6: δι’ ἣν αἰτίαν ἀναμιμνῄσκω σε ἀναζωπυρεῖν τὸ χάρισμα τοῦ θεοῦ, ὅ ἐστιν ἐν σοὶ διὰ τῆς ἐπιθέσεως τῶν χειρῶν μου·

1 Peter 4:10-11:  ἕκαστος καθὼς ἔλαβεν χάρισμα, εἰς ἑαυτοὺς αὐτὸ διακονοῦντες ὡς καλοὶ οἰκονόμοι ποικίλης χάριτος θεοῦ· ¹¹ εἴ τις λαλεῖ, ὡς λόγια θεοῦ· εἴ τις διακονεῖ, ὡς ἐξ ἰσχύος ἧς χορηγεῖ ὁ θεός· ἵνα ἐν πᾶσιν δοξάζηται ὁ θεὸς διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἐστιν ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν.