Lesson 6 | Phrasing in Greek
[3] Indent
Indenting subordinate phrases is one of the key visual features of Phrasing. All subordinate phrases are indented to the right, leaving the main clause farthest to the left. (We will add arrows in the next step to further highlight the connection between subordinate phrases and main clauses.)
For those who have taken the Biblearc Phrasing Course, you will notice that the indenting rules presented here diverge from how it is taught there. This reinforces the point made in the Phrasing course that this Bible study method can readily be customized. The advantage of the approach presented here is that it allows you to identify the particular word that a subordinate clause or phrase is modifying.
Clauses
Indent subordinate clauses (including relative clauses) to the right of the first word of the clause they modify. In Rom 10:16, Paul will quote Isaiah as support for his assertion. The γάρ clause is subordinate and therefore indented from the main clause.
Indent direct discourse (speech content). In Mark 4:38, the disciples speak directly to Jesus. Their speech content is intended from the clause that introduces the discourse.
Indent OT quotations. Revisiting Romans 10:16, we now include the actual quote from Isaiah and indent it from the introductory clause.
Phrases
Indent all subordinate phrases to the right of the word they modify. In the following example from Philippians 1:4–5, two prepositional phrases modify the participle ποιούμενος. And then three prepositional phrases modify the noun κοινωνίᾳ.
Indent adverbial participles to the right of the main verb of the clause they modify. Here in Mark 4:36, we have indented the adverbial participle which we extracted earlier.
Lists
Use the "Indent within lines" tool when you have parallel items in subsequent lines. Such is the case with the two participles in Mark 11:15. In the previous step, we decided to split off the second participle as a short list. The first item should be indented in line and the second indented parallel to the first.
