I examine the grammar of Matt 1:25 and argue there is an obligatory scalar inference meaning ‘after but not before.’ I conclude the grammar of Matt 1:25 contradicts the view that Mary remained a virgin after the birth of her son.

This study analyzes the information structure of Peter’s speech in Acts 2 using the framework developed for biblical Greek by Stanley E. Porter and Matthew Brook O’Donnell. Refining their approach, the study examines prime/subsequent, theme/rheme, and topic/comment structures to identify grammatically marked and semantically prominent features across phrase, clause, paragraph, and dis-course levels of the speech. The analysis identifies five major topics, with the second and third topical units structurally highlighted. The study ultimately discerns the primary topic and concludes with the central message of the speech: “God raised Jesus.”

Valency or argument structure—known by a variety of names in similar grammatical models, including valency grammar, word grammar, dependency grammar, and even functional grammar (Allerton, “Valency Grammar,” 301)—has an interesting if somewhat neglected history in light of the popularity of some other linguistic models. Nevertheless, it suggests various levels of hierarchy related to form, structure, and semantics that have often proved helpful in grammatical description. However, there are also some significant limitations to valency as a descriptive model—at the constituent, clause, and beyond levels—that indicate that supplementation is necessary. This paper will provide some positive and negative comments on valency as a grammatical framework in relation to recent study of New Testament Greek from a systemic functional linguistic framework.