Learn Greek
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steve clark said:
In your bio you state that you are at Liberty University. Don't they offer Greek courses?
Yes, but I am also a distance learning student do I don't have access to my professors like other students would. I don't get the opportunity to ask questions while learning, makes it a little more difficult.
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i see...
many have asked this question on the forum, so click on the link below to see a search for these post:
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David Taylor Jr said:
Anyone have a suggestion on the easiest way to learn Greek?
The punchline to an old joke: "Practice, man. Practice." I began by carrying an interlinear New Testament every time I went to church. Not the fastest way to learn, but it was a start.
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- Learn to read the alphabeth
- Learn to write the alphabeth
- Sing the alphabeth
- Expensive but convenient and cosy solution: buy commentaries that contain a lot of Gk, and read them a lot (not just the Gk words, just read them through at least somewhat quickly).
Suggested resource that looks promising: Read Greek in 30 Days or Less: New Testament, Old Testament, Apocrypha, Philo, Church Fathers
This is the method I'm using.
I have the luxury of having a university (not a Christian University) nearby that has separate Biblical Gk class. First I have to finish high-school in adult tuition. I'm 30 yo. I'm looking for new friends who want to discuss theology who have a desk phone, preferably in the U.K.Disclosure!
trulyergonomic.com
48G AMD octacore V9.2 Acc 120 -
Jack Hairston said:David Taylor Jr said:
Anyone have a suggestion on the easiest way to learn Greek?
The punchline to an old joke: "Practice, man. Practice." I began by carrying an interlinear New Testament every time I went to church. Not the fastest way to learn, but it was a start.
Logos 4 has an alternative to intermingling Greek and English words in an interlinear. English is not Greek, both are not Hebrew nor Aramaic. Proper names tend to have a one to one correspondence between languages, but many other words have a variety of nuanced meaning.
My favorite Logos 4 feature is visual filter highlighting so can highlight morphological codes in Greek and English using resources in parallel. WIki has => Examples of visual filters
Keep Smiling [:)]
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I bought an app for my IPod Touch a year or so ago. I used it to learn every word in the Greek New Testament. I also read using Logos' interlinear feature. I think in a year or two I will have made some progress.
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I recently bought a pre-pub copy of "Greek is Good Grief" from Logos! I have only begun to use it. So far it seems to be an e-text, with excellent tables, and with interactive exercises. I came to this forum hoping to learn how to check my answers in the exercises for accuracy. I am basically using this to refresh some pretty slim familiarity with Greek that i picked up in a class at church. The class was enjoyable, but slow. Self-study with an e-text can be self-paced, but lacks the reinforcement of interaction with teacher and other learners.
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David Taylor Jr said:
Anyone have a suggestion on the easiest way to learn Greek?
I am not sure that "easiest way" and "learn Greek" belong in the same sentence.
Anyway, I think there are a few "common ways" that generally include taking a class. I am assuming that you are asking about koine (NT) or at least classical Greek, and not modern Greek (which is quite different due to the effects of 1500 years of history affecting the language). Here is my own, peculiar experience.
1. I learned the alphabet, not due to any interest in the Bible, but because my astronomy teacher told me to, because many stars are labelled with Greek letters.
2. I learned a bit about classical Greek literature, especially the dramatists and philosophers, because I had a keen interest in philosophy. (Still without reading a "word" of Greek).
3. I decided I wanted to read the NT in Greek, and worked through some standard primer/introduction to New Testament Greek with an exercise book and answer key. Thoroughly. Every exercise. Then I got a Greek New Testament (not interlinear), and eventually a good lexicon. I have been reading New Testament in Greek every day since around 1977 (35 years!).
4. Eventually I took a university course in classical Greek, spent hours studying Greek NT papyri and the whole manuscript tradition, translating, etc. Also I eventually developed a real love of the OT in Greek (LXX), the Apostolic Fathers in Greek, etc.
But it all started with learning the Greek alphabet for astronomy!
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I fully recommend Jeremy Duff's The Elements of New Testament Greek (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008), paperback, fourth corrected printing, ca. $30. It should be in Logos as a new excellent item.
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David, There are a few angles to approach the learning process. I'm kind of partial to the old fashioned way like we did in seminary many years ago - Memorize, memorize, memorize: read; then memorize some more. I actually taught my self Greek I since I began in the middle of the school year. Get a text book (we used Machen). They will all lead you down the same path. But, here's the key I believe ... learn the alphabet, then vocabulary, then grammar as you go along.
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Dave M said:
But, here's the key I believe ... learn the alphabet, then vocabulary, then grammar as you go along.
The other key: know yourself. For myself it is easier to learn the syntax and grammar first then figure out the vocabulary much as I did in the 1sr grade. Memorizing vocabulary just didn't work. But Dave is correct that for many, memorizing the vocabulary is the way to go.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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David
Hope this list is helpful.
Not available in Logos but...
[*]Learn New Testament Greek by John H Dobson is a really good starting point. IMHO the fastest way to get up and reading (comes with a CD). You'll be reading the NT in greek so satisfyingly quick with this nothing else comes close.
Sing and Learn New Testament Greek Zondervan + A basic greek grammar Duff is excellent. Cheesy but the fastest way to get all the conjugations in your head.
Follow up with It's still greek to me by Black
In Logos
Get the greek audio resources and set up to have the greek bible read to you with the lexham interlinear scrolling alongside.
Use Logos Visual Filters to focus on a type of Verb in a passage eg. All present indicative active and then practice parsing.
Get the logos video series on Learn to Use Biblical Greek and Hebrew with Logos Bible Software. Awesome video set of quality classes. If you play them back with VLC you can do them at quicker speed too.
Exegetical Fallacies by maybe Carson? is available from Logos and really worth a read. (prevents you from making silly mistakes.)
Use Logos 5 memorization tool to learn some favorite passage in greek - they will function as great examples to make vocab stick in your mind.
Free
Vocabulary is far easier to learn via context so after Dobson read at least 3 verses a day in greek.
[*]'anki' a free app for computers or available for android and ios at a cost. You can download all the greek nt words in order of freq and in about 12 weeks you could know every word occurring more than 50 times in about 5-10 mins a day.
biblewebapp [dot] com [slash] reader - is an awesome readers edition new testament which does some visual filters and can show vocab by freq to build your confidence.
These tips are what has been working for me anyway.
Cheers,
John
גַּם־חֹשֶׁךְ֮ לֹֽא־יַחְשִׁ֪יךְ מִ֫מֶּ֥ךָ וְ֭לַיְלָה כַּיּ֣וֹם יָאִ֑יר כַּ֝חֲשֵׁיכָ֗ה כָּאוֹרָֽה
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MJ. Smith said:Dave M said:
But, here's the key I believe ... learn the alphabet, then vocabulary, then grammar as you go along.
The other key: know yourself. For myself it is easier to learn the syntax and grammar first then figure out the vocabulary much as I did in the 1sr grade. Memorizing vocabulary just didn't work. But Dave is correct that for many, memorizing the vocabulary is the way to go.
I totally agree with this. I'm convinced from experience that vocab comes simply from reading texts and seeing the words used in meaningful contexts. How many times have I carried flashcards and still later forgotten the word. Though we do need to have a good basic knowledge of vocab, it is better to focus on learning the rules of the language, and pick up the vocab as you go along, imo. Looking up the same word a few times in a dictionary as you read will do far more than weeks of learning a flashcard.
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If you have access to a computer with pre-windows 7, Logos did sell two very good programs: Greek tutor and Hebrew tutor. Both of these programs walk you through the process teaching grammar, learning declensions (for greek) and the like. For the person who is willing to spend the time they are great. When I purchased them many years ago, they came with que-cards.
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Check out http://www.teknia.com. The "Basics of Biblical Greek" by William Mounce is a very good program for learning biblical greek. I personally have the program and highly recommend it .
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David, you can also try this link. It really is quite helpful. I also purchased the Logos Bible Greek Hebrew which is really good as well.
http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/New_Testament_Greek/Video/00-GTLearnVideos.html
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Not available in Logos, but GREEK TO ME by Cullen I. K. Story and J. Lyle Story with its mnemonic picture memory system and exercise workbooks is the best and fastest method for learning the basics of NT Greek while also acquiring a decent vocabulary (every word that occurs 25x or more, not just 50x or more like Mounce.)
Some of these items can be bought elsewhere (e.g., Amazon). You'll cover the same basics as Mounce in 2/3 the time and learn 2x the vocabulary. I've taught church classes in NT Greek using Mounce, Dobson, and Story, and Story's GREEK TO ME had by far the best results.
My only caveat is that it, like most NT Greek texts, uses the so-called "Erasmian" pronunciation; I much prefer Randall Buth's Phonemic Koinē (or Modern Greek). If you're serious about wanting to really learn NT Greek as a living language, take the plunge and buy Dr. Buth's materials and take his immersive classes:
Optimistically Egalitarian (Galatians 3:28)
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http://www.biblicalgreek.org/classes/web/
You can also check out this site. It is an online Greek course. They also provide a class Greek in a Week.
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David Taylor Jr said:
Anyone have a suggestion on the easiest way to learn Greek?
You might want to check out the following textbooks:
In a couple of Logos packages (Bronze and above) you can find:
http://www.logos.com/product/7863/kairos-a-beginning-greek-grammar-with-workbook-and-answer-key
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MJ. Smith which syntax @ grammar do did you use
Armwood
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Armwood said:
MJ. Smith which syntax @ grammar do did you use
Ypu want me to embarrass myself? Lanman ... which you probably don't recognize because it is for Sanskrit. However, it assumed that students all knew Latin and Greek and thus used those languages to explain Sanskrit syntax, morphology and roots. I'm very inconsistent as to which Greek grammar I used to verify what I suspect/conclude is the proper Greek. I've not found a good Greek grammar based on Proto-IndoEuopean which is what I really need.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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MJ. Smith said:
I'm very inconsistent as to which Greek grammar I used to verify what I suspect/conclude is the proper Greek.
Wonder if have looked at http://www.logos.com/product/2481/grammar-of-the-greek-new-testament-in-the-light-of-historical-research that tends to be in bibliography of modern Greek grammar resources for a number of important points ?
Note: BDAG and BDF have more than 1,000 links to Robertson's 1,500 page grammar.
Collection => http://www.logos.com/product/8534/georg-curtius-greek-studies-collection includes Principles of Greek Etymology Volume 1 that has a table:
REGULAR REPRESENTATION OF SOUNDS IN SANSKRIT, ZEND, GREEK, ITALIAN, TEUTONIC, CHURCH-SLAVONIC, LITHUANIAN, AND OLD IRISH
logosres:grketymolvol01;ref=Page.p_146
Curtius, G. (1886). Principles of Greek Etymology, Volume 1 (A. S. Wilkins & E. B. England, Trans.) (Fifth Edition) (146). London: John Murray.
Noticed 1886 precedes Robertson's grammar by 30 years.
Keep Smiling [:)]
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MJ. Smith said:
I've not found a good Greek grammar based on Proto-IndoEuopean which is what I really need.
While it's not based on Proto-IndoEuropean (or Sanskrit), Robertson does frequently relate Greek words and forms to Sanskrit.
Robertson, A. T. A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research, Logos Bible Software, 1919.
EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about Greek but were afraid to ask (Well, not quite since I still like Smyth).
george
gfsomselיְמֵי־שְׁנוֹתֵינוּ בָהֶם שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה וְאִם בִּגְבוּרֹת שְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה וְרָהְבָּם עָמָל וָאָוֶן
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I just ordered Blackwelder: Light from the Greek New Testament
It's cheap.A much more expensive suggestion is: New Testament Greek Listening Materials: For the Elements of New Testament Greek (CD-Audio) (link to UK-based seller) and the book to go along with it.
I'm wondering if Catholic Practicum will be of any use for me learning Gk? (I'm trying to decide which pre-pub -orders to cancel as I have too many.):
Disclosure!
trulyergonomic.com
48G AMD octacore V9.2 Acc 120 -
David Taylor Jr said:
Yes, but I am also a distance learning student do I don't have access to my professors like other students would. I don't get the opportunity to ask questions while learning, makes it a little more difficult.
David,
I have a degree in NT Greek and would be glad to answer questions for you as you learn. Feel free to message me with things you don't understand. I can't be a constant tutor, but I will be glad to help you when you get stuck. Message me or email me anytime.
As for tools, there are many good ones, but I would recommend Mounce. It may be in your Logos base package already.
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Kevin Maples said:David Taylor Jr said:
Yes, but I am also a distance learning student do I don't have access to my professors like other students would. I don't get the opportunity to ask questions while learning, makes it a little more difficult.
David,
I have a degree in NT Greek and would be glad to answer questions for you as you learn. Feel free to message me with things you don't understand. I can't be a constant tutor, but I will be glad to help you when you get stuck. Message me or email me anytime.
As for tools, there are many good ones, but I would recommend Mounce. It may be in your Logos base package already.
I think you can find 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 (or more) on the forum who will be happy to help you in any way possible, but I would also suggest that you start frequenting http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek/forum/index.php/ Helping one another to learn and improve in Greek is the purpose of the group.
george
gfsomselיְמֵי־שְׁנוֹתֵינוּ בָהֶם שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה וְאִם בִּגְבוּרֹת שְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה וְרָהְבָּם עָמָל וָאָוֶן
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Use "Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar" from Bill Mounce. I am using it now and he makes things very straight forward and easy to understand. They are putting most of his resources on Logos soon, currently on Pre-pub. Go to www.teknia.com to look at what he has to offer. The DVDs are about 50% off at CBD right now.
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Also, if you use "Learn to Use Biblical Greek/Hebrew with Logos Bible Software". The discs are expensive, but it is very detailed. It really breaks down the grammar for you, but you will have to work on vocabulary on your own.
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Download Teknia.com there are some free resources available. Bill Mounce is the Prof.
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a number of folks have mentioned Bill Mounce. Here is a link to his latest website with his courses and resources. I have heard many people say he is the go to guy for learning biblical greek. He also has a nice intro if you don't want to do the seminary level material. If I ever get around to studying biblical greek in a committed way, I will use his material. One thought, which is the reason I have not really started this type of study, is you have to decide you are going to read some biblical greek everyday, or almost everyday, to keep your skills up. Otherwise you will lose all you learned and gained.
https://billmounce.com/biblestudygreek
Vince
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