Learning Greek and Hebrew
I haven't had the opportunity to learn Greek or Hebrew. Using Logos or other resources what are your suggestions in learning these for the purpose of understanding the biblical text?
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I've been reading through Greek for the Rest of Us: Using Greek Tools without Mastering Biblical Greek
by William Mounce and found it extremely helpful. He's a well-known Greek scholar and definitely knows his stuff (he was the head of the translation committee for the ESV) but this book teaches what he calls "baby Greek". The point of it isn't to be able to read a Greek text on your own, but rather to cover the various moods, tenses, and grammatical nuances so that you can follow a commentary's discussion or understand a morphologically tagged interlinear.
I don't plan to stop there (going to Seminary in the fall) but it's already made my Logos resources a lot more useful.
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Found a number of forum threads:
- Learning Greek
- How to learn Greek
- Learning Biblical Greek and Hebrew
- Which is easier to learn: Hebrew or Greek
- Greek education/training
- Biblical Languages - Greek
Logos offers video series with 3rd year Greek study insights => Learn to Use Biblical Greek and Hebrew with Logos Bible Software plus Hebrew grammatical insights (last video is the Hebrew alphabet). Caveat: videos were made with an older Logos 4 version that had "Interlinear" button, which has since changed to "Display" and "Reverse Interlinear" buttons. Also, in Dec 2011, Logos reduced the price for => Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures and => Tanakh (1917) along with many other Bibles to $ 10 each.
My favorite Logos 4 feature is visual filter highlighting using Logos Greek Morphology so can visually see range of verbal expression in a passage; wiki Extended Tips for Visual Filters has => Examples of visual filters that has screen shots with Logos Greek Morphology visual filters and corresponding highlighting palette, which are usable in Greek and English resources with appropriate tagging (e.g. English Reverse Interlinear and Greek resources with morphological tagging).
Logos recently shipped => Biblical Languages: Reference Grammars and Introductions (19 vols.) that includes A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew and Some Other Syntactical Questions
Logos has Product Guides that include => Greek Bible Texts and Tools and => Hebrew Texts and Tools
Keep Smiling [:)]
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Michael Kinch said:
I haven't had the opportunity to learn Greek or Hebrew. Using Logos or other resources what are your suggestions in learning these for the purpose of understanding the biblical text?
While it isn't absolutely necessary to have an instructor in order to learn the languages, it is quite helpful due to the human tendency to slack off if there isn't some requirement placed upon one. If you can discipline yourself to study the materials at a regular pace, there is no problem with using Logos to learn Gr & Heb, but you will be the unusual person.
george
gfsomselיְמֵי־שְׁנוֹתֵינוּ בָהֶם שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה וְאִם בִּגְבוּרֹת שְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה וְרָהְבָּם עָמָל וָאָוֶן
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Thanks Mitchell for the heads up on Greek For The Rest of Us. I think it might be an excellent starting point. You will find some of Bill Mounce's materials at www.biblicaltraining.org It is an excellent website with some good training materials.
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Thanks Keep Smiling for your helpful information. I will check out all your links, very much appreciated.
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George Somsel said:
While it isn't absolutely necessary to have an instructor in order to learn the languages, it is quite helpful due to the human tendency to slack off if there isn't some requirement placed upon one. If you can discipline yourself to study the materials at a regular pace, there is no problem with using Logos to learn Gr & Heb, but you will be the unusual person.
Thanks George. Yes I agree that will take some discipline, well more than just some. I think I am up to the task though.
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Michael Kinch said:George Somsel said:
While it isn't absolutely necessary to have an instructor in order to learn the languages, it is quite helpful due to the human tendency to slack off if there isn't some requirement placed upon one. If you can discipline yourself to study the materials at a regular pace, there is no problem with using Logos to learn Gr & Heb, but you will be the unusual person.
Thanks George. Yes I agree that will take some discipline, well more than just some. I think I am up to the task though.
Hope you the best in your pursuit, Michael. It's easy to make the best beginning with the best intentions, but it's a long process. Still, whatever is learned is worth the effort, so hang in there!
Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Clinton, SC
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Michael Kinch said:
Thanks Keep Smiling for your helpful information. I will check out all your links, very much appreciated.
One more link => Learning Biblical Hebrew: A New Approach Using Discourse Analysis
Pre-publication => Lexham Discourse Hebrew Bible Bundle (6 vols.) needs more pre-orders to change status from "Almost There!"
Keep Smiling [:)]
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Just my opinion, but I personally think that one should begin with traditional approaches such as the one in David Alan Black's Learn to Read New Testament Greek. His text is built upon the science of linguistics, yet at the same time does not wander too far from a traditional approach:
http://www.logos.com/product/5196/learn-to-read-new-testament-greek
For Hebrew, I am currently working through Futato. I started with Learn Biblical Hebrew using Discourse Analysis, but I switched because the author (Rocine) admits to having his own peculiarity in interpreting certain structures. I felt like there were shifting sands under my feet. If I am going to buckle down and put all that hard work into learning Hebrew, I want to feel solid ground under my (metaphorical) feet.So I recommend Futato.
http://www.logos.com/product/4228/beginning-biblical-hebrew
Like I say, I am not an expert like George Somsel. But I have piddled around in linguistics enough to know that it can be a very subjective field, and it's better to stick with established methods and teachers. I hope this helps!
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