In the first and third posts of this series we discussed Getting Started With Greek – Year One, and what to do to prepare for year two while you are Between Year One & Two. Now we are ready to move onto the second year and offer some suggestions for materials.
Grammar:
The grammar must go on. If you stop after year one you will be greatly limited. So keep moving forward.
Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics – Daniel B. Wallace
This is hands down the best 2nd year Grammar book for Greek. It is thorough, exhaustive, and yet at the same time accessible. Though I am calling it a 2nd year Grammar (intermediate), it goes beyond that and should serve for years more in the advanced realm. This is the standard reference which Greek scholars turn to over and over when they need a definitive word.
New Testament Greek Syntax Chart – Daniel B. Wallace
This chart is to the above what Bill Mounce’s chart is to his Grammar book. It is not necessary, but helpful for the price.
Discourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament - Steven Runge
Wallace's grammar is thorough, exhaustive, excellent and quite suitable for self-teaching. I would recommend reading through the entire body of the book, as opposed to only using it merely as a reference tool. It uses the grammar-translation-method of teaching, as do most Greek grammars today. It would be greatly profitable to use Steven Runge's Discourse Grammar in addition to Wallace, as it uses linguistics and other methods of teaching which traditional grammars often choose not to use today. They greatly complement each other. Get them both if you can.
Lexicon:
You have been learning vocabulary glosses thus far through the Vocabulary Cards from Bill Mounce as well as in using his book. Glosses provide the top one or two meanings of each word, but you need to move on to fuller meanings. Now is the time to get a Lexicon (Dictionary) and use it in your studies, in addition to the Cards and other Vocabulary you are learning.
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament & Other Early Christian Literature – 2nd Edition 1979 used
This is the standard Greek Lexicon. If you have this you then you do not need another. It is the most up to date lexicon today, being based on the most recent discoveries, research, and scholarship, and so it surpasses Thayer and others.
Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament – 2nd Edition – F. Wilbur Gingrich
This is an abridgement of the lexicon above, and as such it is very handy and portable. It does provide definitions of all words in the NT, but leaves out the information from other early literature.
Notice that I have linked to the 2nd edition of the Lexicon as opposed to the newest 3rd edition of BDAG. The 2nd edition can be purchased used and in good condition for $15-25, where as the 3rd edition costs about $145-160. There are however several changes that took place between the 2nd & 3rd editions, namely with typography (which are good improvements) and "inclusive and tolerant language" (which are not so good). You can read about some of the changes here. For the unfortunate issue of language of "inclusiveness and tolerance" found in the 3rd edition, I highly recommend Vern Poythress' review here.
Vocabulary:
A helpful pattern for learning vocabulary is as follows: In 1st year with Mounce’s Grammar you should have learned the words with occurrences of 50x or more (325 words). In 2nd year now you should memorize the words occurring 20x to 49x (323 words). Eventually work your way down to those occurring 10x to 19x (352 words). This equals 1000 words and will enable you to comfortably read the GNT, with grammar of course. The materials above will help you to learn vocabulary well. Learning cognate word groups, reading the GNT daily, and using the UBS Greek Reader's NT will do the rest.
For 2nd year I recommend continuing with Mounce’s Vocabulary Cards, as well as spending a lot of time reviewing and digging into Warren Trenchard’s Vocabulary Guide.
Exegetical Tools:
You should be at a place now to begin to get deeper into the original text and do some Greek based exegesis. These tools assist in this task.
The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament – Cleon Rogers
This book gives a verse by verse analysis of concise explanations of grammatical features that may not be immediately obvious to the reader. Occasionally it will refer to other works such as Wallace’s Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, BDAG, and others. This work is very accessible to those who have first year grammar and keep up with it.
NT Greek Commentaries
See the 3rd category for a list of recommended technical and exegetical commentaries I have put together based on the Greek New Testament. These take a detailed look at what the text says in the original language for the purpose of exegesis and interpretation as well as to see different shades of meaning and nuances. These will be a more long-term investment as there are numerous volumes, but they are worthwhile.
Audio Tools:
It is helpful to get as many senses involved as possible. Hearing the language spoken, whether for vocabulary or the reading of the GNT, is very helpful.
You may want to consider getting New Testament Greek Vocabulary – Learn on the Go – Audio CD – Jonathan Pennington. This will expose you to the using more senses and actually hearing the words you are reading and pronouncing out loud.
The Audio Greek New Testament of Westcott & Hort – Marilyn Phemister is a free resource and can be downloaded. It provides a clear reading of the W-H, which is close enough to be used with the UBS/NA.
Previous Post: Learning Greek Part 3: Between First & Second Year Greek
Next Post: Learning Greek Part 5: Encouragement
Grammar:
The grammar must go on. If you stop after year one you will be greatly limited. So keep moving forward.
Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics – Daniel B. Wallace
This is hands down the best 2nd year Grammar book for Greek. It is thorough, exhaustive, and yet at the same time accessible. Though I am calling it a 2nd year Grammar (intermediate), it goes beyond that and should serve for years more in the advanced realm. This is the standard reference which Greek scholars turn to over and over when they need a definitive word.
New Testament Greek Syntax Chart – Daniel B. Wallace
This chart is to the above what Bill Mounce’s chart is to his Grammar book. It is not necessary, but helpful for the price.
Discourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament - Steven Runge
Wallace's grammar is thorough, exhaustive, excellent and quite suitable for self-teaching. I would recommend reading through the entire body of the book, as opposed to only using it merely as a reference tool. It uses the grammar-translation-method of teaching, as do most Greek grammars today. It would be greatly profitable to use Steven Runge's Discourse Grammar in addition to Wallace, as it uses linguistics and other methods of teaching which traditional grammars often choose not to use today. They greatly complement each other. Get them both if you can.
Lexicon:
You have been learning vocabulary glosses thus far through the Vocabulary Cards from Bill Mounce as well as in using his book. Glosses provide the top one or two meanings of each word, but you need to move on to fuller meanings. Now is the time to get a Lexicon (Dictionary) and use it in your studies, in addition to the Cards and other Vocabulary you are learning.
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament & Other Early Christian Literature – 2nd Edition 1979 used
This is the standard Greek Lexicon. If you have this you then you do not need another. It is the most up to date lexicon today, being based on the most recent discoveries, research, and scholarship, and so it surpasses Thayer and others.
Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament – 2nd Edition – F. Wilbur Gingrich
This is an abridgement of the lexicon above, and as such it is very handy and portable. It does provide definitions of all words in the NT, but leaves out the information from other early literature.
Notice that I have linked to the 2nd edition of the Lexicon as opposed to the newest 3rd edition of BDAG. The 2nd edition can be purchased used and in good condition for $15-25, where as the 3rd edition costs about $145-160. There are however several changes that took place between the 2nd & 3rd editions, namely with typography (which are good improvements) and "inclusive and tolerant language" (which are not so good). You can read about some of the changes here. For the unfortunate issue of language of "inclusiveness and tolerance" found in the 3rd edition, I highly recommend Vern Poythress' review here.
Vocabulary:
A helpful pattern for learning vocabulary is as follows: In 1st year with Mounce’s Grammar you should have learned the words with occurrences of 50x or more (325 words). In 2nd year now you should memorize the words occurring 20x to 49x (323 words). Eventually work your way down to those occurring 10x to 19x (352 words). This equals 1000 words and will enable you to comfortably read the GNT, with grammar of course. The materials above will help you to learn vocabulary well. Learning cognate word groups, reading the GNT daily, and using the UBS Greek Reader's NT will do the rest.
For 2nd year I recommend continuing with Mounce’s Vocabulary Cards, as well as spending a lot of time reviewing and digging into Warren Trenchard’s Vocabulary Guide.
Exegetical Tools:
You should be at a place now to begin to get deeper into the original text and do some Greek based exegesis. These tools assist in this task.
The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament – Cleon Rogers
This book gives a verse by verse analysis of concise explanations of grammatical features that may not be immediately obvious to the reader. Occasionally it will refer to other works such as Wallace’s Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, BDAG, and others. This work is very accessible to those who have first year grammar and keep up with it.
NT Greek Commentaries
See the 3rd category for a list of recommended technical and exegetical commentaries I have put together based on the Greek New Testament. These take a detailed look at what the text says in the original language for the purpose of exegesis and interpretation as well as to see different shades of meaning and nuances. These will be a more long-term investment as there are numerous volumes, but they are worthwhile.
Audio Tools:
It is helpful to get as many senses involved as possible. Hearing the language spoken, whether for vocabulary or the reading of the GNT, is very helpful.
You may want to consider getting New Testament Greek Vocabulary – Learn on the Go – Audio CD – Jonathan Pennington. This will expose you to the using more senses and actually hearing the words you are reading and pronouncing out loud.
The Audio Greek New Testament of Westcott & Hort – Marilyn Phemister is a free resource and can be downloaded. It provides a clear reading of the W-H, which is close enough to be used with the UBS/NA.
Previous Post: Learning Greek Part 3: Between First & Second Year Greek
Next Post: Learning Greek Part 5: Encouragement