Greek

Consider talking with Wycliffe Bible Translators.

 

Mounce's Textbook

Mounce's textbook has both a workbook (sold separately) and comes with a CD in back where Mounce teaches.

 

Hi, Friend On the Edge.

I'm going to assume with the following recommendations that you already have taken undergrad Greek.

As I remember, you are a fellow independent Baptist. I recommend you to look into an MA in Biblical Studies at Maranatha Baptist Bible College. You can study for this degree in modules, even while you do deputation. However, for the Biblical languages you will need to spend a semester at the school. The degree will require you to take Greek advanced Greek or Hebrew: http://www.mbbc.edu/page.aspx?m=1144

Also, check out two programs especially for Bible translators: Baptist Bible Translators Institute (http://www.baptisttranslators.com/) and the BJU MA in Bible translation (http://www.bju.edu/academics/seminary/programs/mabibtrns.html). For scholarly content, the BJU program is better, but the head of the BBTI has done Bible translation in tribal missions. (I don't find that experience in the faculty listing for the BJU program.) In both programs you are required to study Biblical languages.

If you just want the Biblical Greek without the MA program, in most grad school programs you can just take the grad school Greek courses without graduating--provided you have the undergrad Greek courses done.

Now, it may be that you want to just study on your own. Be advised, that is extremely difficult to do--unless you are very gifted by God in languages. But it is not impossible.

God bless.

John "the Bible translator" of Japan

 

Dr. David Black, at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, is an excellent greek instructor. He expects his students to work and keep up with their studies and those who do are greatly rewarded. I had him for one semester of greek when I was at SEBTS back in the late ninties (before I transfered to Liberty). He has written, what I consider, to be the best Greek textbook: "Learn To Read New Testament Greek". Dr. Black has also written a small book for new preachers that is very helpful. The purpose of the book is to mentor students on how to, and how not to, use greek in the ministry. This book is called "Using New Testament Greek in Ministry".

 

Greek help

Although not a big fan of greek. I have had 3 years a while back. I think it is tuff going it alone.

this might help.

http://www.ntgreek.net/

Ehud

 

Hi, Brother!

Haven't talked to you in awhile. I hope you're doing well and the Lord is taking good care of you.

On the Greek thing, our son is applying to Southeastern hoping to get his Ph. D. under either Dr. Maurice Robinson (textual criticism) or Dr. David Alan Black (Greek linguistics). He just wrote Dallas Greek scholar Dr. Daniel Wallace about an "Advanced Greek Grammar" project and ended up ordering Wallace's thesis on the Granville-Sharpe rule. He's really showing up his old Dad!

Dr. Robinson's co-editor in the Byzantine Textform Greek NT, William Pierpont, was evidently self taught in Greek. However, he was a language genius who had "a speaking and reading knowledge of over 2 dozen world languages, including Polish and Mandarin Chinese" (back cover blurb of the NT).

NT Koine Greek has tremendous depth to it. Few languages compare to its precision in the verbs. Japanese and Chinese verbs don't even come close to the Greek verb system. Even modern Greek is simpler in the verbs, by the way! That is a big reason it is hard to learn on one's own. It's remarkable how God planned His Word to be written.

God bless.

 

Learning Greek on your own?

If you are going "on your own" route, I would recommend John Dobson's text over Mounce's, which is a good classroom text but not particularly well suited for self-study. You can find a review at http://homeschoolchristian.com/Reviews/DobsonHebrewGreek.html

If you want a taught course, you may check out Reformed Theological Seminary DE (http://virtual.rts.edu/site/virtual..._online.aspx?gclid=CLOSwqe96Y8CFUtyOAodRAccMg) or listen to William Mounce teach via TEDS distance education (http://www.tiu.edu/divinity/distanceeducation/nt401). Or, you might pursue a Semlink course through Gordon-Conwell. (If you are interested in Hebrew, I like Gary Pratico's Hebrew courses offered at Semlink. He authored the Hebrew textbook similar in philosophy and method to Mounce's Greek textbook.)

Let me know what you think. There are other options but it depends on how serious and interested you are in Biblical language study.

 

Learning Greek on your own?

Double post--don't know what happened. My apologies.

 

Hi there,
I suggest a beginner's Greek course in New Testament Greek at the Midlands Bible College http://www.midbible.ac.uk You can do this by distance learning from anywhere in the world even thought the college is in England.

I should point out that I am associated with this college myself but I recommend it nonetheless! I'm delighted to learn that you want to get into Bible Tranlsation. That's one of my favourite areas. I am currently doing a PhD on the subject of Bible Translation myself.

If you want to buy a book I heartily recommend D.A. Black's introductory grammar. I have a brief review of it and also some other Biblical Greek books at my homepage: http://andycheung2000.googlepages.com

 

Just an idea for you (I don't know if this will work, but let's try.) You can take the first year of Greek and Hebrew for free...yep...through iTunesU an special offering of Apple's iTunes. (Which means you need iTunes)

Once you have iTunes opened just follow the two links below and you should find the lectures.

http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects...141063797.01167163860.1177538330?i=1742874550

http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects...322437258.01322437264.1318367399?i=1674828661

These should lead you there. Here's the process if they don't:
open iTunes
top navigation box click iTunesU
Look at the Universities list
Click on Concordia Seminary
Scroll down and click on either Elementary Greek or Hebrew
Get the tracks (pick audio or video...I recommend video)
Wait for them to download

Enjoy

btw...this is an amazing thing to have since RTS has a link and some other great (and free) courses are available. You can pretty much get a first year of seminary for free...without credit...but it's free!

 

Incredible

This is amazing. Anyone interested in biblical languages has an opportunity to receive seminary instruction if they have access to DSL.

Thanks for posting.

Bill

 

Another question might be how well you know Chinese - whatever form of it you are planning on using. Are you planning to translate from Greek to Chinese or from English? I would think that these would be important as well.

I have always thought that many Greek textbooks teach biblical Greek as more of a code to be deciphered rather than a living colloquial language. But then that is my bias. For this reason I think familiarity with some basic linguistics lays a helpful foundation. I have found Kenneth Pike and M A K Halliday to be very useful here.