eBibleLanguage

Beginning Greek

Purpose

The lessons page has resources that I'll be updating as I'm learning. This page outlines my approach to learning Biblical Greek. Below are the primary resources I am using, including textbooks, lecture series, and tools for practice and reading.

I'm working towards reading 1 John initially as the Greek is easier to understand and the repetitive vocabulary makes it good for beginners. That requires beginning Greek and a little extra vocabulary. My broader goal of reading the entire New Testament requires intermediate Greek which I'll go over next.

Primary Resources

The grammar I'm using is Beginning with New Testament Greek by Benjamin L Merkle and Robert L. Plummer. The website for the textbook Daily Dose of Greek has free lectures going over the material and other helpful resources. Benjamin Merkle and Robert Plummer also have a book called Greek for Life: Strategies for Learning, Retaining, and Reviving New Testament Greek.

This is an additional place to go over the materials from the book besides the author's website:

The website biblicalelearning.org is another great place to go. It has a Mastering New Testament Greek page with a Textbook and Workbook. There is also a lecture series to go along with it:

The bundle of Danny Zacharias Apps (ParseGreek, FlashGreek, and IGreek) is great for parsing and vocab practice. I highly recommend getting it. The website mastergreek.com is a free alternative for parsing practice specifically.

I like Tyndale's physical Greek New Testament for reading. The Greek New Testament SBL Edition can be read online for free. It's the text I'm using for examples. Another option is reading the New Testament at gntreader.com which has Abbot-Smith's A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament alongside of it.

Three video series reading 1 John: Greek Bible Speaker (Eras. Gk) with English Captions by Ted Hildebrandt Biblicalelearning, I John in Greek (as read by Maurice Robinson), and 1 John (Westcott-Hort). Two video series explaining 1 John: 1 John 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 by Daily Dose of Greek for a quick translation guide and 1 John in Greek by Ken Schenck for a detailed explanation.

Overall Approach

The vocabulary in each section should be mastered. The paradigms should be drilled. Don't get stuck on a chapter if it is not quite mastered. Do the practice, work on memorizing, but keep moving through the material. Some of it will take time to sink in or will make more sense as you continue on.

Intermediate Greek

Purpose

Although I'm still learning beginning Greek, I've gone ahead and looked into intermediate Greek as well. An intermediate Greek grammar is the next step after completing beginning Greek and learning to recognize basic forms and syntax.

Intermediate Greek moves past a heavy focus on identifying forms to understanding their function in greater detail. It goes deeper into concepts such as verbal aspect, clause relationships, and discourse features which enables readers to interpret the New Testament with greater nuance and accuracy.

Primary Resources

The textbook I would get is Going Deeper with New Testament Greek, Revised Edition: An Intermediate Study of the Grammar and Syntax of the New Testament by Andreas Köstenberger, Benjamin Merkle, and Robert Plummer. This grammar is a follow up to Beginning with New Testament Greek.

At this point you should be reading through the New Testament from easier to harder books and learning the vocabulary book by book. Biblical Mastery Academy's Vocab Pack has been recommended by others for this. Broadening out your reading past the New Testament into the Septuagint and Apostolic Fathers is another good way to move forward with your knowledge of Greek.

Another good option is Intermediate Greek Grammar: Syntax for Students of the New Testament by Dave Matthewson which also has lectures:

Sources

Scripture quotations taken from the World English Bible (WEB), public domain.