Who does their main bible reading in Greek?

Resources and methods for teaching and learning New Testament Greek.
Devenios Doulenios
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Re: Who does their main bible reading in Greek?

Post by Devenios Doulenios »

And Barry is right, it definitely does stretch your vocabulary muscles to read outside the NT. I heartily recommend it.

Try some Attic or Homer too. I'm reading some selections from Xenophon's Memoriblia and the Apology for Socrates with some "review" lessons in Attic grammar and it is very interesting.
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Barry Hofstetter
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Re: Who does their main bible reading in Greek?

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Devenios Doulenios wrote:And Barry is right, it definitely does stretch your vocabulary muscles to read outside the NT. I heartily recommend it.

Try some Attic or Homer too. I'm reading some selections from Xenophon's Memoriblia and the Apology for Socrates with some "review" lessons in Attic grammar and it is very interesting.
When the Romans learned Greek formally, they usually started with Homer. 2 years ago I did a unit in Homer with my advanced Greek class. I hadn't read Homer extensively since grad school, and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it, and ended up reading far ahead of the class. It struck me as I did so that it was really often quite easy Greek. All one has to do is forget the dactylic hexameter and use a more prose word order, and much of it is no more difficult than NT Greek, once one gets used to the vocabulary and forms (which really aren't all that different). I thought, "Maybe there was a good reason the Romans started with Homer..."
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
Stephen Carlson
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Re: Who does their main bible reading in Greek?

Post by Stephen Carlson »

I started with Homer (Clyde Pharr's textbook). I loved it.
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
Melbourne, Australia
TimNelson
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Re: Who does their main bible reading in Greek?

Post by TimNelson »

I read a paragraph of the NT in Greek for my devotions. I've been using Wallace's reading order (but not his 3-pass, 3 chapters per day method), with the assistance of Sakae Kubo's Reader's Lexicon.
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Tim Nelson
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Barry Hofstetter
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Re: Who does their main bible reading in Greek?

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

TimNelson wrote:I read a paragraph of the NT in Greek for my devotions. I've been using Wallace's reading order (but not his 3-pass, 3 chapters per day method), with the assistance of Sakae Kubo's Reader's Lexicon.
Catena rediviva here. I usually go for 3+ chapters a day of the GNT (reading through shorter books such as Philippians at one sitting), a chapter of the LXX, and a short passage from an extra-biblical author. Nothing scientific about it. I start with Matthew through to Revelation, and start over again when I reach the end... What is Wallace's "3-pass, 3 chapters per day method?"
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
TimNelson
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Re: Who does their main bible reading in Greek?

Post by TimNelson »

Wallace's method:

http://danielbwallace.com/2013/12/29/re ... testament/

While I think Wallace's method might be useful to me, I don't want to do it for my devotions, since I think that would make them a chore (at the speed I go). But I can still use his reading order.
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Tim Nelson
B. Sc. (Computer Science), M. Div. Looking for work (in computing or language-related jobs).
Barry Hofstetter
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Re: Who does their main bible reading in Greek?

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

TimNelson wrote:Wallace's method:

http://danielbwallace.com/2013/12/29/re ... testament/

While I think Wallace's method might be useful to me, I don't want to do it for my devotions, since I think that would make them a chore (at the speed I go). But I can still use his reading order.
Not too bad... I like the way he groups it so that various sections actually review and reinforce one another, and that it can be adapted even to read through the NT in one month. I resist the word "translate," however. We don't want that (unless we are translators). When I was starting graduate school, I had signed up for an advanced course in the tragedians, starting with Sophocles. I was in the grad school room busily making a vocabulary list for study when one of the second year M.A. students saw what I was doing, and said, rather scornfully, "You're still making vocabulary lists?" Oh, the shame! I didn't stop immediately, but soon thereafter, and I had already stopped writing out my "translations." Sounds simple, but it gets you used to reading the Greek as Greek, and not the secret decoder ring for English.
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
TimNelson
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Location: Australia, Victoria, Geelong

Re: Who does their main bible reading in Greek?

Post by TimNelson »

Agreed Barry. Just to help clarify for everyone, let me reproduce one of Wallace's comments (below the blog) here. Having been asked the question "what do you mean by “translate”? Write it out? Do it in your head? Word-by-word, or clause-by-clause?", Wallace answered:
I mean do it mentally. And of course a slavishly literal translation can keep one from grasping what the original text is actually saying. I tend to try a fairly literal translation on the first pass, and wrestle with what the Greek can mean (lexically, syntactically, etc.), thinking especially through the syntax. Then, I can go more fluidly with the text on the second pass. And see the big picture on the third. That’s why I recommended translating each chapter 3 times.
As an intermediate approach for those who've come through the traditional-style system, it's got definite good points :).
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Tim Nelson
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Barry Hofstetter
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Re: Who does their main bible reading in Greek?

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

TimNelson wrote:Agreed Barry. Just to help clarify for everyone, let me reproduce one of Wallace's comments (below the blog) here. Having been asked the question "what do you mean by “translate”? Write it out? Do it in your head? Word-by-word, or clause-by-clause?", Wallace answered:
I mean do it mentally. And of course a slavishly literal translation can keep one from grasping what the original text is actually saying. I tend to try a fairly literal translation on the first pass, and wrestle with what the Greek can mean (lexically, syntactically, etc.), thinking especially through the syntax. Then, I can go more fluidly with the text on the second pass. And see the big picture on the third. That’s why I recommended translating each chapter 3 times.
As an intermediate approach for those who've come through the traditional-style system, it's got definite good points :).
Well, if by mentally he means "letting the Greek words echo in your head" and not "letting the English words echo in your head" then I am with him. We don't want to do rapid translating -- we want to read and understand the Greek.
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
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