The Goldilocks Method - Just Right Books

Jonathan Robie
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Re: The Goldilocks Method - Just Right Books

Post by Jonathan Robie »

Thanks, Peter - these are helpful resources!
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
http://jonathanrobie.biblicalhumanities.org/
Louis L Sorenson
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Re: The Goldilocks Method - Just Right Books

Post by Louis L Sorenson »

If you want to read original texts, you can look to the OT/NT Pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha. Clarence Hale's beginning NT Greek books were based on LXX stories and the apocrypha (the beginning primer was titled "Let's Study Greek"). It was widely used in the 1960's and 1970's in evangelical schools and was published by Moody Press. It went through 8 editions. (If anyone wants a pdf of that book, they can email me. Moody Press gave the copyright back to the family). Hale used the apocryphal book "The Acts of Thomas" for his second year reader (titled "Let's Read Greek").

Some of the NT apochryphal Greek texts have been hard to find. I do not know a lot about this subject, but have been sleuthing around trying to get a handle on what Greek texts are available. Several digital texts have come out recently.
  • (1) The Greek Text NT Apocryphal Gospels, Fragments, and Agrapha are available on Logos (Rick Brannan).
  • [*/]
  • (2) The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Greek texts are available. (Ken Penner) is also available. (Charlesworth has the English translations, and R Charles 2004).
  • [*/]
But many of the apocryphal acts of the apostles are missing from those texts. It seems the best texts (with critical apparati) is in the 3 volume series titled "Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha." There is an earlier version in the mid 1800's by Tichendorf, but a 3 volume version came out from 1898-1903 by RICARDVS ADELBERTVS LIPSIVS ET MAXIMILIANVS BONNET (Richard Adelbert Lipsius 1830-1892 and Max Bonnet 1841-1917 http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/we ... 01841-1917). Those three volumes titled: (1) Pars Prior, (2) Pars Alterius, Volumen Prius, (3) Pars Alterius, Volumen Alterum were apparently combined into one volume in 1959 and reprinted by G. Ohms as a single volume.

Google books has the 1959 book at https://books.google.com/books?id=HRd2Y ... 59&f=false . It has a purchase price of about $19 US. I assume the 1959 reprint has all three tomes, but I cannot verify that. Internet Archive has a Jan 2015 upload by bub_upload https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_G4ydpWeFpdEC has 1184 pages, so that may be the full reprint. (Is the 1959 reprint of a 1903 book still under copyright?). The point I'm trying to make is that there are original texts which are original Greek (some may be back-translations from Syriac, some may have Hebrew/Aramaic syntax influence) which could be used by teachers who teach Koine Greek to develop a text-based curriculum which teaches by using unfamiliar texts.

Those are some additional choices for Koine narratives used in teaching. It would be nice if Logos or some other software company reprinted Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha. Especially because of the critical apparatus contained in it.

An additional note. I've been developing an LKG based curriculum based on the marriage passages in the LXX and GNT, along with supplementing it with secular Greek texts. Wedding/Marriage vocabulary is a special subset. But if a teacher wants to teach about weddings and wedding feasts, they need to have the following vocab subsets included: family relationships, wedding special vocabulary, feast/food vocabulary. If anyone wants some of my John 2 / wedding feast docs to look at or comment about, they can contact me. I strongly believe that it is really hard to limit vocabulary across the board. In other words, if you ever want to be specific about any given topic, you need to teach words (which may occur infrequently elsewhere). If you teach about grapes, wine, viticulture, feasts, weddings, etc., you will teach words that may not occur in the 500 limited word list. My approach is to use the word in class, but not to demand recall. If a student hears a Greek word in context 50-100 times, they will have no problem learning it. Context is supreme. Every teacher teaches differently, and has different subject interests. So all teachers will teach the same basic (found everywhere) words, but all teachers will also teach a specialty set vocab. Another one of my modules is on the miracles - that requires students to know the words for lame, dumb, deaf, blind, paralytic, heal, weak, suffering, miracle, walk, move, leper, unclean, clean, ktl. That is a specialty set of words, and I could teach that from week 1. Language follows the topic.
Zachary Vaughan
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Joined: March 22nd, 2015, 6:42 pm

Re: The Goldilocks Method - Just Right Books

Post by Zachary Vaughan »

Do any of you know how to buy a copy of "Let's Read Greek?" I'm looking for the second year book from Hale. It looks like it is available at some seminaries and colleges. I may need to attempt an ILL or something with my local library.
Paul-Nitz
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Location: Sussex, Wisconsin

Re: The Goldilocks Method - Just Right Books

Post by Paul-Nitz »

Louis wrote above,
Louis L Sorenson wrote:Let's Read Greek... If anyone wants a pdf of that book, they can email me.
I have a copy that is a derivative called Let's Study Greek, but I'd have to search through some old emails to see if I have permission to share it.
Paul D. Nitz - Lilongwe Malawi
Zachary Vaughan
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Joined: March 22nd, 2015, 6:42 pm

Re: The Goldilocks Method - Just Right Books

Post by Zachary Vaughan »

Thank you, Paul. I sent Louis an email I found on his Epictetus site. I appreciate it!
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