Re: "The basics"

From: Jonathan Robie (jwrobie@mindspring.com)
Date: Fri Apr 04 1997 - 13:02:09 EST


At 11:31 AM 4/4/97 -0500, JMCGRANAHAN@trevecca.edu wrote:
>Jonathan -
>
>Thanks for the info!! I do plan to make use of it soon. As for
>my mistakes, I admit there were quite a few--I guess I should have
>"looked before I leaped." It's been about four years since I've
>had Greek, and that was just two semesters worth, so it is quite
>rusty. I was hoping that B-Greek could help me out, but it seems
>to be too technical for me, so I will probably sign off of that
>listserv. Maybe I can find another one for beginners like myself
>(and maybe I won't feel like an idiot, which is how I felt with
>b-greek). Well, again thanks for the information and I hope you
>have a wonderful April!!

Waitaminit! Don't give up on B-Greek so quickly - when I started
on B-Greek, I was at about the level you are at now. There is a
trick to asking questions on B-Greek: ask one or two specific
questions at a time, and keep them focused. If people can quickly
see what you are asking, they can answer with little effort. And
you won't find another place with better teachers.

The problem with asking people to comment on several verses of
translation is that they don't know what you want them to focus
on, what your real questions are, etc. For instance, you might
want to do your translation, compare it with existing translations,
and ask about the parts that come out differently. Often, I find
that just comparing it helps me straighten things out.

Another tip: quote the Greek so people don't have to look it up.

e.g.

----------------------------

To: b-greek
Re: 1 Pet 2:6 hO PISTEUON

When I read this, I thought that hO PISTEUWN meant "the faith",
and I translated the phrase "and the faith (that) rests upon him
shall never be put to shame." but the NASB translates it "and he
who believes in Him will not be disappointed". How can hO PISTEUON
mean "he who believes in Him"?

----------------------------

Trust me, this kind of message gets answers on B-Greek. You don't
have to know a lot, you just have to ask small, specific questions,
and relate them to the Greek text. Also, you don't have to read
every message or understand every message you read. You can learn
a lot by just asking questions and reading the answers to your own
questions.

I think that Lee Martin was a bit harsh with you - this isn't typical
on B-Greek, and I found it unfortunate. I have learned a lot here, and
you are certainly welcome here.

Jonathan

***************************************************************************
Jonathan Robie
POET Software, 3207 Gibson Road, Durham, N.C., 27703
Ph: 919.598.5728 Fax: 919.598.6728
email: jwrobie@mindspring.com, jonathan@poet.com
http://www.poet.com <--- shockwave enabled!
***************************************************************************



This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat Apr 20 2002 - 15:38:11 EDT