Greek 1 Introduction

Greek I Ch. 1&2

Ch. 1 The Greek Language

Earliest form: Mycenaean Greek used a script called “Linear B.” Linear B refers to the symbols utilized, which would not have been the ones used in classical Greek because this form of Greek predates the alphabet by several centuries.

Classical Greek: This is the Greek of writers like Homer (who is sometimes deemed as “pre-classical” in the 8th cent BC) and Plato (4th cent BC). This type of Greek was complex and exact (achieving a greater exactitude that can even be found in Koine Greek, which will be discussed in a moment). As your textbook points out, the Alphabet was derived from the Phoenicians (from which the Hebrew alphabet came as well) (Mounce 2). An interesting feature of this type of Greek was the amount of variation due to dialects. There was: Doric, Aeolic, and Ionic, with Attic being a branch of Ionic but also the chief dialect as well (Harris 25).

The reason for the more widespread use of Attic Greek can be attributed to Alexander the Great of Macedon. He was tutored by Aristotle (and as you will learn in other history classes) his conquering of much of the known world would lead to the spread of Greek culture and language, primarily the Attic dialect.

Koine/Hellenistic Greek: 330 BC-330 AD. With the movement of the language into other language groups, it proceeded to change overtime (as is true with every language, for example simply go to the library and look at the Geneva Bible and you can see how quickly English has changed over a relatively short period of time). The interaction with the other dialects produced a “common Greek” (which is the very meaning of koine “common”), and the result was a form that “is marked by a virtual absence of dialectal form except for local differences in pronunciation and ‘slight regional variation’” (Harris 25).

With this came the loss of Many subtleties that marked Classical Greek. Your textbook gives a helpful example. In classical Greek there was a clear distinction between ἄλλος (which meant ‘other’ of the same kind) and ἕτερος (which meant ‘other’ of a different kind). “If you had an apple and you asked for ἄλλος, you would receive another apple. But if you asked for ἕτερος, you would be given perhaps an orange” (Mounce 2). This goes a long way in showing the exactitude of Classical Greek, but we should not go too far in saying that koine Greek was inexact (as you will find out).

Koine Greek perplexed scholars for a long time because it was “significantly different from Classical Greek” (Mounce 3). Until discoveries of Greek papyri in Egypt, it was even argued that this was a “Holy Ghost Language” or a combination of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic (this conclusion perhaps being influenced by two of the prominent sources from which we read koine Greek: LXX and the NT). As you read in your textbook, these arguments were put to bed by the discovery of those papyri, and today we have six main sources for our knowledge of this phase of the Greek language. Harris notes that these six sources are: “literary texts by writers such as Polybius and Epictetus; the Septuagint; the New Testament and other early Christian literature; the Ptolemaic papyri; the inscriptions; and the observations of grammarians such as Moeris and Phrynichus” (25).

The NT was written in the common trade language of the day.

Ch. 2 Learning Greek

The Goal: Why are you taking this class? That will be a worthwhile question for you, the answer of which will propel you to succeed should you remember it.

Mounce noted that the reason he wrote the book was: “to help you to understand better and to communicate more clearly the Word of God.” Is this a worthwhile goal? I should think so. The question that immediately follows is: “Is Greek necessary to achieve that goal?”

We wouldn’t say: “every Sunday school teacher must have taken two years of Greek” or “one is not a good preacher if he does not take Greek.” However, we would say that without the proper tools and the knowledge of how to use the tools one is far more likely to do damage in the process of trying to fix something (so went he parable Mounce wrote). Yes, there are many translations of the Bible, and several of them are good, but how do you know if they are good? Likewise, how can you catch the subtleties of the original author if you must read it through an additional layer?

Just looking at a very minor example of this. It would be very easy to miss, if one was just reading an English version the repeated theme in Mark 1 of the ἔρημος “deserted place, wilderness.” In 1:3 the ESV translates it “wilderness” same in 1:4, 12, 13; but then there is a sudden shift in translation in 1:35 from “wilderness” to “a desolate place” and this shift is maintained in 1:45. This is not a bad translation by any means, and a study of the passage would reveal why; however, notice the frequency of the use of the term in the preparatory phase of Jesus’s ministry and then how it recurs during his ministry with his actively going out to the ἔρημος. This is a subtle thing that would be easily missed from just reading an English version.

Think also of the phrase: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.” In English the phrase: “the kingdom of God is at hand” is in the present tense and perhaps leaves room for interpretation; however, in Greek the verb translated “is at hand” is in the perfect tense, which describes a past action with a continuing effect, giving the sense of “has come near” which denotes a reality that demands immediate action.

Looking at the Gk brings clarity to a number of issues. Your textbook gives an example from 1 Cor 12:30 and Paul’s question: “Do all speak in other tongues?” and what answer Paul is implying. You’ll learn the Greek construction for a sentence that expects a negative answer.

Greek is an exceptional tool to place within your tool bag in order to better understand and communicate the Word of God, and if that is your goal and you remind yourself of that goal you will not give up in your pursuit of attaining it.

Memorization: Learning a language requires memorization. You cannot read English if you did not memorize the English alphabet, the sounds associated with the alphabet, and many of the words that are written based on that alphabet. The same is true for Greek. You cannot read it if you cannot recognize it.

So for this class you will be memorizing the alphabet, key words, endings, and an assortment of other necessary items (such as rules). Case endings will be some of the first things that you memorize, and you’ll see just how important these are to understanding the language. Your textbook provides a few tips for memorizing these different elements:

1. Make Flash Cards. You could have ordered the set that went with the book; however, I found in my undergrade and graduate work that developing my own flash cards was an integral part in learning the word because you have to write the word out, then you have the ability to color code as you see fit, and you take ownership of them (if you put real effort into making them). Once you’ve made them, I suggest you carry them with you everywhere and look at them whenever you have a few minutes. If your sitting and waiting, don’t pick up your phone, pick up the flash cards.

2. Mnemonic Devices. These can be helpful for the words that trip you up or that naturally lend themselves to such things (I’ve always found that sometimes it can be harder to remember a mnemonic device than the word itself). One that lent itself to such treatment is the verb λέγω, which my teacher remembered by the old Eggo commercials. The term means “I say” so I always remember it: “I say λέγω my Eggo.”

3. Consistency in Pronunciation. Once you learn how to pronounce the letters and the diphthongs and you learn to syllabize the words, you must be consistent in your pronunciation of a word. If a word keeps changing in sound you will struggle to keep it consistent in meaning in your mind.

4. Say the Words Out Loud. You need to utilize as many of your senses as you can in the learning process (though I do not advise you to use taste in this process). Use your eyes and your ears and it will engrain the term in your mind.

Exercises: One of the reasons I like this textbook is that many of the exercises are adapted from actual verses from the NT. This means very early on you can start to see dividends from your studying, so I don’t want you to dread the exercises but look forward to them and see how what you are learning is already propelling you to that goal of better understanding the word of God and being able to communicate it better to others.

I encourage you to complete these exercises, to the best of your ability, without notes or flashcards. Doing so will create a confidence in yourself and better equip you for the tests.

Time and Consistency: I like what Mounce has here: “Those who cram, perish.” Learning a language requires you to be consistent in your time dedicated to memorizing and translating it. Spend fifteen minutes a day (which is not a tremendously huge amount of time) reviewing your note cards, rehearsing the noun & verb endings, etc. This is not a class that you can pass the tests by studying the entire unit the night before the exam. You might be able to pull it off on the first unit, but all of these things will be building on top of one another, so if you do not know the alphabet, then how on earth could you understand the nouns, and if you don’t know the different case endings, how on earth will you know how the different parts of speech relate to one another in the sentence?

Put time into it, and be consistent about it. You don’t need to study 4 hours the night before the test; you need to study fifteen minutes a day in the weeks leading up to the test.

Partners: Study together. Those on zoom, make your spouse do flashcards with you, and don’t be afraid to drone on and on about the different parts of speech that you are learning. This is helpful for you because not only will you be engaging those different senses, but you will be reinforcing what you are learning with other voices. Very seldom does one learn a language on his own. Think of how babies learn to speak. It is taught, repeated, and reinforced. You’re all babies in Greek, and the way that you will become better at it is by talking about it and getting those words into your brain.

Discipline: In a very real way, learning Greek comes down to discipline. You are not too daft to learn it, but you may allow yourself to be too lazy. It is incredibly difficult to start a new habit, but once you to start it, then it is much easier to keep it. Make those fifteen minutes a day a habitual practice. Set a time and place and keep to it. If you establish the good habits now, then you will be better off down the road, and you will be closer to the goal of being able to better understand to communicate the Word of God.