Sunday, April 21, 2024

The Ideal New Testament Greek Course

I've taught Greek now for almost 35 years. As the tools have improved, I have experimented with a more inductive approach. For good or ill, I would start with the functions and then move to the forms if a student took the second semester. I thought it was quite innovative and more effective than the traditional approach, which insisted on full memorization of everything as you go. 

My last go around at IWU, I had most of a Greek textbook written. I forget who I sent it to, but there is understandably little interest in publishing another Greek textbook. (I actually had a contract with IWU's Triangle Publishing to do it back in the day, but I just didn't have time.) In the current situation, I'm just going to publish it anyway, and it will be better for the aging.

Five years later, the tools are better than ever. In fact, a student can put a Greek sentence into his or her AI of choice and pretty much ace any quiz or test. It makes teaching Greek online very difficult because it's really hard to know what a student really knows unless you have a live session with them. I haven't figured out how to teach a student that doesn't really want to learn it. Maybe just abandon them to their incompetence.

In any case, there are still people who really want to learn the language. I have a pretty successful Hebrew course on Udemy that teaches Hebrew using the book of Jonah. I've been wanting to get a New Testament Greek course up too. I've been trying to find a moment to get my head around whether I would update the approach I used last time. 

It seems to me that you can boil NT Greek down to a list of things to learn. Here's my attempt at that list, sequenced according to the pedagogy I have developed over the years. This is the table of contents and innards of my substantially written textbook.

Atomic (New Testament) Greek

Chapter 1: Alphabet, Sounds, Symbols, and Tools
1. Learn the alphabet.
2. Learn a system of pronunciation.
3. Learn the breathing marks, punctuation, and names/places of accents.
4. Know what an interlinear and a concordance are.

Chapter 2: Verb Fundamentals
5. Know what a verb is.
6. Know what person and number are.
7. Learn the six present, active, indicative endings.
8. Learn the analytical code for person and number (and what an analytical is).
9. Memorize 10 high-frequency words.

Chapter 3: Noun Fundamentals
10. Know what a noun is.
11. Learn what number is.
12. Learn what gender is.
13. Learn the five cases of New Testament Greek.
14. Learn the forms of the second declension.
15. Learn the analytical code for case, number, and gender.
16. Know that subjects and verbs should agree in number.
17. Know the exception that a neuter plural noun may take its verb in the singular.
18. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 4: The First Declension
19. Learn the forms of first declension nouns with their three variations.
20. Learn the 6 forms of ειμι in the present indicative.
21. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 5: Adjectives and the Article
22. Know what an adjective is.
23. Learn the basic first and second declension adjective forms.
24. Know what a definite article is.
25. Learn the forms of the Greek article.
26. Know the three main adjective constructions.
27. Know the analytical code for adjectives.
28. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 6: Conjunctions and Prepositions
29. Know what a conjunction is.
30. Memorize the most important Greek conjunctions and their significance for meaning.
31. Know what a correlative construction with conjunctions is.
32. Know what a preposition is.
33. Know that prepositions take their nouns in specific cases and that the case changes the meaning of the preposition.
34. Learn the most important nuances of the Greek cases.
35. Learn what a compound verb is.
36. Know the analytical code for conjunctions and prepositions.
37. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 7: The Personal Pronoun
38. Know what a pronoun is; know what a personal pronoun is.
39. Learn the forms of the first, second, and third person personal pronouns in all cases, numbers, and genders.
40. Learn the further uses of αυτος.
41. Know the analytical code for personal pronouns.
42. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 8: Demonstrative and Relative Pronouns
43. Know what a demonstrative pronoun is.
44. Learn the forms of the two demonstrative pronouns.
45. Know what a relative pronoun and relative clause is.
46. Learn the forms of the relative pronoun.
47. Know that relative pronouns agree with their antecedents in gender and number, with the one main exception.
48. Know the analytical code for demonstrative and relative pronouns.
49. Learn the (present) active infinitive ending -ειν.
50. Know the analytical code for an infinitive.
51. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 9: Voice
52. Know what "voice" is in Greek grammar.
53. Know what the middle voice is in Greek grammar and how to translate it.
54. Learn the six basic primary middle forms.
55. Learn the analytical code for the middle voice.
56. Learn what a deponent verb is, how you would ideally recognize it, and how you would translate it.
57. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 10: Greek Tenses I
58. Know that Greek tense is more about the kind of action than the timing, and know the three basic kinds of action.
59. Know the difference between a primary and a secondary tense.
60. Know what the imperfect tense is and its relationship to the present tense.
61. Be able to provide a basic translation of present and imperfect tense verbs.
62. Know what an augment is and the default way of adding it.
63. Learn the analytical code for the present and imperfect tenses.
64. Have a reference knowledge that the present tense can have several different nuances.
65. Have a reference knowledge that the imperfect tense can have several different nuances.
66. Know what the future tense is and have a basic sense of how to translate it in all the voices.
67. Know that the future tense generally adds a sigma to the end of the stem.
68. Learn the analytical code for the future tense.
69. Have a reference knowledge that the future tense can have more than one nuance.
70. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 11: Greek Tenses II
71. Know what the aorist tense is and be able to provide a basic translation of it in all voices.
72. Learn the analytic code for the aorist tense.
73. Know that the aorist tense often takes an augment because it can be used as a past tense.
74. Have a reference knowledge that the aorist tense can have more than one nuance.
75. Know what the perfect tense is and be able to provide a basic translation of it in all voices.
76. Learn the analytic code for the perfect tense.
77. Have a reference knowledge that the perfect tense can have more than one nuance.
78. Know that the pluperfect (past perfect) and future tenses exist and know where to look to be able to give a translation of them in all voices.
79. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 12: Basic Verb Forms
80. Know what it means to "parse" a verb and how to do it.
81. Know the anatomy of a Greek form. Know what a verb stem is, a tense prefix and suffix, and a connecting vowel.
82. Know what the six principal parts of a Greek verb are.
83. Know what an irregular verb is and the fact that the individual principal parts of verb can be irregular.
84. Know the way that the augment behaves in all its situations.
85. Know the principal ways that tense prefixes and suffixes are formed.

Chapter 13: Other Pronouns
86. Know what is meant by "identical" and "intensive" pronouns.
87. Know what the reflexive pronoun is and be able to recognize and parse it.
88. Know what the interrogative and indefinite pronouns are and be able to recognize them.
89. Know what the reciprocal pronoun is and be able to recognize it.
90. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 14: Basic Participle Translations
91. Know what a participle is.
92. Learn four raw translations for a participle.
93. Know the analytical code for a participle.
94. Know what a periphrastic construction is and how to translate it.
95. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 15: Adverbial Participles
96. Know what an adverb is.
97. Know some basic Greek adverbs and that Greek participles often end in -ως.
98. Know what an adverbial participle is.
99. Know the beginner translation of temporal participles using while (present tense) or after (aorist).
100. Have a reference knowledge of the 10 functions an adverbial participle can have.
101. Know the version of the word "not" that is used outside the indicative mood.
102. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 16: Adjectival Participles
103. Learn the three main participle functions.
104. Learn "Ken's Rule": If it has the article, try "who" or "that." If it doesn't, try "while" or "after."
105. Know what it means to say that a participle with the article is adjectival, and know the two main adjective constructions (attributive and substantival).
106. Know how to refine your translation of a participial phrase in relation to its timing and referent. The timing of a participle is relative to the main verb.
107. Know what a genitive absolute is and how to translate it.
108. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 17: The Subjunctive Mood
109. Know the four moods of Greek in terms of their relation to reality. Be able to describe the subjunctive mood.
110. Know the two tenses in which the subjunctive can appear.
111. Learn the analytical code for the subjunctive mood.
112. Learn the key conjunctions that trigger the subjunctive mood and the kinds of clauses they introduce. In particular, know ινα (purpose/result), οπως (purpose/result), εαν (conditional), οταν (temporal), ος αν (conditional relative).
113. Know the structure of a conditional clause. Know the difference between ει and εαν.
114. Know what a hortatory subjunctive is and how to recognize and translate it.
115. Know what a deliberative question is and how to recognize and translate it.
116. Know what a prohibition is and how to recognize and translate it.
117. Know what the subjunctive of emphatic negation is and how to recognize and translate it.
118. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 18: Infinitive Constructions
119. Learn 6-9 basic translations for an infinitive.
120. Know that an infinitive is grammatically treated as a neuter singular noun.
121. Know that the "subject" of an infinitive is in the accusative case.
122. Know what arthrous and anarthrous infinitives are.
123. Learn the analytical code for an infinitive.
124. Know the difference between direct and indirect discourse and the key ways to present it in Greek, including the use of an infinitive.
125. Know how the infinitive can be used to express result.
126. Know how the infinitive can be used to express purpose.
127. Know how the infinitive can be used to express cause.
128. Know how the infinitive can be used to express timing (prior, contemporaneous, and subsequent).
129. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 19: Imperative and Optative Moods
130. Know what the imperative mood is.
131. Learn the analytical code for the imperative mood.
132. Know the five basic ways to make commands and prohibitions in New Testament Greek and how to translate them.
133. Know what the optative mood is.
134. Learn the analytical code for the optative mood.
135. Have a reference knowledge of how to translate them.
136. Memorize 10 more high-frequency words.

Chapter 20: Clauses
137. Know the difference between a phrase and a clause.
138. Know the difference between an independent and a subordinate clause.
139. Have a summary knowledge of how to recognize and translate noun clauses.
140. Have a summary knowledge of how to recognize and translate relative clauses.
141. Have a summary knowledge of how to recognize and translate purpose and result clauses.
142. Have a summary knowledge of how to recognize and translate causal clauses.
143. Have a summary knowledge of how to recognize and translate temporal clauses.
144. Have a summary knowledge of how to recognize and translate conditional clauses, knowing the four basic kinds of Greek conditions.
145. Have a summary knowledge of the types of questions in Greek (straightforward ones, ones with interrogatives, deliberative questions, questions expecting a yes or no answer).

Here endeth the first semester.
The above seems like a lot to do in one semester, and it is. However, memorization of forms drops off significantly around chapter 9, and it then focuses on knowing the functions rather than the forms. The assumption is a 15-week semester where one class presents material and then the next class goes over exercises. the exercises are taken from the New Testament and use analytical code to get over the lack of knowledge of forms. That leaves about 5 classes for review and midterm.

You can see that you just can't do as much in an online 8-week format. I'm not sure if most minds can handle it in 15 weeks, so it's only going to be a few with a special aptitude that could do it in 8. I'm not saying there can't or shouldn't be an 8 week option. I'm just saying you won't be able to cover as much. You'll have to stick almost entirely to the functions. I did write an 8 week Greek for Ministry class for Wesley Seminary.

Semester 2
The second semester then reviews the functions but then focuses also on filling in gaps with regard to the specific forms. It often takes a couple times through to get the concepts anyway, so this approach reviews and extends. You have had an overview of the whole language in the first semester for those who don't continue, but you can use the tools throughout. In the traditional approach, most students don't learn enough even in a year to use it.

I won't go granular on the second half, but here are the chapter titles. Remember, even though the titles are dry, you are in the actual biblical text with the helps gradually dropping off as you have more knowledge.

Chapter 21: Third Declension I

Chapter 22: Third Declension II

Chapter 23: Present and Imperfect Forms

Chapter 24: Contract Verbs

Chapter 25: Future and Aorist Forms I

Chapter 26: Liquid Verbs

Chapter 27: Future and Aorist Forms II

Chapter 29: Perfect System

Chapter 30: Pronoun Review

Chapter 31: μι Verbs

Chapter 32: Infinitive Forms

Chapter 33: Present Participle Forms

Chapter 34: Aorist Participle Forms

Chapter 35: Perfect Participle Forms

Chapter 36: Subjunctive and Optative Forms

Chapter 37: Imperative Forms

Selected Passages 

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