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Learning Greek and Hebrew


davidmedina

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What would be good beginners resources (books, video, tutorials, online class) to learn Biblical Greek and Hebrew that are accessible to the layman that could help me familiarize with the fundamentals and can built from it later?

 

Thanks

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David,

 

I am trying to teach myself Hebrew, I'm using Basics of Biblical Hebrew. Reason I chose this book is that it is simple enough to follow, has a workbook that you can work through. There are also free videos at i tunes university, these are by the American Memorite Biblical Seminary. Also the book is available in Accordance. Other Books available in Acordance are Ross, Introducing Biblical Hebrew. There are videos (free) available on the web. The most pain free way is to use the first Hebrew primer also in Accordance. This has embeded audio files.

 

Greek. Don't know, learnt Greek in the 1980s. I suppose, Basics of Biblical Greek is current, and the book is available in Acordance. There are a host of helps keyed to this book, so might be a good place to start

 

This all depends on what your target is. Is your aim to know enough to get around the text or to read most things in the original languages.

 

Can I ask a question

 

Do you pick up languages easily?

 

If not, set yourself a lower target, get to that point first and then raise the bar a bit

 

Hope this helps

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Thanks Phil.

 

I am starting with greek first. I do not want to become a translator just have enough familiarity of the language to be able to make the most of my study and Accordance.

 

I have access to the following books from the Logos library I have: Kairos: A Beginning Greek Library

 

I will look through the Accordance book store and see what I can see.

 

Thanks

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David,

 

It's very important to get audio files. Google NT Greek Audio, think there may be free ones on the net. To learn a language have to involve speech as well as writing.

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I think I found what I need.

 

William Mounce has a book called Greek for the rest of us: The Essential of Biblical Greek. And a companion website with his lectures using the book: https://www.biblicaltraining.org/greek-tools-bible-study/william-mounce

 

I checked a sample of the book, and guess what? He uses Accordance which means that I will be learning at the same time how to use Accordance for Greek word Study. Now, isn't that cool!

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Hi David,

 

I used Basics of Biblical Greek and bought the accompanying lecture DVDs. I've subsequently bought more Greek items in Acc. I also got and worked through the accompanying workbook. I am now working on Mounce's reader which follows on, and Wallace's and Rod Decker's readers also. I also picked up John Schwandt's CD reading the NT in Greek. Most of this is not in Acc as I've got Acc since then, but most of it is available in Acc. But I now have Greek bibles (GNT-28, UBS-4, LXX) and lexicons and more advanced grammar in Acc. And there is a fair amount on extra-biblical Greek content available in Acc, which I'm not really ready for. So there is room to grow.

 

I am just beginning with BBH - trying to drive the alphabet through my head as a break from the Greek, or so I tell myself.

 

I also use flashcard apps on my phone from time to time, which leads to me muttering dead badly mispronounced languages while waiting in line for coffee, but nobody's complained so far :)

 

Thx

D

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I am starting with greek first. I do not want to become a translator just have enough familiarity of the language to be able to make the most of my study and Accordance.

 

Glad you found Greek for the Rest of Us, as it sounds like the perfect fit. And as you mention, Mounce has video screencasts that show how to apply the principles in Accordance. I wish you all the best in your Greek studies.

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Thanks.

 

The only thing is that I probably should have gone with the Essential Collection rather than the Bible Study Collection. I don't want to add a ton of resources just the essential ones to a basic greek study. Suggestions?

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Agreed, that makes sense if you will be learning Greek. Accordance has a 3 month Grace period that might apply here since the Essential Collection basically combines the Bible Study Collection, Original Languages Collection, and Graphics bundle. If applicable, you would just pay the difference between the two collections. You can try emailing our sales team to inquire about this option.

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Thanks. I will do that.

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I took Greek (audited) at a local Christian college. We used the 2nd edition of Mounce's book. It was excellent. Accordance has the 3rd edition with embedded (imbedded also acceptable) audio files. Buy the workbook that goes with it from Amazon. Mounce's dictionary in the back of his book, and the Mounce Greek dictionary that comes with Accordance will be enough for the first year. Writing really helped me. Making out my own flashcards really helped. And quizzing myself by looking at the lexical form of a verb and then producing the principle parts was very, very helpful (and sometimes frustrating). I went through a lot of paper, but paper isn't that expensive. One other resource that I strongly recommend is Mounce's Analytical Lexicon. It has all the principal parts of the verbs in the first line of the entry. It also offers a bunch of forms that can easily be confused listed in each entry with parsing and lexical form. Very helpful, especially for the first couple of years of Greek.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

While we're on the subject, we recently had our missions conference missionary staying with us. He has had a year of Hebrew and is continuing his studies in order to get the complete OT into Pular (the language of Guinea) — long story which I'll skip here, but this is not something he's doing on his own. Anyway, I asked him for his recommendation. He did a first semester in Pratico & Van Pelt on his own. Then he enrolled at a seminary that used Ross and did all of first year Hebrew in it. He recommended I start with Ross. I don't know enough to really understand the differences he pointed out, but he said that the two grammars approach the subject very differently. There are videos for Ross available online here. They are downloadable if you have a plug-in for your browser. Once I get started, I'll donate to his site if I find them helpful.

 

I would appreciate the input of someone who is a Hebrew teacher or scholar and see what he might have to say about the two Hebrew grammars. Is there a way to use the books together? Or should the Primer be a precursor for either?

 

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For Hebrew, I would recommend Holmstedt and Cook's new grammar. Also, I would learn modern Hebrew alongside Classical Hebrew. While there are differences in pronunciation, the advantages are that you are internalizing the language. You're reading skills for classical will improve. In addition, you'll be able to have a conversation in Hebrew!

 

להתראות,

יעקב

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Thanks, James. Could either of the other grammars be of supplemental use?

 

How big an issue is the difference in pronunciation?

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Julie:

 

Sorry for the delay. I'm away on a writing and teaching week, and thus am purposefully truncating my access to internet.

 

Personally, I've not found the other grammars that helpful. I've been very happy with, a bit outdated but still worthwhile, Weingreen's intro to Hebrew Grammar. In addition, Weingreen has a Hebrew Compositions workbook for Hebrew production.

 

Someone gave me Pratico years ago. I think I've re-gifted it to someone else. I wasn't that impressed with it. However, whatever grammar one is using largely relates to the overall goals of the student. Learning "Hebrew" isn't sufficient enough to critique each grammar. More specific goals need to be spelled out. I am still waiting for someone to fully take the current digital platform to task for writing a grammar. Most grammars these days are written with the static page in mind. No one has fully tapped into the technology at this point. Perhaps I just need to hurry up and get my Ph.D. and do it myself! ;)

 

As for pronunciation, I am hesitant to open this can of worms. Thus I will succinctly summarize my view. Pronunciation is not monolithic. If you were to incorporate modern Hebrew in your reading of classical Hebrew, you'd be fine. Just google for some modern Hebrew songs in youtube and give a close listen. Nothing like empirical knowledge.

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James — Thank you. I appreciate your taking time out of a busy schedule to answer.

 

I'm looking forward to the learning and even the learning process, but am a bit intimidated by the alphabet. We'll see how it goes.

 

Post back after you finish writing your own grammar.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wanted to give a quick update.

 

I purchased Mounce "Greek for the rest of us" and have been following his videos at Teknia and Biblical Training and I having a ball. Love it. It is a lot of work but I am really enjoying it and can see the value of it.

 

I want to thank everyone for your suggestions.

 

 

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Is there a greek textbook you can actually use on screen? All of them just seem to be the text, but you have to do the work on paper (usually after buying an expensive workbook). I've just bought Mounce 3 and am extremely dissapointed as that's what I expected, rather than just an ebook....

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Hey —

 

When I took first year Greek at a local Christian college, I had to buy both the textbook and the workbook. I really don't think $16 is that expensive for the workbook. It is used for an entire year of lessons. We used the 2nd edition. The textbook and workbook are both excellent. Learning the language is well worth the effort. Using materials of this quality makes it a joy. The 3rd edition in Accordance has attached sound files. You can highlight it. You can also do searches in it that you cannot do in a hard copy. In my opinion, having used the 2nd edition, Mounce textbook plus workbook are worth every penny you pay for it. I'm sorry you're not satisfied. Good materials, whether electronic or bound are just not cheap.

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The textbook costs a lot more than that, and more than if I were to buy it on amazon and have the paper copy. I've bought a paper copy of the workbook to use. But I'm interested in the sound files. Is it easy to use? I'm finding it very hard to get to know the programme generally, and I find the website answers every question except the one I have!

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What is the Mounce 3?

 

I believe this has everything that you need included http://www.accordancebible.com/store/details/?pid=Mounce+System-10_13

 

For audio and video files check http://www.teknia.com

 

Teknia (Very affordable) and Biblical Training (Free) were both recommended to me and I am enjoying them very much.

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You just click on the the little speaker icon. Looks like most of the sound files are in the vocab sections. When I took Greek, I bought the paper book - it came with a CD with some short lectures (I think they're now called Chapter overviews). Check out this link. Those 'lectures' are an updated version of what came with my hardbound book. Looks like there is even more good stuff on the Teknia.com site than when I started out. Definitely download this — I printed the sheets and had them laminated, back to back, for reference. It's very, very useful to have all that stuff on a single, durable sheet for reference and quick review. Believe me that learning Greek is worth the effort and even the bucks. I love the language. I understand the NT in ways I would not otherwise had I not studied Greek. I thought it was fun, too. I listened to all the chapter overviews at least once as well as attending class. It really helped.

 

For 1st semester Greek (Parts I & II of Mounce's book), all you need is the textbook & workbook. Download the answer key so you can check your work. Beginning in 2nd semester, we started using a Gk NT. If you like what you're learning in 1st semester and want to continue, there are a few resources I'd recommend. Post back when you get there.

 

I have learned to really appreciate having the Greek grammars on my computer. I can check things out and study away from home with just my MacBook Air. No hauling a bunch of heavy books around (that need shelf space at home).

 

Mounce's book is truly excellent. When I was praising the book to her after class, my 1st year Greek teacher told me she didn't know how they managed to teach any Greek before it was published!

 

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