19 replies to this topic

[Julie Falling]

Hey - I asked my last Greek prof which reference works I should get to further my understanding. He recommended both Porter's Idioms of the Greek New Testament and Moule's Idiom Book of New Testament Greek. It would be nice to have at least one of these in Accordance. Anyone familiar with these works and willing to make a recommendation of one over the other if I'm forced to buy a book I have to dust and find shelf space for?

Thanks

[J. T.]

I have both, but if I had to choose one over the other, I would go with Porter.

[Julie Falling]

Hey - Thanks for your reply. That gives me somewhere to start.

By the way, I don't like Starbucks, either.

[Julie Falling]

It's been awhile since I posted this. Is there any hope that one of these books of Greek idioms might come to Accordance?

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Just checked, and Porter's book is available in Logos, as is Blass, Debrunner, Funk Greek grammar. I really don't want to go there if I don't have to. I've got plenty to do now and can wait. I may already have the Greek grammars I need to keep me busy for the rest of my life, but Porter's book would be a great help.

Edited by Julie Falling, 12 December 2012 - 10:57 AM.

[Rick Bennett]

We can look into Porter, and BDF is a saga we hope has a happy ending at some point.

[Julie Falling]

Thanks, Rick. Porter is of more importance to me at this point. Accordance already has a number of excellent grammars, and I certainly haven't mastered their contents. BDF is probably a higher priority for the scholars.

[Donovan R. Palmer]

I only have Porter's book and I am happy with it.

[Jonathan C. Borland]

We can look into Porter, and BDF is a saga we hope has a happy ending at some point.

Awesome little hint there, Rick, awesome!!! I hope this can happen!

Edited by Jonathan C. Borland, 14 December 2012 - 05:06 PM.

[Rick Bennett]

Don't get too excited…we have a very long list of items we're "looking into" (admittedly this is not a high priority). As you may have have heard from time-to-time, grammars are notoriously difficult to prepare, so we choose carefully and there must be a good quality e-text.

[Julie Falling]

OK - I know it has been a while.  Is there any hope for Porter?  I'd love to have at least one idiom book, and James prefers Porter's Idioms of the Greek New Testament.  

 

In the meantime, can anyone recommend the Accordance resource that would be the most useful between now and then?  It's probably something I already own and haven't fully utilized.

 

Thanks.

[Rick Bennett]

There are no imminent plans.

[luoar]

Moule's Idiom Book of New Testament is a classic and so well written that you can read it just before you go to bed. Moule was one of the great scholars of his generation and in my personal opinion his book is the place to start. It is not a book so focused on grammar that interpretive issues are set aside. Porter is a prominent scholar in his own right but I have found his books lacking the kind of lucidity one finds in Moule. 

[Julie Falling]

Thanks, Raoul.  I was hoping to avoid having to buy a physical book (that has to have shelf space and needs dusting!), but it looks like I'm going to have to do it.  Thank you for taking the time to reply, and for the recommendation.  Something I can read at the end of the day, that does not require a really fresh brain, is nice, too.

[Ken Simpson]

Hi Julie.

it's not often I would go against anything James says, but I think I would this time. I don't specially like Porter's take on aspect. Yes it is worth reading, but I bought it, read it, and haven't opened it since. I wish I had bought Moule, I use that semi-regularly in the library. However, James is a far better scholar than I. So I would probably take his recommendation over mine.

[J. T.]

Just to be clear—both Porter and Moule are linguistically deficient in my view. The Greek student needs to read both.

[Ken Simpson]

Clear it is James. Thanks. I found Porter interesting but ultimately unsatisfying (and quirky I think). I guess what I am saying is that Moule "sat better" with me. It's been a few months since I used it, I have been focussing on Hebrew/Aramaic/Syriac. I'll head back to the Library and look at Moule again.

[J. T.]

As Goethe said: "Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiss nichts von seiner eigenen."

[Julie Falling]

Yeah, right, but I don't know even a scrap of German.  That's German, right?  Could you give it to me in Greek or, even better, English?

[Matthew Burgess]

Essentially, "He who doesn't know foreign languages knows nothing of his own."

[Ken Simpson]

According to a german intellectual polymath dilettante in grosse overstatement 

Edited by Ken Simpson, 13 March 2013 - 10:47 PM.