Greek Texts and Tools: How to Get a Handle on the Greek New Testament

(Some free advice from John Rose, a lifelong amateur N.T. Greek reader.)

First, get your own Greek Bible. You won’t understand it right away, but it will remind you what you are aiming for. Get the 4th edition (1998) from the Bible Society, with the dictionary in the back.

Greek New Testament, 4th Revised Edition, edited by Kurt Aland

published by the American Bible Society, with dictionary, red leather

http://amazon.com/dp/3438051133

Do not buy an interlinear bible. It will not help you learn to read Greek, and its text will probably be less accurate. Save your money for the books listed here. If you want an occasional multilingual presentation, use online resources like these:

If you are working on your own, you need a good self-contained text for learning the basics. John Dobson’s text was designed for inductive self-study:

Learn New Testament Greek by John H. Dobson

http://amazon.com/dp/0801030196

(If you take a class, Dobson is a good supplement, but your teacher will probably have you buy Mounce’s or Machen’s grammar.)

This next slim book has all the words which occur 10 or more times in the New Testament. It takes just a few weeks to learn it completely, and then you’ll know most of the words you see in your little red New Testament.

Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek by Bruce M. Metzger

http://amazon.com/dp/0801021804

Do you like to use flash cards? Zondervan has just the thing to help you learn the words on Metzger’s list.

Basics of Biblical Greek Vocabulary Cards by William D. Mounce

http://amazon.com/dp/0310259878

(But get Metzger regardless.)

When you have a handle on declensions, conjugations and common vocabulary, it’s time to tackle whole chapters. Here is your guide to the rest of the vocabulary:

A Reader’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament by Sakae Kubo

http://amazon.com/dp/9004039651

Kubo’s book complements Metzger’s. For each book and chapter of the N.T., Kubo lists the uncommon words only. These are just the words you didn’t learn by memorizing Metzger.

At this point you have enough resources for years of amateur Bible scholarship. Beyond this point, the single most useful resource is a lexicon (a dictionary, really). The only real choice of lexicon for N.T. Greek is Walter Bauer’s, as edited and expanded by Frederick Danker at the University of Chicago Press.

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature

by Walter Bauer, Frederick William Danker (Editor)

http://amazon.com/dp/0226039331

You won’t want to take my word for it, because at almost $150.00 Bauer is a sizeable investment. So read some reviews elsewhere to verify my claims, and then buy it or ask for it for Christmas. Nothing else even comes close to Bauer, not Thayer, and not even Liddell. I rely on mine often, and I love to use it.

After this, if you want a reference manual for Greek grammar, you should know that the following two books are highly regarded. I don’t use them—but maybe I should.

Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar by William D. Mounce

http://amazon.com/dp/0310250870

Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics by Daniel B. Wallace

http://amazon.com/dp/0310218950

When you want to know more about where your little red New Testament came from, you can return to the many books of Bruce Metzger, who is a prince among New Testament scholars. Here are two which I have repeatedly used:

The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance by Bruce Metzger

http://amazon.com/dp/0198269544

The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration by Metzger and Ehrman

http://amazon.com/dp/019516122X

I would not want to finish this advice without a note or two on hermeneutics and exegesis, which are the sciences of interpreting and applying scripture.

I believe that one of the best and most pleasant ways to appreciate the original intentions of the N.T. authors is to read the writings of their Greek and Latin successors, their heirs and delegates. Those successors are the Church Fathers of the first four or five centuries.

Start with St. Athanasius’ small but immortal book on Christ. It comes equipped with a life-changing introduction by C.S. Lewis, where he explains why old authors are so healthy for us to read.

On the Incarnation of the Word of God, by St. Athanasius

with an introduction “On the Reading of Old Books” by C.S. Lewis

http://amazon.com/dp/0913836400 (print version: buy it and mark it up)

http://spurgeon.org/~phil/history/ath-inc.htm (on-line version)

Athanasius also played a key role in appreciating the importance of the Trinity, and in recognizing which books were in the Bible. This was at a time when the young Church was still debating those things.

For detailed explanations of most of the N.T., explore the collected sermons of St. John Chrysostom. He was a true “through the Bible” teacher, preaching verse by verse and chapter by chapter. (Most sermons end with a challenging spiritual or moral application.) Chrysostom was one of the most beloved preachers of his day, a fine pastor, a godly man, and someone whom later Christians have always looked to for good teaching. It also helps that his native tongue was Greek, and he gave his sermons in Greek to a Greek audience, in the imperial city of Constantinople. The Emperor and Empress were in his congregation. (Which, as he was an honest man, was not to his benefit, but that is another story...) His works are easy to find on-line and in print:

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, St. Chrysostom Volumes (IX - XIV)

http://ccel.org/fathers.html (on-line version)

http://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf109.html to http://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.html (Chrysostom)

http://christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=30947 (print version, 14 volumes)

You can usually get the print version of the whole Church Fathers set for under $300:

http://christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=30815 (print version, all 38 volumes)

Use the on-line version for a while, as you save for the print version. Which you should buy and mark up.

If you find the Church Fathers daunting and would like to enjoy their writings in pre-cooked microwaveable portions, I recommend the regular spiritual classics section of Touchstone magazine, along with every bit of the rest of the magazine. Subscribe or browse at http://touchstonemag.com/ . Mike Aquilina’s books are also very convenient; his website is http://www.fathersofthechurch.com/ .

Finally, one of the most beautiful collaborations between the Church Fathers and computer-age Bible scholars is the Ancient Christian Commentary Series from InterVarsity Press. This is a very fine multi-volume commentary on the Bible. The modern scholars have scoured for years through thousands of ancient books to find the best observations on scripture passages by respected ancient teachers. (Like Chrysostom, Athanasius, and Augustine.) They have combined those ancient comments with the Bible text (in English). It is as if you were at a round table discussion with the greatest Christian teachers of the ancient world. You can see sample pages and more information here at the ACCS website: http://ivpress.com/accs/ . It is the most expensive thing on this list, and it is what I want for the next several Christmases.

Enjoy your Bible!