To What End Greek Grammar?

I like to peruse the Logos Pre-Pub offerings to see what we’re up to. We do so much that I gave up trying to keep up. The Pre-Pub RSS feed helps a bit, but I still can’t remember or keep track of it all.
When I was browsing some of the items we have on pre-pub, I noticed that we have a lot of author-based collections built around people well-known for their knowledge of Greek grammar and language. So I expected to see a lot of grammar-based titles (which always makes me happy, of course). And I did. (Yay!)
But I also saw that these guys had a lot of collections of sermons, essays, letters and the like. Here is a list of current pre-pubs that I cobbled together. It is probably not comprehensive, but you get the idea. I’ve also inserted links to Wikipedia (where they exist — what, no Wikipedia entry on E.A. Sophocles?) so you can get some more background on these people and their lives. Sometimes that’s the insight one needs to make a decision about whether their writings would be valuable to have inside of an environment like Logos Bible Software.

• Henry Alford Collection (15 Vols) (Wikipedia) — A three-volume set on “How to Study the New Testament” looks like a winner here, as well as several sermons by Alford.
• Friedrich Blass Greek Studies Collection (3 Vols) (Wikipedia) — Blass’ Grammar of New Testament Greek is excellent and has stood the test of time.
• Ernest DeWitt Burton New Testament Studies Collection (Wikipedia) — His work on “Spirit, Soul and Flesh” looks fascinating.
• Georg Curtius Greek Studies Collection (Wikipedia) — While his grammar is reasonably well known, his volume on the Greek verb gets into the nitty-gritty (if you’re into that kind of stuff)
• Adolf Deissmann New Testament Studies Collection (2 Vols) (Wikipedia) — I’m actually anxious to read his work on Paul; I want to see how he applies all of this stuff. We’ve got a separate volume Bible Studies on pre-pub as well. And don’t forget his most excellent Light from the Ancient East, which is already available as a Logos resource.
• Edwin Hatch Collection (3 Vols) (Wikipedia) — Note we have his Essays in Biblical Greek on pre-pub as well.
• Joseph Barber Lightfoot Collection (11 Vols) (Wikipedia) — Again, one of the striking things about this eleven volume collection is the amount of essays, sermons and addresses included. A great way to see how one of the preeminent exegetes of the 19th century applied his vast knowledge in such situations.
• James Hope Moulton Greek Studies Collection (5 Vols) (Wikipedia) — Moulton, along with Deissmann, was heavily influential in recognizing benefit for the Greek of the New Testament in the papyri finds of the late 19th and early 20th century. But he was not a one-dimensional person; his lectures and sermons show it.
• George Milligan Collection (3 Vols) (Wikipedia) — Milligan is mostly known for his collaboration with James Hope Moulton on Vocabulary of the Greek Testament but, like Moulton, was not one-dimensional. His writings on the history and use of the Bible can stand on their own.
• Samuel Prideaux Tregelles Collection (2 Vols) (Wikipedia) — Tregelles was a textual critic extraordinaire. His introductory guides are still useful today. Oh, and did I mention he also was the translator of Gesenius’ Hebrew Lexicon? This guy was impressive.
• E.A. Sophocles Collection (4 Vols.) — He’s not in Wikipedia, but he should be. His Greek Lexicon of the Roman and Byzantine Periods (from B.C. 146 to A.D. 1100) is massive, well-researched, and well regarded today even though it is over 100 years old.
• Adolf von Harnack Collection (22 Vols) (Wikipedia) — A number of multi-volume works, including works on New Testament Studies and History of Dogma distinguish this set.

Upon scanning all of the books available in these pre-pubs, it was plainly evident to me that for many of these people, grammar and other technical stuff was simply a means to an end, that end being the preaching of the gospel.
If you’re impressed with Greek grammar stuff, that’s great. But this was my reminder to keep in mind that it is only means to an end. I’m looking forward to these collections going into production so I can see more about how these scholars apply their erudition to preaching, teaching and other writing about the message of the Bible.