Grammatical Concepts 101 for Biblical Greek: Learning Biblical Greek Grammatical Concepts through English Grammar

by Gary A. Long

Publisher:

Hendrickson

, 2006

Overview

Voice, tense, mood, participles. Learning biblical Greek is tough enough with a firm grasp of the building blocks of English and daunting to those without. But that’s just where many first-year students are. Through many years in the classroom, veteran language instructor Gary Long has learned that it’s in the first semester that many students get bogged down in grammatical basics. Soon confidence, morale—and then grades—start to slip.

A growing number of students have forgotten, or never learned, the fundamental grammatical concepts needed for studying Biblical Greek. Explanations of these concepts in standard Greek textbooks are either too skimpy or too complex. This practical resource will help.

Written for learners with little or no formal study of grammar, this invaluable complement to standard classroom textbooks clarifies English grammar in order to more effectively teach concepts that are specific to New Testament Greek. Arranged to supplement teaching grammars, each chapter takes up individual concepts, first explaining how the concept works in English, then illustrating its use in biblical Greek.

Abundant English and Greek examples illustrate each concept, most of them visually analyzed. Glossaries and translations help students comprehend the Greek words in each example.

In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Scripture citations link directly to English translations, and important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.

Key Features

• Provides numerous grammar-study aids
• Offers practical yet thorough scholarship
• Discuss biblical Greek in an easy to understand format making it perfect for beginning students, either as introduction or review

Contents

• Part I: Foundations
• Part II: Building Blocks
• Part III: The Clause and Beyond

Top Highlights

“is a language unit referring to a string of words (a syntagm)—two or more—that does not involve predication” (Page 5)

“does involve predication. It involves a comment, very commonly about a subject, which is usually present.” (Page 5)

“The element that appears to be more specific, more specified tends to be identified as a subject.” (Page 40)

“is a sound or speech unit that is psychologically a single unit and that makes a difference” (Page 4)

“The form of words can change. This is known as inflection” (Page 29)

Praise for the Print Edition

Gary Long has written a book on a topic that most people would prefer to avoid. We all know that grammar is ‘good for us,’ but we cringe at the prospect at having to relearn everything we learned (or were supposed to learn) in grade school. Add to that the study of a second language—and one as challenging as New Testament Greek—and you have a recipe for disaster. Enter Grammatical Concepts 101 for Biblical Greek. I rate this book as four stars (out of five) because it almost achieves the impossible—it makes grammar as painless as possible. I will definitely recommend it as a reference tool to my Greek students. If anyone wants a concise, easy-to-understand definition of any given part of speech (both in Greek and English), it’s all here!

—David Alan Black, professor of New Testament, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

The author of this work is a veteran teacher of biblical Greek and he notes that often students are learning ‘two’ languages at once—the Greek itself and the grammar of their native language, English, which is often poorly understood. The purpose of this resource is to help beginning Greek students make the connections between the familiar grammatical concepts and structures of their native language and the distinctive features of biblical Greek. . . . Those who teach biblical Greek may find this a helpful resource to consider.

—The Bible Today

This book could and should be used with good effect as a supplement for Greek beginners. It would add value to most existing text books.

—Review of Biblical Literature

Those who have used Gary Long’s previous book on Hebrew will recognize immediately the format employed again with this volume. It is not a teach yourself grammar but an introduction to biblical Greek using English grammar. This has the advantage of reinforcing English grammar first, and then presenting the Greek. Many diagrams and charts help and students studying by themselves or in class will find this a very useful adjunct to other grammars.

—Reformed Theological Review

In order to get a fuller understanding of biblical Greek, a general understanding of grammatical concepts in necessary. To increase grammatical consciousness, the present book offers a thorough introduction.

—International Review of Biblical Studies

Product Details

• Title: Grammatical Concepts 101 for Biblical Greek: Learning Biblical Greek Grammatical Concepts through English Grammar
• Author: Gary A. Long
• Publisher: Hendrickson
• Print Publication Date: 2006
• Logos Release Date: 2013
• Pages: 264
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. N.T. › Language, style; Greek language, Biblical › Grammar; English language › Grammar
• ISBNs: 9781441256102, 9781565634060, 9780801046933, 1441256105, 1565634063, 0801046939
• Resource ID: LLS:GRMTCLCNCPT101GRK
• Resource Type: Grammar
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:22:46Z

About Gary A. Long

Gary A. Long (PhD, University of Chicago) is professor of biblical and theological studies at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is also the author of Grammatical Concepts 101 for Biblical Hebrew.