IST2036-1OL-WI16 - Greek II

Greek II

Instructor: Justin Barber
Email: jbarber@iliff.edu

Course Description : This course is the second course of a year-long sequence designed to give students the ability to read and interpret Koine (or Hellenistic) Greek. Such ability is essential for students who wish to understand the New Testament, the Septuagint (and “Old Greek”), other Jewish literature, early Christian literature, and other Mediterranean literature. The fall and winter quarters of this course are devoted to giving the student the ability to read Greek at a basic level. These quarters will include a survey of Greek grammar and the development of a basic Greek vocabulary. The spring quarter will primarily be devoted to the reading and exegesis of Greek texts and will further develop the student’s vocabulary and the student’s understanding of Greek grammar.

Required Text:

Croy, N. Clayton. A Primer of Biblical Greek. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Pub., 2011. (ISBN-13: 978-0802867339)

Recommended Books:

The following books will not be used during the Fall Quarter, but they are inordinately useful for reading and interpreting Greek texts and developing competency in reading Greek.

Danker, Frederick W., Walter Bauer, and William Arndt. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament  and Other Early Christian Literature . 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001. (ISBN-13: 978-0226039336)

Danker, Frederick W. and Kathryn Krug. The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament . Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2009. (ISBN-13: 978-0226136158)

Nestle, Eberhard, Erwin Nestle, Barbara Aland, Kurt Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, and Universität Münster. Novum Testamentum Graece. 28 Aufl., Stuttgart 2012. (ISBN-13: 978-1619700307 )


Van Voorst, Robert E. Building Your New Testament Greek Vocabulary . Resources for Biblical Study. 3rd ed. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2001. (ISBN-13: 978-0884140429)

Vocab Builder

Please feel free to edit or add to the following resource list. A brief explanation of any new resources would also help!

1. The Online Liddell-Scott-Jones Greek-English Lexicon is a useful edition of the standard Greek-English lexicon for Classical Greek (and includes biblical Greek as well). The resource is a bit dated, but the TLG has made some substantial updates.

2. Perseus at tufts.edu is one of the largest and oldest digital humanities collections on the web. Their Greek collection of texts is extensive, and each word in each text is linked to a parser and more than one lexicon. Passages also have links to grammars (such as Smyth). This resource is certainly worth checking out.

3. (From Carol) Click on any of the Croy links on the following page, and in addition to the flashcards, there are Greek/English word games at the bottom of those pages.

Course Goals: This year-long sequence will endeavor to do the following:

• Develop in the student an aptitude for reading Koine Greek, with the (not overly reliant) help from a lexicon and a grammar.
• Sharpen the student’s linguistic skills.
• Incite the student to appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of the Greek language.
• Give the student an understanding of Hellenistic cultures through the study of the Greek language.

Course Outcomes: Students should possess the following competencies when they complete this year-long sequence:

• The ability to read the Greek New Testament and Septuagint with the help of a lexicon and grammar.
• The ability to read other Greek texts from the same period with the help of a lexicon and grammar.
• The ability to apply important linguistic principles to Greek (and other languages).
• The ability to understand and evaluate commentaries and other scholarship on Greek texts and the ability to evaluate English translations of the New Testament, Septuagint, and other literature.

Degree Learning Goals: Please take some time to look over the Professional Degree Learning Goals (MDiv, MASC, MAPSC) and the Academic Degree Learning Goals (MTS, MA).

Incompletes:  If incompletes are allowed in this course, see the Master's Student Handbook for Policies and Procedures.

Pass/Fail:  Masters students wishing to take the class pass/fail should discuss this with the instructor by the second class session.

Academic Integrity and Community Covenant:  All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statement on Academic Integrity, as published in the Masters Student Handbook, or the Joint PhD Statement on Academic Honesty, as published in the Joint PhD Student Handbook, as appropriate.  All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Community Covenant.

Accommodations:  Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs.   Students are encouraged to contact their assigned advisor to initiate the process of requesting accommodations.  The advising center can be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by phone at 303-765-1146. 

Writing Lab:  Grammar and organization are important for all written assignments.  Additional help is available from the Iliff Writing Lab, which is available for students of any level who need help beginning an assignment, organizing thoughts, or reviewing a final draft. 

Inclusive Language:  It is expected that all course participants will use inclusive language in speaking and writing, and will use terms that do not create barriers to classroom community.