On Learning Biblical Greek

​When I decided to begin my seminary education with summer language, I didn't quite know what to expect.  There was a mixture of excitement, anticipation, and fear.  Nothing prepared me for just how crazy this process has been.

I will preface this discussion with the comment that I have not finished summer Greek yet; we are just starting our sixth of eight weeks of class.  My views may be totally different at the end of this adventure!​

On Biblical Greek

​1st Corinthians, Chapter 12 - UBS Greek New Testament.  Click for larger image.

The purpose of the class I am taking is simple: give the students the ability to read and understand the language the Greek New Testament.  As far as languages go, that should be easy, right?  We don't have to be conversational, we don't have to write in Greek, we just have to be able to read this one book!  I knew going in that it would be tough, but I didn't realize just how challenging it would be to master an ancient language in less than two months.

Here is a sampling of the items that make Biblical Greek so interesting to learn.​

  • ​The Alphabet: The Greek alphabet is different from ours.  No surprise there.  However, some of the letters look similar to some of ours.  Sometimes the similar letters make similar sounds, sometimes they make very different sounds.  This can be hard to remember.  For example: in Greek, there are two letters that make the sound of our "a": "α" and "η" (alpha & eta), one makes the "a" as in "Father" while the other makes the "a" as in "hate."  You also have the letter sigma, which is formed differently depending on where it is in the word.  It makes the same sound, but looks different.  It can be either "σ" or "ς".
  • Word Order & Inflection: Greek is called an "inflected" language.​  That means instead of using word order and helping words to construct a sentence, Greek just changes the endings of its words.  For example, in English "The dog bit the man" and "The man bit the dog" have two different meanings, even though the individual words are constructed the same.  In Greek changing one letter can change the whole meaning:

    γινώσκω = I know
    γινώσκει = He knows
    δόξα = Glory (if it is the subject of the sentence)
    δόξαν = Glory (if it is the direct object of the sentence)

    This means that if you misread a single letter it can change the meaning of the entire passage.  It also means that Greek is a fairly efficient language, so props to them.

    • ​Participle Chart for ONE verb.  This is all of the various forms (present, past, future, etc) that this one word can take when it is used as a participle (simply an -ing word).  Click for larger image.

  • Multiple Meanings: So, this may not be that different from English in some places​, but it doesn't change the frustration of learning.  In Greek there are many words that have multiple meanings.  Some of these words (usually connecting words) have rules that you can memorize on when to use which meaning, however many others you just have to make an educated guess.  For example, one of the first verbs we learned was λυω (pronounced loo-oh).  It is a great starting verb because it is very regular in form, however it can either mean "I loosen" or "I loose" or "I destroy."  In my mind, there is a huge difference in meaning between "I loosen my coat" and "I destroy my coat", but I'm not an ancient Greek.
  • "Understood" Words & Phrases: Something that Greek writers love to do is have "understood" meaning in sentences.  What I mean by this is it would be "understood" that they meant a certain subject, or that a common phrase should be included, or that this would really mean something quite different from the actual text - all of course with no clue to the reader.  Again, I know we do this in English (especially with idioms), but after this course I am thinking we should stop - it just isn't nice to people trying to learn your language!


    • Reflections

    A friend asked me what it was like learning Biblical Greek.  My response was simple, "It is the hardest thing I have done in a very long time, but it is one of the most rewarding."  This class is nightmarishly challenging (I have literally had bad dreams about parsing Greek verbs), there are days I cannot bear the thought of trying to figure out why there is a "sigma" or isn't a "sigma" in the word, and some of the sentences we have translated have made me want to throw my textbook at my professor (especially the one about the "good apostle who fell often, but this time upon falling in his house he could not raise himself" - seriously, a Life Alert reference?)​

    However, at the end of the day being able to read scripture in Greek is thrilling.  It is stunning how much we have learned in a few short weeks.  It is amazing to me when we open scripture how much I can actually understand, and it gets easier every day.  I am blessed with an amazing professor who makes lectures refreshing, engaging, and even fun.  I am lucky to have a preceptor who takes his time explaining tough concepts, even if we ask the same question twenty times.  Finally, I am surrounded by a community of people, both here at PTS and at home, who are supportive and encouraging - they give me the hope that I can do this crazy thing that is summer language.​

    Praise God!​

    Chris MillerComment