A Greek Primer: For Beginners in New Testament Greek — Themes and Context

Produced by Stanley A. Bridgeford

A GREEK PRIMER For Beginners in New Testament Greek

THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN NEW YORK CINCINNATI

A scholarly knowledge of Greek requires some time and effort. Every preacher and teacher of the New Testament books would be greatly helped by being able even to refer to the dictionary and to pick out the critical notes in a high-grade commentary.

In many instances memory has grown dim, and there is need of some not too pretentious guide to a new beginning.

Out of many such experiences this meager outline has come, an attempt built up on the old maxim, "Do not in the beginning attempt too much."

1 Learn principles. Language preceded grammar, and the latter is at best a generalization of the former. 2 Learn words. Acquire a vocabulary. The first step is to know words and, further, to know them in their Greek dress. 3 Read aloud. The ear lends efficient help to the eye. There is an indefinable swing even to Greek prose that facilitates study. 4 Commit passages—however brief—to memory. Better than rules is a fund of actual examples, stored up in the memory, of Greek as it was spoken and written. 5 With this outline the text of the forth Gospel should be used from the start (see notice on next page) for study, reading aloud, and for memorizing. 6 Remember that in the end all methods avail little. The way to do a thing is to do it.

B. M. T. Burton's New Testament Moods and Tenses. Bt. Babbit's Grammar of Attic and Ionic Greek. G. Gildersleeve's Syntax of Classical Greek. Gl. Goodell's School Grammar of Attic Greek. G. M. T. Goodwin's Greek Moods and Tenses. Gn. Goodwin's Greek Grammar. H.A. Hadley and Allen's Greek Grammar.

Useful beginning books are:

Huddilston's Essentials of New Testament Greek (Macmillan, 65 cents).

The Gospel of John in Greek, issued by the Massachusetts Bible Society (10 cents a copy).

Moulton's Brief Dictionary of New Testament Greek (Hinds and Noble, $1.00); or Green's Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament (with supplement. Hastings, Boston, 75 cents).

1. In learning a new alphabet attention need be paid only to such letters as are not already know. Of the Greek alphabet only twelve characters are unfamiliar:

A, Β, Γ, Δ, Ε, Ζ, Η, Θ, Ι, Κ, Λ, Μ, α, β, γ, δ, ε, ζ, η, θ, ι, κ, λ, μ, a, b, g, d, ĕ, z, ē, th, i, k, l, m,

Ν, Ξ, Ο, Π, Ρ, Σ, Τ, Υ, Φ, Χ, Ψ, Ω, ν, ξ, ο, π, ρ, σ(ς), τ, υ, φ, χ, ψ, ω, n, ks, ŏ, p, r, s, t, u, ph, ch, ps, ō,

Note.—The small letters, most used, should be learned. The capital letters may be learned as they occur.

2. ε, ο are always short; η, ω, always long; α, ι, υ, sometimes long, sometimes short.

ā as "a" in father. ī as "i" in machine. ă as "a" in papa. ĭ as "i" in pin. η as "e" in fete. ω as "o" in note. ε as "e" in met. ο as "o" in obey. υ equals approximately "eu" in feud or the French u.

Note 1.—In diphthongs with a long vowel ι is subscribed.

Note 2.—As in music, the difference between long and short is one of time, as musical notes image A difference in quality actually appears in pronunciation.

Note 3.—A diphthong is counted long. But in determining accent final –αι– and –οι– are counted short except in the optative mode and in a few words, οἴμοι, οἴκοι. Bt. 3-4; Gl. 5; Gn. 5; H.A. 9-11.

3. The consonants are classified:

(1) Mutes— Smooth Middle Rough With s Labial, π β φ ψ Palatal, κ γ χ ξ Lingual, τ δ θ ζ

(2) Liquids— λ, μ, ν, ρ, as in English, σ(ς) is a sibilant.

(3) ζ, ξ, ψ are called double consonants. Bt. 12; Gl. 38; Gn. 18-22.

1. There are as many syllables in a word as there are separate vowels and diphthongs.

2. Consonants are pronounced with succeeding vowels: λό-γος, πο-λί-της, ἐ-λέ-γε-το. Where two consonants occur together, they are not separated at the beginning of a word or in the case of combinations that do occur at the beginning of the words. G. 97; H.A. 91.

Accent occurs on one of the last three syllables, and represents to the eye the movement of the voice in pronouncing words. Its practical value is to indicate the stress of the voice in reading.

Note 1.—Accent forms are three (acute ´, grave `, and circumflex ˆ) and may be summarized thus:

Short ultima { antepenult ´ { short penult ´ { long penult ˆ { ultima ´

Long ultima { penult ´ { ultima ´ or `

Note 2.—In composition acute accent on the last syllable becomes grave.

Note 3.—Accent is often arbitrary. Rules indicate where accent may (not must) occur.

Words beginning with a vowel are pronounced with or without aspiration (initial "h"). Aspiration is indicated by the sign ( ῾ ), ὅτι (hoti). Unaspirated syllables are marked ( ᾿ ), οὐκ (ook).

American him is ῾im; horse is ῾orse.

English im is ᾿im; orse is ᾿orse.

Note 1.—Breathing stands over the vowel: in a diphthong, over the second vowel (accent also stands over the second vowel, and precedes the breathing). Bt. 8; Gl. 6; Gn. 11.

Note may be made of the marks of punctuation: comma (,), colon (·), interrogation (;), period (.).