"The Handy Guide to the New Testament Greek" (Douglas S. Huffman)

TITLE: The Handy Guide to New Testament Greek: Grammar, Syntax, and Diagramming (The Handy Guide Series) (Greek Edition)
AUTHOR: Douglas S. Huffman
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2012, (112 pages).

This little guide is a handy reference book for introductory New Testament Greek. Written primarily for the second year student, and also for pastors and teachers, it contains a collection of Greek helpful tables and reference that most (if not all) first year Greek students of the New Testament use. Part One contains revisions on grammar usage, case endings, pronunciation helps, nouns, pronouns, verbs, participles, adjectives, and other language considerations. Part Two summarizes the Greek syntax on the use of the article, the case and time, verb tenses and moods, as well as guiding readers through the tricky participles. Diagramming is also utilized to help students of Greek NT to visualize their parsing activities. That is particularly helpful in terms of synthesis after the exegesis of the original language. The bibliography and resource list at the end of the book is a bonus for anyone, especially those beginning their studies in the fascinating ancient language called Koine Greek.

Many people who have studied Greek during their years in seminary or Bible school know that the less they use, the more they forget. Over time, some may totally lose whatever they have learned. This has led to some seminaries abandoning Greek studies totally. That is tragic, for there is value in learning at least 1 year of Greek. Just because many have the tendency to forget what they have learned, does not mean that learning the language is useless in the first place. It cultivates discipline. It helps students to treat the original texts with more reverence. It enables one to remember that the Word of God is not something to be analyzed and solved, but to be engaged meditatively, intentionally, and patiently. In fact, it may very well be an antidote for the quick and easy culture many of us have gotten used to. What is needed is not an abandonment of the Greek language, but a way to refresh, to revise, and to remember them. Guide books like this, and the growing number of electronic resources will help students with a little knowledge of Greek immensely. Those who have not studied any Greek at all, will find this book a little difficult to appreciate.

Rating: 4.25 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book is provided to me free by Kregel Academic & Professional Publisher without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.