"Exegetical Journeys in Biblical Greek" (Benjamin L. Merkle)

TITLE: Exegetical Journeys in Biblical Greek
AUTHOR: Benjamin L. Merkle
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2023, (288 pages).

One of the challenges of learning any language is the frequency of usage. The old adage "Use it or lose it" is particularly true for languages. Even for those who grow up in their native languages, lack of usage will impact fluency. Learning the ancient biblical languages is the same. Whether it is Hebrew or Greek, constant practice makes perfect. For many who had studied the biblical languages in seminary, chances are, they would have lost their learning through lack of usage in an English-speaking world. Author Benjamin Merkle calls this "linguistic apostacy." This book is about helping seminarians, and those who had learned biblical Greek at some point in their lives to practice its use over a period of 90 days. It is a follow-up to "Exegetical Gems from Biblical Greek" published in 2019. The journey is arranged from elementary (Gospel of Mark and John) to advanced (later part of the New Testament) levels of reading. Comprising three journeys labeled "Easy," "Intermediate," and "Difficult," readers have 90 lessons to work through. The hope is that this guide gives one a starting torque toward making such journeys a way of life. Each day comprises a sequence as follows:

1. Reading aloud the selected text
2. Identifying the nouns
3. Translating the Greek to English
4. Noticing significant exegetical and syntactical insights
5. Searching for the significance of the passage

My Thoughts
Learning Greek is hard for many. Keeping it might be even tougher. In school, we have a community of learners to push us and professors to guide us. Once we finish school, it takes lots of self-discipline in order to study. In the absence of a community of learners, this book is a nice go-between learning alone and learning with others. The guide provides the Greek text and parsing tables for us to work through. By starting off with easier phrases, one will be encouraged to persevere. The first month is the easy month where the passages are shorter. The subsequent months pack more verses into each day with more complicated grammar. Despite the different degrees of difficulty, the framework for practice is the same. It is hoped that the daily exercises will set in motion a pattern of reading, exegesis, and translation. It is a journey and the journey can sometimes be hard. 

Before one jumps into this book, there are prerequisites. There is no transliteration so readers will have to read the Greek well. This is a key skill to have. For those who have forgotten the Greek alphabet and its pronunciation, this book will not supply any such assistance. Hence, the pre-requisite would be a familiarity with the alphabet and a basic understanding of the vocabulary. Some revision of the grammar will be necessary as well. This can be found in the Appendix on "Supplementary Vocabulary." Once those are completed, the process of learning will be smoother. Perhaps the answer keys could be placed at a less conspicuous location to prevent "accidental" peeking. 

This is a useful resource for Greek revision. The hardest part is actually not the text but the discipline needed to work through it regularly. Thankfully, while the initial work through might seem dry, the short reflection "For the Journey" provides a refreshing insight into the text. 

Benjamin L. Merkle (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the Dr. M. O. Owens Jr. Chair of New Testament Studies and research professor of New Testament and Greek at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of more than forty books, including Greek for Life, Exegetical Gems from Biblical Greek, Linguistics and New Testament Greek, Beginning with New Testament Greek, and Going Deeper with New Testament Greek. He is also the editor of Southeastern Theological Review.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5.

conrade

---

This book has been provided courtesy of Baker Academic via NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.