Customer Reviews

Greek Grammar: You Can Learn Bible Greek--A Clear Introductory Course

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're at all interested in the Greek language or Greek as it relates to the Bible, you simply must check out this book. Not only do you learn a bit of Greek, but you learn some of the intricacies of Greek word meanings applied to Scripture. I'd studied Greek just a bit a few years ago. It's a difficult language to grasp. Still, the author goes the extra mile to make it as easy to follow as possible. I found myself wishing the author would do even more with his concept. I wished I'd had an audio or video accompaniment to the book that would help me with proper pronunciation. I also wish he'd do a Bible study series, taking perhaps one book of the Bible at a time and helping the layperson understand it better by giving a firmer grasp of the meaning of the word in its Greek form.

What a joy to find a book where the author has taken his goal seriously, and succeeded. John Poly, over the decades, has obviously taught Koine Greek and realized that you don't have to have an advanced degree to learn it. He says he wants everyone to have the joy of reading the Greek New Testament, but that he's not creating theologians or arming you to beat someone else over the head with your personal knowledge of Greek.

You can't do it over night, but after studying the first 120 pages you will be on your way to the personal satisfaction of reading Biblical Greek on your own. I didn't award the fifth star only because I would have liked more reference words given when examples are shown. For example, when the aorist tense of 'I wrote' is shown, I would like to be able to compare that to the root infinitive at the time. This can easily be accomplished with a Koine dictionary, so maybe I'm just lazy.

And I would suggest more transliteration. Even though pronouncing the text isn't the point, Greek letters are so foreign that pronouncing them even silently helps us identify the words as words until we have experience with their alphabet.

The lessons are divided into logical, easy to follow steps and the illustrations are clearly helpful in remembering key points of Greek grammar. Yes, this book can be used alone, but I imagine it would be even more fun with a group of like-motivated learners. I suggest a Koine dictionary and Greek interlinear New Testament to round out your educational resources.

Greek Grammar: You Can Learn Bible Greek is a straightforward, self-teaching resource created and written by Minister and Bible Educator John Poly. Presented in large-print for assimilation without eyestrain, Greek Grammar offers black-and-white illustrations, association tools, and linguistic exercises (including explicitly detailed sample translations of Greek into English) to drill the reader with basic instruction. A superb grammar book for all students of the Greek language, Greek Grammar is an excellent guide to Koine, or Common Greek, especially recommended for non-specialist general readers seeking to better understand the Greek text of the Christian Scriptures.

I've always wanted to learn Greek but dreaded the arduous process that I thought it would entail. John Poly's book is an excellent way to begin tackling such a worthy goal. His concise presentation of the subject is both encouraging and enlightening. Anyone who reads and studies this book will be well on the road both to learning Greek and further exploring the depths of the Bible.

The book is what it says it is-a book on Greek grammar of Koine, the Greek language of the 1st century in which the Bible's new testament was written. The book presents the language in an easy to follow format with practice exercises in translation, grammar drills, and explanations of variations in words. For those who want to read the Bible as originally written, Greek Grammar:you can learn Bible Greek is a plus for your bookshelf.

I was a little fearful of attacking a subject like Greek grammar without any prior knowledge but Poly made it fun and realistic with true bible references and visual explanations. It is a concise and fun companion to be used with the other references you will need (like an interlinear) to fully learn the beautiful and challenging Greek language.