Greek for the Rest of Us: Using Greek Tools without Mastering Biblical Greek (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Learn how to intelligently use commentaries and reference works that will produce more beneficial Bible study with minimal knowledge of New Testament Greek.

From the Back Cover

You don’t have to be a Greek student to understand biblical Greek. If you’d love to learn Greek so you can study your Bible better, but you can’t spare two years for college or seminary courses, then Greek for the Rest of Us is for you. Developed by renowned Greek teacher William Mounce, this revolutionary crash-course on “baby Greek” will acquaint you with the essentials of the language and deepen your understanding of God’s Word. You’ll gain a sound knowledge of basic Greek, and you’ll learn how to use tools that will add muscle to your Bible studies. In six sections, Greek for the Rest of Us will help you: • Recite the Greek alphabet • Read and pronounce Greek words • Learn the Greek noun and verbal system • Conduct Greek word studies • Decipher why translations are different • Read better commentaries Greek for the Rest of Us broadens your knowledge still further with an appendix on biblical Hebrew.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (August 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310282896
• ISBN-13: 978-0310282891
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,684 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical level of Greek Understanding, February 14, 2008

By	G. Maxwell (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

William Mounce has provided a priceless tome that allows almost anyone who can read the ability to understand Greek.

I acknowledge at the outset that you will not become a Greek scholar by reading this book. Instead, this book allows one to leverage a basic understanding of Greek with Bible reference tools to gain a greater understanding and a more accurate understanding of God's Word.

This book is practical beyond words.

You see, I studied both Greek and Hebrew years ago. As I was working through my studies I got to a point where I wondered if what I was studying would ever come into play in my daily Bible study. In short, I questioned just how much I would use (and subsequently remember) of my studies. So, I eventually settled for a level of knowledge that this book provides. And if you are observant, you'll always see references to pastors and teachers being "rusty" in the biblical languages. Why are they rusty? Through lack of use. And it's no wonder: We have so much available to us by way of reference tools that even if you did spend two years in seminary in original language study you'd probably never use all of what you studied to begin with.

Keep in mind that there will never be a substitute for actually studying Greek and Hebrew. But for most of us, books like this when combined with the wealth of print and electronic reference works will unlock the Bible and provide us with more accurate exegesis than just an English translation alone.

Highly recommended for those who want to go deeper in their biblical studies yet want to do so in a practical manner.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars trying to save pennies, November 23, 2007

By	Timothy M. Diez "henry" (chicago, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I wasn't aware of the fact that the pb doesn't include the CD until I received the book in the mail. Now how much do CDs cost Zondervan? Paperbaks are for those who desire to save alittle bit from the cover price. But by not including the CD one is forced to buy the hardback edition. Are they more concerned with making $ or teaching folks?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for Those Who Want to Use Greek Without Learning Paradigms!, February 10, 2009

By	A. C. Parchen (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have taken three years of Koine Greek and recently taught a six week course at a local church with this book. Overall, I think it is a great resource. I think many Christians are interested in a deeper study of the Bible, but without a decent amount of time on your hands to learn and practice Greek vocab and paradigms, it's difficult to take the next step. This book allows you to understand how the Greek language works without actually learning it. Pairing this book with the Interlinear for the Rest of Us could really open up one's Bible study.

I have a few criticisms to consider, however. Mounce is coming from a fairly conservative, Protestant viewpoint. This really colors his work (although he points that out several times, which I really appreciate.) If you are not a conservative Protestant, you will just want to be aware of that going in, but I think it is still very useful for other less conservative branches of Christianity.

There was, unfortunately, no index or summaries at the end of the book for easy reference. This is a big disadvantage for using Greek for the Rest of Us as a resource. If I were to teach the class again, I would try to make one in advance to give out to the students.

The most disappointing part about the book to me is that the exercises are not keyed to an interlinear, and they don't even use interlinear verses at all (from what I can recall). Most of the exercises do not include any Greek whatsoever. Instead, they show different English translations, which, working backwards, the readers are expected to guess at what the Greek behind it is. I think this would be a difficult and potentially perilous exercise, and I also think it would be disappointing to someone interested in getting acquainted with "Baby Greek," as he calls it. If you do get the book, I highly recommend getting an interlinear (that has parsings for all the words) and use it as an answer key, at the very least.

Overall, this is a great idea and a very helpful resource. I really enjoyed teaching from it and would use it again in the future if it fit the needs of the class.