Introduction to Sahidic Coptic [Hardcover]

Thomas Oden Lambdin (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 377 pages
• Publisher: Mercer Univ Pr (October 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865540489
• ISBN-13: 978-0865540484
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #348,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > African > Instruction

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stand-Alone Introduction into the Language, March 26, 2001

By 

Thomas Sima "ts_58" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Introduction to Sahidic Coptic (Hardcover)

Lambdin's textbook is really unique in its presentation; he divides the book into three parts: the first is broken into 36 lessons with vocabulary, grammar and practice exercises to assist the student in the study of Sa'idic Coptic; the second is a collection of Coptic writings (all religious) for the student to work on once he has finished the lessons in Part One; and the third part is a brief lexicon for those who don't want to spend $90 for Crum's Dictionary (although I highly recommend any serious student of Coptic acquire Crum's dictionary, which was reprinted last year by the Oxford University Press). When you finish this course, you really are ready to read original Coptic texts with the assistance of a dictionary. The E.J. Brill Press has put out a number of books with Coptic texts, including the Nag Hammadi library (see my review for more information) and a catalogue of the Coptic texts in the A.S. Pushkin Museum in Moscow, and there are other publications aimed at the Coptic Christian community, though many of these are in Bohairic, which you will need Crum's dictionary for.

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thomas Lambdin and The Gospel of Thomas, May 23, 2000

By 

Michael W. Grondin (Mt. Clemens, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Introduction to Sahidic Coptic (Hardcover)

Those who are interested in the original language of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas, will find that there are not many grammars available for Sahidic Coptic. Thomas Lambdin, the official translator of the Gospel of Thomas in James Robinson's "The Nag Hammadi Library", has written one of the best. Beginning with the Coptic alphabet, which employs the entire Greek alphabet, plus 6 characters of its own, Lambdin proceeds thru a series of lessons introducing the basic elements of Sahidic Coptic, and giving the reader extensive exercises in reading the language. In addition to the grammar lessons, however, the book includes a 150-page glossary of Coptic words, and a 50-page section of reading selections, including Luke I-V, Apophthegmata Patrum, Wisdom of Solomon, and The Life of Joseph the Carpenter. As a personal aside, this book served as the basis of my own interlinear Coptic/English translation of the Gospel of Thomas. I would highly recommend it to others.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Textbook, May 4, 2006

By 

Laqueus contritus est (Arkansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Sahidic Coptic (Hardcover)

I highly suggest this book. Unlike many introductory grammars, this text moves systematically from the least complex sentences to the most complex, introducing idiomatic expressions as one goes along. The effectiveness of his progression was very helpful for myself, as my class only had a semester to cover the bulk of this book (the first 25 lessons). The book focuses, rightly, on the various uses of the Coptic verb, but does not neglect a thorough explanation of Coptic grammar, and an introduction to the linguistic peculiarities of the language. It seems to be written for someone who has at least some background knowledge in Greek, however this should not prevent an absolute beginner from being to pick up this book and learn the language. Finally, the book uses common phrases in its exercises, such as one might find in apocryphal or canonical gospels, so that the reader develops a catalogue of phrases (vastly important in Coptic).

My only criticism is that the texts which he uses and the way he writes Coptic are far too edited and standardized, compared with the nature of the originals themselves. Had he risked having a more anomalous text, the students might be better prepared for studying manuscripts themselves.