Lesson 10 | Vocab
More Recommended Resources
Here you are in the last lesson of Greek III! To complete your knowledge of introductory Greek grammar, you still need to take Greek IV, but before that happens, we want to recommend some resources that will help you whether you’re simply reading your Greek New Testament or diagramming verses.
We recommended some resources here in Greek II, but these three books will help take you even further toward mastery of the basic concepts of Koine Greek.
A Lexicon
Since words can have a wide "semantic range," as we discuss here, it is helpful to use a lexicon to get a better idea of the possible meanings of a word you’re curious about. For example, if you're reading Colossians 1:17 and wonder what meaning ἐξουσία has, you could look it up in a lexicon. You would find seven definitions in BDAG, and three in Danker. (Regarding ἐξουσία, Danker sees its usage in Colossians 1:17 as "cosmic powers.")
It is helpful to check if the verse you’re reading is referenced, since that gives a clue as to which nuance is present in the occurrence of the word you’re investigating. Lexicons aren’t inspired, of course, but they are very helpful!
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed.by Walter Bauer, Frederick W. Danker, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich
A Syntax Guide
Maximilian Zerwick's A Grammatical Analysis of the Greek New Testament is invaluable for difficult grammatical issues. How is the genitive being used in a certain verse? Why was the dative case used for a certain noun? What does a combination of words mean, when looking them up individually doesn’t make sense of the meaning? GAGNT analyzes every verse of the New Testament, highlighting difficult parsing, word meanings, and syntax.
A Summary
This tiny book contains all the basics of New Testament Greek. It is like a Greek grammar, but greatly condensed. There are also charts of verb patterns, noun patterns, and more, and a small lexicon at the back. It is a helpful, portable reference to remind you of something you’ve learned but forgotten.
Book Review (Mahlon Smith)