Lesson 2 | Greek Nouns: The First Noun Pattern
Preparing to Learn
Before we begin learning more Greek, there are a few details we need to cover.
Typing in Greek
You need to be able to type in Greek as this course continues. To do this, you need to add the Greek Polytonic keyboard to your computer. Make sure that the keyboard is Greek Polytonic and not just Greek.
Windows 10 Instructions
- Go to Region and language settings
- Click on “add a language”
- Type “Greek” in the search bar
- Download the “Ελληνικά/Greek” language pack
- Once it has installed, click on it and choose “options”
- Under “options”, click “add a keyboard”
- Choose the “Greek Polytonic” keyboard
Mac Instructions
- Go to System Preferences
- Click on “Language and Region”
- Click on “Keyboard preferences...”
- Click the + button
- Choose “Greek - Polytonic” and click “Add”
You then are able to switch your keyboard to Greek via the menu bar.
Writing Greek
Since this is an online course, you are not required to learn how to write the Greek letters. However, there is some benefit to learning this. If you would like to learn to write the Greek letters, follow this link.
A Personal Copy of the Greek New Testament
Although this course does not require you to purchase your own copy of the Greek New Testament, I highly recommend that you do so. You will not be able to read it right away, but you will be able to read more and more as our course continues. As your ability to read the Greek NT grows, having a physical copy of the text will help you in several ways:
- It helps you read with less distraction,
- It helps you read passages in their context
- It forces you to read Greek instead of relying upon Bible software to translate every word.
If you want to buy your own Greek New Testament, there are a few different versions that you can choose. The NA28 and UBS5 are the standard Greek New Testaments that most scholars and Bible translators use. Most of our English Bibles are based on these Greek texts. The NA28 and UBS5 use the same Greek text but have different purposes.
Recently, Crossway and Cambridge University Press published The Greek New Testament, Produced at Tyndale House, Cambridge. This exciting, new Greek text prioritizes earlier manuscripts and recent scholarship.
I use the digital text for the NA28 on Biblearc when I’m preparing to teach or preach. However, I also work from a physical copy of Crossway's The Greek New Testament, Produced at Tyndale House, Cambridge, Reader's Edition as I prepare. This edition also allows me to read the Greek NT for leisure, personal worship, or church.
For students in this course, I recommend that you purchase The Greek New Testament, Produced at Tyndale House, Cambridge, Reader's Edition or a similar reader’s version as your physical copy of the Greek New Testament.
The Greek New Testament, Produced at Tyndale House, Cambridge, Reader's EditionThe Greek New Testament, Produced at Tyndale House, Cambridge, Reader's Edition provides the definitions for infrequent verbs and parsings for confusing verbs. So, it allows me to read the text without having to stop and look up less common words or verb parsings.