Biblical Languages - New Testament Greek
The Essentials to Koine (New Testament) Greek
Course Description
The Essentials to Koine (New Testament) Greek is a 3-Module course of study that seeks to equip believers to delve deeper into the Scriptures than ever before. The teaching tradition of Vancouver Bible Institute attempts to put solid, effective tools into the hands of every Christian to better understand God, His Word, and the foundations and history of the Christian faith in order to serve the local church and the community they live in, and to defend their faith with precision and grace.
One might ask: Why should anyone take the time and put forth the effort to learn New Testament Greek when there are so many widely accepted English translations for us to use, and an abundance of commentaries on every part of Scripture?
Learning New Testament Greek affords the believer with an opportunity to interact with the text in a manner never realized in any English translation. Since God in His sovereignty determined to use Koine Greek as one of the languages to give His self-disclosure to man, then it is fundamental to our understanding of that self-disclosure and worthy of our study. Reading the original text is no mere recital of past events. Rather, it is a means to bring us in touch with the power of the text and to apply its truths to our lives.
Each 10-week module is designed to prepare everyday believers to accomplish three things:
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able:
The Uniqueness of This Course
The best way to study Koine Greek is to look at it as a history of speech-development, so in this course we look at the language of the New Testament from living, historical, and comparative viewpoint. Change is an inseparable reality in life; no language is "dead" so long as it is undergoing change. This includes the written word as well as the spoken. From the very first class, we will begin to look at how Koine Greek functions, what makes it work. This will simplify one's learning of the language and enable the student to better and more accurately translate and interpret the Scriptures.
Prerequisite: None
Course Outline - Module 1
Session One: Introduction; The History of Language; The History of Koine Greek
Session Two: Greek Alphabet: History and Structure
Session Three: Pronunciation
Session Four: Introduction to Verbs
Session Five: Words in Relationship to Each Other
Session Six: Building the Greek Sentence
Session Seven: Some Unique Peeks at Greek Sentence Structure
Session Eight: The Preposition: It's Theological Significance
Session Nine: The Personal Pronoun: How Jesus Used Them
Session Ten: More Pronouns: Demonstrative
Course Outline - Module 2
Session One: Present Middle and Passive Indicative
Session Two: Imperfect Active Indicative
Session Three: Imperfect Middle and Passive Indicative
Session Four: Future Active and Middle Indicative
Session Five: First Aorist Active and Middle Indicative
Session Six: Second Aorist Active and Middle Indicative
Session Seven: Aorist and Future Passive Indicative
Session Eight: Third Declension – Liquid and Mute Stem Nouns
Session Nine: Third Declension – Vowel Stem and Neuter Nouns
Session Ten: Present and Future Participles
Each lesson will be followed by a practical look at particular passages in the New Testament so that the student may have a chance to see the beauty of the language and the truths that God desired for it to reveal.
Course Textbooks and Tools
Note: Both the Greek New Testament and the grammar may be ordered when you complete your paid registration.
The cost for both together is $70.00. The grammar is currently only available from Professor McDougall directly.
Assignment Description
1. Read and study the required pages each week;
2. Learn the alphabet and vocabulary for each lesson;
3. Complete at-home exercises as assigned.
Course Description
The Essentials to Koine (New Testament) Greek is a 3-Module course of study that seeks to equip believers to delve deeper into the Scriptures than ever before. The teaching tradition of Vancouver Bible Institute attempts to put solid, effective tools into the hands of every Christian to better understand God, His Word, and the foundations and history of the Christian faith in order to serve the local church and the community they live in, and to defend their faith with precision and grace.
One might ask: Why should anyone take the time and put forth the effort to learn New Testament Greek when there are so many widely accepted English translations for us to use, and an abundance of commentaries on every part of Scripture?
Learning New Testament Greek affords the believer with an opportunity to interact with the text in a manner never realized in any English translation. Since God in His sovereignty determined to use Koine Greek as one of the languages to give His self-disclosure to man, then it is fundamental to our understanding of that self-disclosure and worthy of our study. Reading the original text is no mere recital of past events. Rather, it is a means to bring us in touch with the power of the text and to apply its truths to our lives.
Each 10-week module is designed to prepare everyday believers to accomplish three things:
- This course is directed towards enriching one’s study of the Scriptures; to deepening their knowledge of the Word of God, thus deepening their knowledge of the God of the Word.
- This course is designed to start students with the right foundation to understanding New Testament Greek.
- The desire behind this course is that the translation and handling of the New Testament not be left solely in the hands of a few specialists.
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able:
- To read from the Greek New Testament;
- To distinguish syntactical relationships, parse verbs, and know what that means;
- To translate verses from the Greek New Testament on your own;
- To Interact with the Greek New Testament in your personal time of Bible study.
- The history of language, in general, and New Testament Greek, specifically;
- The sights and sounds of the language ;
- The significance of elements of Koine Greek unique to this ancient and powerful language and their bearing on the message of the Scriptures;
- Each lesson will be followed by a practical look at particular passages in the New Testament so that the student may have a chance to see the beauty of the language and the truths that God desired for it to reveal.
The Uniqueness of This Course
The best way to study Koine Greek is to look at it as a history of speech-development, so in this course we look at the language of the New Testament from living, historical, and comparative viewpoint. Change is an inseparable reality in life; no language is "dead" so long as it is undergoing change. This includes the written word as well as the spoken. From the very first class, we will begin to look at how Koine Greek functions, what makes it work. This will simplify one's learning of the language and enable the student to better and more accurately translate and interpret the Scriptures.
Prerequisite: None
Course Outline - Module 1
Session One: Introduction; The History of Language; The History of Koine Greek
Session Two: Greek Alphabet: History and Structure
Session Three: Pronunciation
Session Four: Introduction to Verbs
Session Five: Words in Relationship to Each Other
Session Six: Building the Greek Sentence
Session Seven: Some Unique Peeks at Greek Sentence Structure
Session Eight: The Preposition: It's Theological Significance
Session Nine: The Personal Pronoun: How Jesus Used Them
Session Ten: More Pronouns: Demonstrative
Course Outline - Module 2
Session One: Present Middle and Passive Indicative
Session Two: Imperfect Active Indicative
Session Three: Imperfect Middle and Passive Indicative
Session Four: Future Active and Middle Indicative
Session Five: First Aorist Active and Middle Indicative
Session Six: Second Aorist Active and Middle Indicative
Session Seven: Aorist and Future Passive Indicative
Session Eight: Third Declension – Liquid and Mute Stem Nouns
Session Nine: Third Declension – Vowel Stem and Neuter Nouns
Session Ten: Present and Future Participles
Each lesson will be followed by a practical look at particular passages in the New Testament so that the student may have a chance to see the beauty of the language and the truths that God desired for it to reveal.
Course Textbooks and Tools
- Bible , English Translation (NASB, NET)
- Greek New Testament, 4th Revised Edition (UBS, United Bible Societies)
- McDougall, Steven; New Testament Greek Grammar
- Note pad and pen for taking notes in class
Note: Both the Greek New Testament and the grammar may be ordered when you complete your paid registration.
The cost for both together is $70.00. The grammar is currently only available from Professor McDougall directly.
Assignment Description
1. Read and study the required pages each week;
2. Learn the alphabet and vocabulary for each lesson;
3. Complete at-home exercises as assigned.
