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Category Archives: Koine Greek


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Review: FlashGreek app

I have introduced readers to Danny Zacharias’ iGreek app and his ParseGreek app. Both apps are helpful to those learning or refreshing their knowledge of Koine Greek. Today I want to say a bit about the app that I think is the most useful of them all. It is the one that if existed when I learned Greek I would have wanted the most: the FlashGreek app.

Why do I say this? Well, those who have learned languages don’t mind taking their textbook here or there, but it is a real pain to bring a large box of vocabulary flashcards with you to the coffee shop for study. This app removes that problem altogether.

The FlashGreek app allows users to test their knowledge of Greek vocabulary several different ways. One can begin with the most frequently used words in the New Testament. One could go by the principle parts. One could choose one of several Greek text books–including Mounce’s and Porter’s to name a few–so that the app will provide you with the vocabulary words that match the chapters of these books.

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As you can see, there are several other options available as well, including whether or not you want audio, images to help you associate, examples to help your memory, and so forth.

I learned Greek in seminary using Mounce’s textbook. If I would have had this app I could have left that box of cards at home and brought my iPhone instead, choosing the cards that parallel the chapters of Mounce’s book:

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As I mentioned above, you have options. This screen shot below shows you what it is like to answer a question with a few prompts. I had the Greek word for “now,” which is accompanied by an audio pronunciation of the word, and in this case a little clock picture to help me remember the word. If you prefer to not use these prompts then turn them off and it will be “old school” Greek words on the “front” with your English answer forthcoming.

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As I have stated, I received these apps for review, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that I wish they existed when I was learning Greek and I use them to refresh my memory. Next time you are about to take a large box of flash cards with you consider this app. You’re going to bring your smart phone with you, so you may as well save space and use your phone wisely! To learn more about the app, and how you can purchase it through iTunes, go here.

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Review: ParseGreek app

A few weeks ago I reviewed Danny Zacharias’ iGreek app (here). Now I want to tell you about his ParseGreek app. You can guess the function of the app by the name of it. It is a tool to help you with parsing your Greek vocabulary. The app works alongside popular Greek textbooks. You can chose the vocabulary and grammer lessons from chapters of these books, i.e., if you want to review Mounce’s chapter 4-7 then the app will let you enter that book and those chapters. The words that will appear will include the vocabulary you have learned and the concepts you’ve learned. No more.

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When you’ve selected your criteria you’ll be asked to parse. If you get it wrong you will be told what you got right, but a little red x will inform you that you missed something:

 

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If you ace it, you’ll receive a green check:

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Parsing can be one of the most difficult aspects of learning a language. Zacharias’ app allows you to keep practicing on the bus, in the dentist office, or at the park without having to bring heavy textbooks with you. Now, this doesn’t replace rogue writing and rewriting of paradigms, but it does assist it. To learn more about this app go here.


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Review: The Singing Grammarian

9780825441677For most adults it may be somewhat embarrassing to learn a new language to music. We think that it is immature, yet humans have learned alphabets, languages, and longer works to a tune for a long, long time. Mnemonic devises aren’t childish. Mnemonic devises are brilliant, helpful, and work with how our brain remembers things.

When you learned the alphabet of your first language it was likely to music. My first language is English and “A,B,C,D,E-F-G, H, I, J, K, L-M-N-O-P…” had a rhythm that made it memorable. I am thirty years old and sometimes I will hum through a song I learned over two and a half decades ago in order to remember letter order.

So why not do this when learning Koine Greek? Danny Zacharias has put together a resource with videos set to familiar musical themes in order to help students learn everything from the Greek alphabet to infinitives. It is called The Singing Grammarian and you can order it via Kregal Publications or providers such as Christian Book Distributors (CBD).

As I listened to these videos, which played through Quick Time on my computer, I found some tunes more catchy than others, but this is the thing: these paradigms are difficult to memorize. If I have to do rogue memorization I think a little music is more helpful than silence.

The product costs $18. It seems like CBD allows you to purchase individual videos as well in case you find the alphabet easy, but not liquid verbs.

Here are some screen shots:

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See my review of Zacharias’ iGreek app here. I received a free copy of these videos for review from Kregal Publications.


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Review: iGreek app

Danny Zacharias has a unique role at Acadia Divinity College: he teaches the introductory Greek and Hebrew courses and he is the I.T. manager. These roles have been combined in a series of useful apps for Greek students (I hope to report a Hebrew version some day). I will preview/review the three he has available at this time over the next several days. Today I begin with the iGreek app.

Who should buy this app? People who are beginning students of Koine Greek or anyone who wants an easily accessible tool for refreshing your Greek on the go. You can play Angry Birds while waiting at the airport or you can review your Greek. It is harder to find excuses for letting one’s language skills slip with tools like these.

The iGreek app is not easy to find through basic search on iTunes, so I recommend going here. This app is $3.99, total. That’s it. Let me show you why it is worth it.

This is the iGreek opening screen. As you can see there is everything from the alphabet to a glossary of every word in the New Testament.

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The glossary is divided into chunks so that you don’t have to scroll from alpha to sigma or further:

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Let’s say you want to review your nouns. Well, go to the nouns page, then go to the declension or case functions you’d like to study (first declensions screen shot provided):

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This app even includes things like short music videos to help you memorize the Greek alphabet and other things:

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As you can see, this tool provides the basics. If you have read a Greek intro grammar, but you want something to assist your memory, get this app. Soon I will review Zacharias’ flashcard and parsing apps. In case you are wondering, I did receive these apps free for review, but I can say with good conscience that I would have purchased them if I had not received them for review.


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LG21′s interpretive twist to Romans 1:3-4

As I continue to revamp my (weak) reading skills in French I have taken to reading Romans in the Segond 21 (LG21) translation while consulting Nouvelle Edition de Genève (NEG1979). I noticed something interesting tonight in Romans 1:3-4 that exposes the interpretive framework of the LG21. In the GNT it reads, περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, τοῦ γενομένου ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα, τοῦ ὁρισθέντος υἱοῦ θεοῦ ἐν δυνάμει κατὰ πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν. Paul says that his Gospel is “about his Son, the one born of the seed of David according to the flesh.” Sometimes this passage is taken to be an indirect claim to deity, i.e., Jesus is the Son of God in one sense according to the flesh, which implies he is the Son of God in another sense as well.

Of course, Romans 4:1 asks whether or not Abraham can be called “our forefather, according to the flesh,” i.e., is our relationship to Abraham biological/genetic, primarily? This doesn’t imply deity, but the question is asking if there is another sense in which Abraham may be called “forefather,” so this may allow for Romans 1:3 to be hinting at another way to call Jesus the “Son of God.” I don’t know.

It appears that the LG21 understands Romans 3:1 to be addressing Jesus’ “dual nature.” It reads, «Il concerne son Fils que, en tant qu’homme, est né de la descendance de David.» My translation: “It [the Gospel] concerning his Son who, as a man, is born of David.” It is v. 4 that makes the LG21 interpretation more obvious: «et qui, du point de vue de l’Esprit saint, a été déclare Fils de Dieu avec puissant par sa résurrection.» My translation: “…and which, from the point of view of the holy Spirit, was declared Son of God with power by the resurrection.”

In the LG21 Jesus is the Son according to the flesh and the Son of God “from the point of view of the holy Spirit.” The NEG1979 reads, «il concerne son FIls, né de la postérité de David, selon la chair, déclaré Fils de Dieu avec puissance, selon l’Esprit de sainteté, par sa resurrection d’entre les morts.» My translation: it [the Gospel] concern his Son, born of the posterity of David, according to the flesh, declared Son of God with power, by the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

Any thoughts?


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Short Book Review: Douglas S. Huffman’s The Handy Guide to New Testament Greek

Douglas S. Huffman, The Handy Guide to New Testament Greek: Grammar, Syntax, and Diagramming (Grand Rapids: Kregal Publications, 2012). (kregal.com)

9780825427435I received a copy of this book for review courtesy of Kregal Academic. When I saw that it was made available for review I requested it because I remember when I was learning Greek I wished that I could find something more, well, “handy”. My textbook had all the necessary grammar, but it had too many pages to make it convenient for transport. Often, all I wanted was to have my paradigm charts available without all the commentary. This little book provides exactly that.

Part 1: Greek Grammar Reminder includes charts on everything from the alphabet, to declensions, pronouns and adjectives. Part 2: Greek Syntax Summaries reintroduces cases, article usage, and verb usage. Part 3: Phrase Diagramming would have been invaluable when I was learning Greek since my teacher had us do diagramming quite often.

If you are teaching Greek (Koine) and you want to provide students with something they can take with them to the coffee shop while they practice their translating or diagramming then I recommend adding this to your list of required books. If you are a student of Greek who needs something like this resource I think you will be pleased to find that it does exist.

For those who need a “visual” review, here are some pictures:

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Instructional page

Diagramming

Diagramming

 


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Ancient Greek iPad book project.

Jon Jordan informed me that he is working on an iPad book project intended for beginning students of ancient Greek. He teaches high school classes, so that is the motivation for the work, but it looks like it could be used for a broader audience as well. If you are interested in knowing more about this, and how you can contribute, go here.