Winter 2006/Pasadena
LG512B
Kiefer

LG512B: BEGINNING GREEK. David E. Kiefer.


DESCRIPTION: This course is the second part of a three-quarter series designed to give students a foundational knowledge of the morphology and syntax of New Testament (Koine) Greek. Students registering for this course must have completed part A of the series and plan on continuing with part C in the Spring Quarter. This course combines both a deductive approach to learning with an inductive study directly from the text of the New Testament. Regular quizzes and periodic tests will be used to monitor progress.

COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon successful completion of all three quarters of this course, you will (a) be able to identify all the relevant categories (i.e., to parse) most regular forms and many of the irregular but frequent forms of the articles, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and verbs that occur in the Greek New Testament; (b) know the most common meanings of about 350 words that occur most frequently in the Greek NT, and be able to use a lexicon to find words you do not already know; (c) understand and be able to discuss the basic grammatical structures of Koine Greek sentences as found in the Greek NT; (d) be able to use all of this to read and translate typical passages throughout the New Testament with minimal use of reference tools; (e) be able to use major references (grammatical and lexical) to explore and investigate words and structures more fully; and (f) understand the challenges, purpose, and value of learning to work with the New Testament in Greek.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Understanding the original language of the New Testament is one of the most basic elements in interpreting the meaning of its various texts. Upon completion of this three-part course, students should be equipped, with the help of various reference tools, to consult the Greek text as part of the exegetical task, and be able to form critical judgments regarding theological and exegetical issues involving the Greek text.

COURSE FORMAT: The course meets twice weekly for two-hour sessions.

REQUIRED READING:

Aland, K.; M. Black; C. Martini; B. Metzger; and A. Wikgren, eds. The Greek New Testament. 4th rev. ed. United Bible Societies, 1993.

Kiefer, David E. First Things First: A Prioritized Introduction to Reading and Understanding the New Testament in Greek.

RECOMMENDED READING:
See the Biblical Division bibliography "Linguistic and Exegetical Books Required in the Master of Divinity Program" available in the SOT Academic Advising office.

ASSIGNMENTS: Daily reading and exercises, and quizzes on vocabulary, syntax, and translation. Students are expected to be present at all class sessions with assignments completed. This normally requires eight hours per week outside of class (two hours for each class hour) spent in studying the textbook lessons, learning Greek vocabulary and forms, and doing translation exercises.

PREREQUISITES: LG512A (same section as this quarter).

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: The completed three-quarter sequence LG512A/B/C meets the MDiv core requirement in Greek (GRK).

FINAL EXAMINATION: Yes.