So I broke down and bought the hard copy

[Archaea]

of Misquoting Jesus. I couldn't wait. I'm not good at that when it comes to books, which pile up in my house, half read. I fear when I die, nobody will appreciate my library. Perhaps I need to bequeath them to somebody who appreciates weird things.

And I might add, do not forget to read the introduction, as he sets up his own personal journey.

I imagine his journey may be closer to Seattle's than he will admit publicly. If anything such as this can be so, it is riveting.

I also intend to restart my foray into Classical Greek, but only ordered Anne Groton's book, from Alpha to Omega. However, I have lost my dictionary. Does anybody have a suggestion as to a competent dictionary I should order?

In any event, his observations about the Bible show it to be a very "human book". After you read these passages, contemplate and discuss.

[All-American]

Originally Posted by Archaea

of Misquoting Jesus. I couldn't wait. I'm not good at that when it comes to books, which pile up in my house, half read. I fear when I die, nobody will appreciate my library. Perhaps I need to bequeath them to somebody who appreciates weird things.

And I might add, do not forget to read the introduction, as he sets up his own personal journey.

I imagine his journey may be closer to Seattle's than he will admit publicly. If anything such as this can be so, it is riveting.

I also intend to restart my foray into Classical Greek, but only ordered Anne Groton's book, from Alpha to Omega. However, I have lost my dictionary. Does anybody have a suggestion as to a competent dictionary I should order?

In any event, his observations about the Bible show it to be a very "human book". After you read these passages, contemplate and discuss.

I just bought Liddel and Scott's Greek Lexicon, as was recommended by BYU's classics department. It is available for a reasonable price on Amazon or Ebay-- I got mind for about $20.

[Archaea]

Other than the grammar book, the lexicon, what else should I purchase? Homer?

Is there a 501 Classical Greek Verb book?

BTW, is BYU's Classical Department improviing or of any note in your opinion?

What level of classicists teach there?

[All-American]

Smyth's grammar is the standard, as I've been told. I haven't seen a 501 verbs on classical greek, but there's a pretty wide range of comparable books around.

As far as texts go, I'd start with the New Testament. Not only is it probably the most important of the works originally written in Greek (for both religious and historic purposes), it will be easier to read, given the familiarity of the English translations. You can also get into the habit of bringing it with you on Sundays, which helps insure that it won't stay on the shelf. New Testament Greek is not exactly the same as classical Attic Greek, but it's close enough. Homeric Greek has a number of differences as well.

I really have no way of comparing BYU's classics department with anything else. Most of the introductory level classes are done by grad students. If I were to guess as to the evaluation of the program as a whole, I'd say it is more competant than remarkable. Mine is hardly the authoritative opinion on the matter, however.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by All-American

Smyth's grammar is the standard, as I've been told. I haven't seen a 501 verbs on classical greek, but there's a pretty wide range of comparable books around.

As far as texts go, I'd start with the New Testament. Not only is it probably the most important of the works originally written in Greek (for both religious and historic purposes), it will be easier to read, given the familiarity of the English translations. You can also get into the habit of bringing it with you on Sundays, which helps insure that it won't stay on the shelf. New Testament Greek is not exactly the same as classical Attic Greek, but it's close enough. Homeric Greek has a number of differences as well.

I really have no way of comparing BYU's classics department with anything else. Most of the introductory level classes are done by grad students. If I were to guess as to the evaluation of the program as a whole, I'd say it is more competant than remarkable. Mine is hardly the authoritative opinion on the matter, however.

So other than aspects such as optative mood, what other particles should I note for differences in Attic Greek from Koine?

If I understand the hiearchy of Greek, we have Mycenean Greek in Linear B, which I have no idea how one reads, and prior to that we have preliteral Greek, when tones preceded syllabic emphasis, which turned into Homeric or Classical Attic Greek, which merged into Koine, into Medieval Greek and our Modern Greek.

So if I start at the top, do I have a better chance of understanding the lesser? Or is the transition more subtle?

Which Greek New Testament? Is there more than one text that's recognized?

[Chapel-Hill-Coug]

Archaea: here is my attempt to answer your questions.
As far as grammars go, I would just focus on the Groton book for a while. Smyth is the standard, it is true, but not for beginners or the faint of heart. As for lexica, the "Middle Liddell", or the intermediate Liddell and Scott, you should get it for around $30 or so new. There is the "Great Scott" unabridged, but that will cost you around $100 and is a bit overwhelming. I majored in Classics at the Y and their program is actually very good at teaching students languages. One thing I will say, though is that some teachers are better than others. I talked with one of the professors recently, and he bragged that he taught first year Greek with no drop-out rate. If there are no dropouts then it is too easy and you won't learn it, plain and simple. When I took Greek 101, by the time we got to 201 two semesters later, our group had dwindled from ca. 40 down to about 8. But we learned it well, and had people in our group winning and placing in national translation contests for both classical and koine. By the time I went to grad school in the NT, my advisor said I had the best Greek he had ever seen from a grad student. It takes going through intensive study, aka hell, to really learn the stuff, especially since you can't practice a difficult dead language through regular conversation. I don't know if I got to all your questions, let me know if you have more.

[Chapel-Hill-Coug]

There are only two worth getting. There is the "Greek New Testament" published by the United Bible Societies. It is well known for its red cover. It is very user friendly, and my second recommended edition.

The best one, though, is the blue covered Nestle-Aland "Novum Testamentum Graece", which is more comprehensive in its textual apparatus, or its notation of textual variants. It is a little less user friendly and takes more effort to decipher, but I think it is worth it for the extra information it contains.

[creekster]

Originally Posted by Archaea

So other than aspects such as optative mood, what other particles should I note for differences in Attic Greek from Koine?

This sentence (along with most of this thread) makes me feel like the chicken farmer in Napolean Dynaminte.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by creekster

This sentence (along with most of this thread) makes me feel like the chicken farmer in Napolean Dynaminte.

Accept my apologies for inartfully worded, arcane references.

Languages contain inflection in the forms of noun cases, and verbs reflect inflection in terms of tense and mood. Optative mood is confusing and I had read that Koine Greek loses it. Since it's confusing, I was glad to see it gone.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by creekster

This sentence (along with most of this thread) makes me feel like the chicken farmer in Napolean Dynaminte.

What, me worry?