In The Word

This is the first post in what I hope will be a long series. About 2 months ago I decided to begin studying Greek with the intent on actually being able to read the Bible in the original language. I was motivated by Bill Mounce’s book “Greek for the Rest of Us” and the more I learned the more I wanted to explore the language. I picked up the book Basics of Biblical Greek along with the workbook and have been slowly making my way through each chapter. As an exercise for myself, and as a help to any of you going through the same material I’ll be posting a weekly update with thoughts and resources which I’ve found helpful in my studies.The first section of Chapter 2 in Basics of Biblical Greek sums up what our goal of studying Greek should be. It could easily become a hobby which we devote large amounts of time memorizing vocab and paradigms loosing the central goal of studying Greek in the first place which is:

…to understand better and to communicate more clearly the Word of God

At this point in my studies there is very little ROI for studying Greek. I could very easily look up words in a Lexicon or compare translations to get a solid understanding of a passage, so for now I’d venture to say my short term goal would be:

The study of Greek must not hinder my study of the word of God.

This means, in a practical sense, two things to me:

1. My Greek study must be in addition to, not instead of my daily devotional reading and personal study.
   This could easily become the case if I suppose that somehow i would be “doing Bible study” by studying Greek. That is not the case. Eventually the two will intersect but in the early stages I need to make sure my devotional reading and application of the Word is not hindered, after all I would be opposing the goal if that were to happen.
2. My Greek skills cannot be trusted
   It’s been said that a little bit of Greek can be a dangerous thing. It can open your hermeneutic up to all kinds of problems. I must remember that I am doing “baby Greek” and need to consult the experts for real exegetical questions instead of relying on my own Greek expertise.

These two things form the parameters in which I can begin my study of Greek and will help me keep my studies in check and ensure that the long term goal of understanding and communicating the word of God more clearly is always at the center of this process.
Next Time: The Alphabet & Pronunciation or “I thought π was pronounced PIE not PEE”