An Introduction to Biblical Greek: A Grammar with Exercises (Revised Edition)

by John Schwandt

Publisher:

Lexham Press

, 2020

An Introduction to Biblical Greek

A complete introductory grammar that builds on a classic approach to learning Greek.

In An Introduction to Biblical Greek, John D. Schwandt integrates the rigor of a classic Greek grammar with the fruit of contemporary language learning. The result is a one-stop introduction to New Testament Greek that exhibits sound scholarship in a friendly, approachable manner for students.

The revised edition of this textbook teaches students the basics of the Greek language through 37 short lessons supported by translation and writing exercises from the New Testament. These practical lessons and exercises will help readers grasp Greek grammar and vocabulary as they start to translate the text of the New Testament itself.

 

Praise for An Introduction to Biblical Greek

John Schwandt knows how to teach Greek, and it shows in An Introduction to Biblical Greek. I have myself taught Greek for many years and am well aware of the challenges students face. Schwandt’s Introduction is the best there is. I highly recommend it.

—Craig A. Evans, John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins, Houston Baptist University

Dr. John D. Schwandt’s splendid An Introduction to Biblical Greek triggered my adrenaline to want to teach Greek grammar again. It has everything one wants in a textbook. Besides that, it is backed up by the exceptional technical resources of Logos. When the student has finished this text, they are ready to join the ranks of competent exegetes of the New Testament.

—Bruce Waltke, Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies, Regent College, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Knox Theological Seminary

No two people learn languages in exactly the same way, so there is always a need for new language textbooks. Creatively but logically structured, it charts a sensible middle course between standard and cutting-edge forms of verbal aspect theory.

—Craig L. Blomberg, Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary

Students who master John Schwandt’s An Introduction to Biblical Greek can expect to plunge immediately into exegesis of the New Testament, the Septuagint, and the Apostolic Fathers. Up-to-date and comprehensive on matters of pronunciation, morphology, and verbal aspect, the book boasts an outstanding advantage over many competitors in its emphasis on students’ composing Greek as well as translating it.

—Robert H. Gundry, Professor Emeritus and Scholar-in-Residence, Westmont College

John Schwandt’s Introduction to Biblical Greek provides an attractive and workable alternative to the growing list of beginning Greek grammars that make minimal demands on students at the cost of reduced comprehension of the language. I recommend this book enthusiastically!

—Buist Fanning, Senior Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary

Top Highlights

“Greek punctuation in current printed texts is very similar to English: Greek uses periods, commas, and apostrophes (for elision). The most significant differences: Greek uses a mark similar to a semicolon (;) for a question mark, and the upper dot of a colon (·) for a semicolon. Greek often uses the word ὅτι to mark both indirect and direct discourse. Quotation marks are not used.” (Page 12)

“You may notice that there is no Greek letter that corresponds to the English letter ‘h.’ However, in the high classical Greek period, prior to the New Testament, many words beginning with a vowel actually were pronounced with an initial h sound. To indicate this pronunciation pattern, the Greeks developed ‘breathing marks.’” (Page 12)

“Since ἐν and εἰς are both proclitics (a word pronounced using the stress of the subsequent word), they do not have their own accents. They are pronounced with the following word as if they were merely an additional syllable. If one proclitic follows another, the series of proclitics are be pronounced as the first syllables of the following accented word. The only time proclitics receive an accent is when they occur as the final word in a sentence or are followed by an enclitic (see Lesson 10).” (Page 41)

“The definite article—‘the’ in English—is declined with the same cases as a noun” (Page 37)

• The Alphabet
• Accent Marks, Additional Marks, and the Square of Stops
• Present Active Indicative
• Vowel Length, Accentuation, and ε-Contract Verbs
• O-Stem Nouns (Second Declension)
• Definite Article, Genitive and Dative Cases, and Prepositions
• O-Stem Neuter Nouns (Second Declension, Continued)
• A-Stem Feminine Nouns (First Declension)
• Exceptions to First Declension Patterns
• 2-1-2 Pattern Adjectives and the Verb “To Be”
• Imperfect Active Indicative and Accentuation of Verbs
• Imperfect of εἰμί, Demonstrative Pronouns, and αὐτός
• Passive Voice in the Present and Imperfect Indicative
• Deponent Verbs, Present Imperative, and Relative Pronoun
• Present Infinitive, Personal Pronouns, and Possessive Adjectives
• Future Active and Middle Indicative, and the Middle Voice
• Verb Root Forms, Reflexive Pronouns, and Questions
• Sigmatic Aorist (First Aorist) and Meanings of Aspectual Stems
• Thematic Aorist (Second Aorist) and Object Clauses

• Present, Future, and Aorist Active of Liquid Verbs, Temporal Clauses , and παρά
• Consonant Stem Nouns (Third Declension)
• Semivowel Stems (Third Declension, Continued): Neuter and Irregular Nouns
• Adjectives with Consonant Stems and Irregular Adjectives (Third Declension, Continued)
• Aorist and Future Passive
• Participles
• Genitive Absolute; Interrogative, Indefinite, and Relative Pronouns
• Aorist Middle and Degrees of Comparison for Adjectives and Adverbs
• α-Contract and ο-Contract Verbs
• Perfect and Pluperfect Tenses
• Subjunctive Mood
• Contract Verbs, εἰμί, and Further Uses of the Subjunctive
• Further Uses of the Infinitive
• Athematic Verbs: δίδωμι
• Athematic Verbs: τίθημι
• Athematic Verbs: ἵστημι
• Other Athematic Verbs and οἴδα
• Optative Mood and Periphrastic Constructions

Product Details

• Title: An Introduction to Biblical Greek: A Grammar with Exercises
• Author: John D. Schwandt
• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Publication Date: 2017
• Page Count: 512
• Format: Logos Digital, Hardcover
• Trim Size: 7x9
• ISBN: 9781683591184

About John Schwandt

Dr. John D. Schwandt is president of Redemption Seminary. Prior to this role, he served as the Executive Director of Mobile Education for Faithlife. Before coming to Faithlife, he was one of the original professors at New Saint Andrews College where he taught Greek and New Testament for 17 years. He has over a decade of experience teaching online and developing distance educational curricula.

He is the author of a comprehensive beginning Greek grammar, An introduction to Biblical Greek (Lehxam Press, 2020). He was the general editor of the English-Greek Reverse Interlinear New Testament: English Standard Version (Crossway Books, 2006), and he recorded an audio version of the Greek New Testament for the German Bible Society. You have heard his voice if you have clicked on any Greek word to hear it pronounced in Logos Bible Software.

Schwandt earned his doctorate in Bible translation at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. He earned his master of arts from Westminster Theological Seminary in California, and he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Idaho.