Description    Learning Objectives     Textbooks     Requirements     Grading Basis     Schedule

Course Description:  GRK201 and GRK202 are two halves of a year-long course designed to equip students with foundational skills for using the Greek New Testament in their own studies and ministries. Both semesters concentrate on foundational grammar and vocabulary, and regularly include reading and translating selections from the Greek New Testament. By the end of the year the student should have a basic grasp of the full grammar system and a working vocabulary of about three hundred words. This will enable the student to translate most passages of the Greek new Testament into English with the aid of a lexicon or other reference works.

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Learning Objectives:  As a result of completing GRK201 and GRK202 in an attentive and disciplined manner, students will:

1.  recognize, recite, pronounce and write the lower and uppercase letters of the Greek alphabet.

2.  recognize the diacritical marks used in Greek texts so that they can pronounce words properly and read from the Greek New Testament.

3.  recognize from memory a vocabulary of 300 of the most commonly used words in the Greek New Testament, and supply context sensitive translations for them.

4.  memorize the major paradigms of Greek noun declension and verb conjugation so as to read, parse and translate case, number and gender of nouns/pronouns and adjectives, and the person, number, tense, mood and voice of verbal/adverbial constructions, including participles, which combine elements of verbs/adverbs and nouns/adjectives.

5.  recognize, identify and accurately translate the various basic nuances of common Greek prepositional phrases.

6.  acquire the knowledge and skills to use the Greek New Testament in biblical studies that inform and shape their own lives as well as their ministries to others.

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Textbooks:  Students must purchase, and bring to every class, the required texts.  The recommended texts are very helpful, but not required.

Required texts are:

Black, David Alan. Learn to Read New Testament Greek: Expanded Edition. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1994 (required for all students both semesters).

Aland, Barbara, et al.  The Greek New Testament (with dictionary).  4th ed.  Münster: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1993 (required for all students in 2nd semester).

Recommended texts are:

Metzger, Bruce M. Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998.

Trenchard, Warren C. A Concise Dictionary of New Testament Greek. Cambridge: University Press, 2003.

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1.  Constructive and disciplined engagement in the learning process inside and outside of the classroom. This will be assessed by:

     a.  Consistent, punctual class attendance, with textbooks, notebook, and positive attitude (10% of class grade): genuine emergency is the only excuse for absence. Absence, tardiness, and negative attitude will adversely affect your learning and your final grade.

     b.  Advance reading and study of sections in the textbook relevant to each day’s discussion, evidenced by informed participation in class and correct answers on quizzes over grammar, sentences, and vocabulary (20% of class grade). There will be no quiz makeups for any reason whatsoever.

2.  Three exams, each of which will focus on recently covered chapters of the textbook, but which will also (after the first) include cumulative material.  The final exam, being longer, will include a substantial cumulative section.

a.  First Exam, 10/03/05, on Chs 1-5 (20% of class grade).

b.  Second Exam, 11/14/05, on Chs 6-11 and some cumulative (20% of class grade).

c.  Third & Final Exam, 12/16/05, on Chs 1-15 and cumulative (25% of class grade).

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Final Examination: Due to the nature of this course and the material to be covered, the weight of examination will be somewhat distributed, as noted above and below, between three examinations, each testing a specific portion of the material. The second and third/final exams (all second semester exams) will include cumulative material, since effective grasp of a language requires cumulative learning.  Each semester's final exam will be completely cumulative up to that point.

Grading Basis Explanation: The grading scale and grading formula used to determine your final grade are as follows:

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Incompletes are discouraged. They are intended for use only in emergency situations, not simply to cover failure to submit assigned material on time. Where a genuine emergency exists, the student must prepare a petition for an incomplete on the appropriate form available from the academic office, and present it to the instructor before the last class date. If the petition is approved, the student has six weeks from the last class date to complete course requirements.

Adjustments to Syllabus/Schedule: The instructor reserves the right to modify this syllabus or the requirements of the course throughout the semester.

Special Needs: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), all qualified students enrolled in this course are entitled to ‘reasonable accommodations.’ It is the student’s responsibility to inform the instructor of any special needs before the second week of class ends.

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Course Schedule:

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Bibliography

Print Resources:

Black, David Alan.  Learn to Read New Testament Greek.  Nashville: Broadman, 1993.

Blass, F. and A. Debrunner.  A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature.  Translated and Revised by Robert W. Funk.  Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961.

Bauer, Walter.  A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Revised and edited by Frederick W. Danker. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

Dana, H. E. and Julius R. Mantey.  A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament.  New York: MacMillan, 1927.

Efird, James M.  A Grammar for New Testament Greek.  Nashville: Abingdon, 1990.

Hewett, James Allen.  New Testament Greek: A Beginning and Intermediate Grammar.  Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987.

Louw, Johannes P. and Eugene A. Nida.  Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains. 2 vols.  New York: United Bible Societies, 1988.

Machen, J. Gresham.  New Testament Greek for Beginners.  New York: MacMillan, 1923.

Moulton, W. F. and A. S. Geden.  A Concordance to the Greek New Testament. 5^th ed.  Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1897.

Porter, Stanley E. Idioms of the Greek New Testament.  Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992.

Summers, Ray. Essentials of New Testament Greek, Revised. Revised by Thomas Sawyer. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1988, 1995.

Wallace, Daniel B.  Greek Grammar beyond the Basics.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997.

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Internet Resources:

“Greek Language and Linguistics,” maintained by Micheal Palmer.  http://greek-language.com

“Little Greek,” maintained by Jonathan Robie.  http://ibiblio.org/koine