contents

Part I Reading and the Alphabet 11 Part II Introducing Endings 79 Part III Those Small Words 143 Part IV Word Studies 171 Part V Verbs 239 topical index 301 a Word to the Greek specialist 302 answers 304

new testament Greek Workbook for laymen

Why the Subtitle? new testament Greekevery Greek word used in this book is found in the Greek new testament. you will not have to learn any words that you will not need for studying scripture. Workbookthe author is convinced that learning by doing will lead to the greatest understanding and retention for the student. on almost every page of this book you will find yourself filling in blanks, matching words, and even using guesswork as tools for successful learning. For laymenthe author is also convinced that there are a great many practical concepts about the christian faith that can be learned even with the easy introduction to Greek found in this workbook. this book will not make you into a Greek scholar, but you will reap the benefits of understanding the Bible better from learning the basic Greek presented here. What Are These Benefits? after completing this workbook, you will: 1. Be able to pronounce Greek words fluently and feel at home with the alphabet. 2. know the meanings of hundreds of new testament words. 3. understand the background of dozens of religious terms through seeing the Greek components that form them. 7

new testament Greek Workbook for laymen

4. see relationships between Bible words that are not easily apparent in english translation. 5. Be able to use Greek dictionaries and other valuable reference books. 6. understand the general outlines of Greek grammar. Could You Give Me Some Examples? 1. Did you know that the word bishop developed over centuries by gradually changing the pronunciation of the word from which we get episcopal? and that this word episcopal is made up of two parts: epi, which means over in Greek, and scope, which means look? and that the original Greek form of this word was used to designate the person appointed to over-look or watch-over the christians in a given place? 2. Did you know that the english words holy, sanctify, and saints are all translations of various forms of a single Greek word-family? What Is Unique about the Approach of This Workbook? 1. the student reads entire words right from the start, using Greek letters that resemble the english letters. this builds confidence and fluency, and removes the fear of mastering the Greek alphabet. 2. scripture quotations are used very early in the book. 3. the students vocabulary is built up quickly and easily through much use of Greek words that resemble english words of similar meaning (cognates). 4. technical terms are avoided as much as possible. Who Should Use This Workbook? this workbook is meant especially for the person who does not have the time to take two years of college-level Greek. it is also valuable for the person who would like to take college-level Greek, but is unsure about whether he would be able to understand itthis book should give him the confidence to proceed into a standard academic course. Finally, the author believes this book could be used as the first few weeks of a full-fledged college Greek course. after completing this book, the student will be at a high level of confidence and motivation which will carry him through the drudgery of learning rules and memorizing grammatical endings.

new testament Greek Workbook for laymen

What Are the Authors Qualifications? the author taught in the public schools, in the field of music, for eighteen years; he is now a Director of christian education. languages and languagelearning theories were major hobby interests which led him to study the basics of many modern languages. When a fresh commitment to christ led to many opportunities to lead Bible studies, he began to study Greek on his own (using the textbook, New Testament Greek for beginners, by J. Gresham Machen). even before finishing that book, he was already sharing many of the materials and approaches found in this workbook with youth Bible studies, with small groups of adults, and with the eighth graders in a christian school. the excitement and appreciation of those who used these materials are what have caused him to believe they could be of value to a wider audience. an explanation of the approach used in this book is included on page 302, for the benefit of the Greek specialist.

Part i

reaDinG anD the alPhaBet

After completing Part I, you will be able to:
1. Pronounce all the Greek letters. 2. Read Greek words quickly and fluently. 3. Know over 200 Greek words. 4. Use the words you have learned in context in Bible passages.

lesson one
Exercise One Reading English Words in Greek the words on this page are english words, but they are written in Greek letters. as you begin to read, simply imagine that you are reading fancy english lettering. answers for exercises are given in the answer pages at the end of the book (304).
Instructions: Read all three words in each box, then circle the word that corresponds to the picture. Check your answers with the answer page in the back of the book.

note that there is a small tail at the bottom of the letter (b), and note the curved form of the letter (d).

the letter a is written like a circle crossing itself: ().

note that the letter i is not dotted, and is curved: ().

some of the words on these pages are spelled wrong, and must be sounded out to get the meaning. there is no c in the Greek alphabet, so we must spell cab as kab. note uneven shape of s (). notice the way you say the letter o in the first two of these words. thats the way youll always say it later on when pronouncing Greek words.

12

lesson one

13

Exercise Two More English Words in Greek Letters this page introduces four Greek letters that do not look like english letters. there is a pronunciation guide at the bottom of the page.
Circle the word that corresponds to the picture.

Pronunciation Guide

=p = long o

=r =n

Note the two kinds of o: as in log, as in pope.

14 Exercise Three Additional Greek Letters

reading and the alphabet

refer to the pronunciation guide at the bottom of the page.

Circle the word that corresponds to the picture.

Pronunciation Guide

= l (l) =s

= g (always hard) =m

Note: The sound for s is written at the end of a word, but is written anywhere else.

lesson one

15

Exercise Four Names from the Bible these are spelled as they appear in the Greek new testament.
Match the Greek to the English equivalent.

i.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l.

anna cana Barabbas nain arabia rebecca Barnabas abel samaria adam Dan aaron

ive omitted some capital letters and accents at this stage for simplicity. all were after is recognition.

ii.

would be pronounced ah-roan.

these have different endings in Greek and english: iii. __ __ __ __ __

a. b. c. d. e.

Mark Messiah Mary italy satan

all the as in Greek words should sound like the a in father; so pronounce sah-tah-nahss

these are pronounced differently in Greek and english: iv . __ __ __ __ __ __

f. g. h. i. j. k.

isaac abraham Peter simon solomon andrew

Greek doesnt have a letter for the h sound. Pronounce each a in separately: ah-braahm. would be: izz-ah-ahk.

For your quick reference, all the Greek letters are listed on page 72.

lesson two
Exercise One Some Pointers on Pronunciation
Circle correct answer.

since all as are pronounced like the a in father: 1. would be: a. ah-bell b. abe-ell.

all es are like the e in pet: 2. would be: a. pe-tross b. Pee-truss

all is are often pronounced like the i in machine: (sometimes is are pronounced as in pin) 3. would be: a. ea-ta-lee-ah b. eye-tal-ee-ah

all os are pronounced like the o in log: 4. would be: a. sha-lah-mun all ws are pronounced like the o in bone: 5. would be: Exercise Two Diphthongs two vowels together, pronounced as one sound.
sounds like ow, as in cow sounds like ey sounds like oi, as in foil sounds like oo, as in boot

b. saw-law-moan

a. sigh-mun

b. see-moan

16

lesson two

17

english words used as examples: 1. three strikes and youre . 2. in holland, water is held in by a . 3. lets flip a . 4. you eat soup with a . i. Matching sounds, using english words.
Match the letter of the picture or English word to the corresponding word spelled with Greek letters.

__ __ __ __

1. 2. 3. 4.

a.

b. aisle c. petroleum

d.

ii. some Grseek names with Diphthongs.

Match the English name and the Greek pronunciation with the equivalent Greek name in the left column.

__ __ __ __ __ __

__ 5. __ 6. __ 7. __ 8. __ 9. __ 10.

e. f. g. h. i. j.

claudia Galilee Paul luke sadducee caesar

k. lew-kahss l. klow-dee-ah m. pow-loss n. gah-lee-lie-ah o. sah-dew-kye-yoss p. kye-sar-oss

Exercise Three i. cognates (Words with similar spellings that mean about the same in Greek and english).
Match the Greek words and their definitions.

__ __ __ __

1. 2. 3. 4.

a. my self; this is the Greek word for i; related to our word egotist. b. bread from heaven c. something sweet-smelling d. very large urban area. ( is Greek for city.)

18

reading and the alphabet

ii. cognates with slight spelling changes. Match the english words with their Greek equivalents. __ 5. __ 6. __ 7. __ 8. __ 9. __ 10. __ 11.

e. f. g. h. i. j. k.

leper agony baptism lamp lion scorpion genealogy

Exercise Four Pronunciation Check

Select the correct pronunciation for each Greek word

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a.

Mess-sigh-us sah-tah-nus see-moan Pee-tross iz-ah-ock Paw-luss Gah-li-lay-uh lew-cuss

b. b. b. b. b. b. b. b.

Mess-see-us say-tah-nus sigh-moan Pe-tross eye-zack Pow-loss Gah-lee-lye-ah low-cuss

Six Greek Words these are all real Greek words.

Copy the Greek word on the long blank after the English word.

house ________________ scorpion ________________ book _______________

rock _______________ lamp _______________ lion _______________

lesson two

19

Pronunciation Check of the New Words __ 9. __10. __11. __12. __13. __14.

a. a. a. a. a. a.

te-trah bye-bloss score-pee-oss lahm-pahss oy-cuss le-on

b. b. b. b. b. b.

pe-trah bi-bloss oh-core-pie-oss lamb-pace oo-cuss leh-own

Exercise Five Phrases the english word in is a preposition. the Greek word for in is .
Guess at the meaning of the following phrases, and write a or b in the blank.

a __ 1.

the word after a preposition, such as , will end differently than it does at other times. you must be able to recognize the meaning of a word no matter how it ends. (the actual endings will be the subject of Part ii of this book). the little mark under the last letter of the word , above, is a small letter . Do not pronounce it. Pronounce the as if there were no small there (oy-coe).

__ 2.

__ 3.

__ 4.

__ 5.

20 the Greek word for on is . a __ 6.

reading and the alphabet

__ 7.

__ 8.

__ 9.

__ 10.

Start Your Dictionary set aside one page in a notebook for each letter in the Greek alphabet. there are 24 letters all together; youll find the entire alphabet listed on page 72. you do not need to put names or obvious cognates in your dictionary, but start by putting in the words you learned on the previous page. then add every new word in this book as you come to it. you will need to refer to your dictionary constantly in order to proceed through this book!