It's All Greek to Me

I'm just about three weeks away from finishing my first year of Biblical Greek. When I say "first year", I mean the equivalent of that as I am not actually enrolled in any particular class. Rather, I've purchased the first year textbook and workbook authored by William Mounce and have been working my way through it in the evenings for the last few months.

A couple years ago I tried to learn Spanish in much the same way, and I got good enough with the language to read the first book in the Harry Potter series (with a good lexicon at my side). However, I soon realized that I had no skill whatsoever in actually conversing in that language. I just don't have the ear for a spoken language, nor the exposure to a culture which would allow me to develop it.

I realized that the ideal language for me would be one that is primarily a written language. That combined with my apologetics work, made the choice fairly simple, either Hebrew or Koine (means "common") Greek. I am writing this particular post as an advertisement for anyone else who is interested in picking up another language to consider Greek, as well. Here's why:

1. Greek is, as I mentioned, a written language. A situation will never come up in which you will need to ask for directions in Koine Greek or have a conversation about politics. And if you are not skilled in picking up the oral aspects of language (or do not have the opportunity to immerse yourself), Greek can be studied without that anxiety.

2. Koine Greek is a "dead" language in the sense that new words are not being added anymore. You will never have to learn the Koine word for microwave or motorcycle.

3. Koine Greek is a "limited" language, at least if you are learning it primarily for Biblical studies. There is a finite amount of vocabulary and grammar that one has to master to accomplish the goal of reading Scripture and the writings of the early church. For example, the Greek word "κια" means "and". Now that I've told you that, you have officially learned one out of ten of all the words occurrences in the New Testament.

4. Biblical Greek is a very "regular" language. A good understanding of the rules that govern the tenses and forms of different verbs and nouns make the "morphology" of the words (in most cases) relatively predictable. This keeps memorization to a minimum (though there is still a substantial amount of it).

5. Lastly, if the reason for study of Greek is to interact with the Bible, one can dive into that pursuit fairly soon in the learning process, seeing the rewards of such study much earlier than with other languages.

The resource I recommend for study of Greek is the series by William Mounce, which is the most popular among seminaries at this time. Mounce has the ability to sort through all the complication and give simple, straight-forward explanations that other textbooks (at least the ones I've used) neglect. Probably the most effective way to study independently would be with a small group of friends who have the same goal. Not having a professor handy to help with confusing concepts can be difficult, so studying with a group helps with that to a small degree.

I mention all this because, in order to reinforce what I've learned, I would like to lead a small groups study, perhaps over the summer, of individuals who are interested in learning Koine Greek. I am by no means to be a "teacher" of the language, but I think my grasp of the basics is strong enough that I would be able to guide others through the wonderful textbook that I used.

As Catholics, we are fortunate because our approach to Christianity (the correct approach, by the way) does not obligate us to start from scratch in trying to determine doctrine from the sometimes ambiguous text of Scripture. We have the infallible guide of the Church to give us the luxury of a childlike faith, where we can put our trust in the parental care of Holy Mother Church. With that said, however, it is worth pointing out that very little of Scripture has actually be interpreted infallibly. There is much in this great treasure that is left up to our personal study and devotion (as long as we do not come to interpretations that contradict Tradition or the Doctrine of the Faith). Much of it can be read for personal edification and for guidance in daily life, as well as for a deeper understanding of the teachings that have been passed on to us through the Catholic Church.

And as with any literature, the truest relationship comes when we read it in the original words, catching the cultural and linguistic nuances that sometimes add a beauty or depth that translations always fall short in conveying. Though I am only a partial way into my exploration of Koine Greek, what I have found has already made the effort worthwhile.