Classes

NT Greek Reading Group

1. Time and Schedule of Web Class

The Intermediate Greek Reading Group meets Wednesday 10:30-11:30 a.m. PST throughout the year. The group will not meet on during the weeks of these various holidays (New Years Day; Good Friday; Memorial Day; Independence Day; Thanksgiving; Christmas; and when Mr. Schwandt is traveling.)

2. Instructor

John Schwandt, M.A. hosts the live meetings. He is a Senior Fellow of Classical Languages at New Saint Andrews College and has taught Greek at the college level since 1997. Mr. Schwandt was the senior editor of the ESV reverse interlinear Bible and recorded the Greek New Testament for the German Bible Society (available through Logos Software). He also is the voice behind the Greek recordings in Bible Works software and Bible Soft Software. He developed the Greek In A Week and the New Testament Language Training Seminar which are intensive language learning courses offered online and across the U.S. He has been offering these courses multiple times each year since 1998. Mr. Schwandt founded the National Biblical Greek Exam and served as its director for ten years. Prof. Schwandt is known as an energetic instructor whose enthusiasm for Greek is contagious.

3. Format

Mr. Schwandt begins each meeting with the Lord's prayer in Greek. We then work through a passage with some people reading the Greek, so people translating, some people just listening (the choice is yours). Then we interact with any interesting or difficult elements of grammar and/or spelling. The conferencing web site enables students to see and hear Mr. Schwandt and ask questions for the rest of the class to hear. Students are also welcome to type comments and questions in the real-time chat window during the lecture. This additional mode of communication increases the amount of classroom interaction and benefits students in a way not possible in a conventional classroom. Mid-week interaction with the instructor and group is also possible on the forum.

Mr. Schwandt also shares his screen where he displays the Greek New Testament in Logos Bible software and shows how he uses different features and resources in this the software to perform original language research.

4. Goals

The main purpose of this course is to have a structured environment to read New Testament Greek, learn intermediate grammar and review the basics.

The NT Greek Reading Group translates 10-15 verses each week and works through a few books of the New Testament each year. The selections will change from year to year so that members will be able to work through most of the New Testament.

The course is designed for motivated individuals who desire to learn. There will be no grades given but performance should be judged by the level of interaction on the forum and in class during the group meeting and lecture.

5. Required Resources

Since participants will be translating portions of the Greek New Testament they must have a copy of a Greek New Testament. We don't require any particular one, but we do recommend Logos Bible Software which has a number of Greek New Testaments, translations and other aids. IBG students can purchase Logos Bible Software at a 15% discount. Please visit my software page for recommendations for various packages. You can get your discount at www.logos.com/giaw.

If you are not interested in electronic text we recommend the Reader's Greek New Testament since it lists unfamiliar vocabulary at the bottom of each page. The class also requires a study guide like the one listed here for vocabulary memorization exercises.

Goodrick, Richard & Lukaszewski, Albert

A Reader's Greek New Testament, Zondervan Publishing Company (April 1, 2004); ISBN: 0310248884 (11 reviews) Zodernvan Electic Text, Vocabulary that occurs less than 30 times in the NT is listed at the bottom of each page.

Imitation Leather 592 pp.

$19.79 Amazon

Recommended Texts

There are a number of resources that help students with translation and explain grammatical and morphological (spelling) issues in each verse of the New Testament. Below are couple optional recommended resources. If you choose the Zerwick text, the additional grammar is necessary to explain his grammatical observations. These texts are also available electronically in Logos software.

Zerwick, Max & Grosvenor, Mary		A Grammatical Analysis of the Greek New Testament: Unabridged, Loyola University Press; (June, 1996); ISBN: 8876535888 (8 reviews) Vocabulary and grammatical notes keyed to verses	Flexi-back	$36.00 Amazon
		A Grammatical Analysis of the Greek New Testament: Unabridged, Loyola University Press; (June, 1993); ISBN: 8876535543 (2 reviews) Grammar to define Zerwick terms in his grammatical analysis	Paperback	$15.00 Amazon
Trenchard, Warren		The Student's Complete Vocabulary Guide to the Greek New Testament, Zondervan Publishing Co. (Nov. 1998); ISBN: 0310226953 (3 reviews) Vocabulary frequency lists, Root list, Principal Part lists, and more	Hardback 352 pp.	$13.99 Amazon
Rogers, Cleon		The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament, Zondervan (Oct. 1998); ISBN: 0310201756 (11 reviews) Vocabulary and grammatical notes keyed to verses	Paperback 704 pp.	$26.39 Amazon

6. Prerequisites

Not much Greek background is required for this reading group. This course is perfect for those who want to increase the fluency of their Greek skills or refresh skills that have been lost. The minimum age for the group is fifteen.

7. Subscription Information