Barrett’s Book Notes: Greek and Hebrew

William Mounce. Greek for the Rest of Us: The Essentials of Biblical Greek. Second Edition. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013.

The second edition of Mounce’s guide to biblical Greek for those in the church is now available. Mounce aims to help readers understand the meaning of Greek words that lie behind English words, learn the basics of exegesis, understand why translations are different, and read good commentaries. If you don’t have the time to learn the Greek language in depth, this is a great place to start and learn the fundamentals.

John H. Dobson. Learn New Testament Greek. Third Edition. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014.

John H. Dobson. Learn Biblical Hebrew. Third Edition. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014.

Mounce’s textbooks to biblical Greek have been the most popular textbooks used in colleges and seminaries. However, one should also take note of these new editions by Dobson. The chapters are concise and I like how Dobson dives right in to the biblical text rather than waiting until you master Greek. You can find audios online as well here.

Rodney J. Decker. Reading Koine Greek: An Introduction and Integrated Workbook. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014.

Rodney Decker died in 2014. Our own Timothy Raymond wrote a nice piece here about Decker’s scholarship and the impact Decker has had on his students. This volume released by Baker is impressive and quite a tribute to Decker’s scholarship. I imagine that Decker’s contribution to Greek will only continue. I would advise reading the Acknowledgments page where Decker talks about the approach he takes (grammatical minimalism), having been influenced by Silva and Carson.

Matthew Barrett (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Assistant Professor of Christian Studies at California Baptist University, as well as the founder and executive editor of Credo Magazine. Barrett is also Senior Pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church. He is the author and editor of several books, including Salvation by Grace: The Case for Effectual Calling and Regeneration. Two forthcoming books include, Owen on the Christian Life and God’s Word Alone: The Authority of Scripture. You can read about Barrett’s other publications at matthewmbarrett.com.