Today I would like to recommend three tools that will assist busy pastors and students when it comes to learning and retaining useful knowledge of New Testament Greek. The value of these books surely exceeds their posted prices. The first was recently published in 2012. But commendation of this first book prompts me to mention two other useful books in the same genre, both of which were published earlier, 2010 and 2004, respectively.
The Handy Guide to New Testament Greek: Grammar, Syntax, and Diagramming (The Handy Guide Series) (Greek Edition)
. Douglas S. Huffman, my former colleague and longtime friend, now Professor and Associate Dean of Biblical & Theological Studies at Biola University, has compiled an instructive, practical, and accessible handbook for students and pastors who truly desire to put to effective use their acquired knowledge of New Testament Greek. It’s a first and second year Greek grammar compressed into a useful handbook.
Keep Your Greek: Strategies for Busy People
. Constantine R. Campbell, Senior Lecturer in Greek and New Testament, Moore Theological College, Sydney, Australia, published in 2010 this instructive and practical guide concerning strategies that will result in more effective retention and use of New Testament Greek. Chapters such as “Read Every Day,” “Burn Your Interlinear,” and “Practice Your Parsing” may meet with initial guilt and blushing, but if embraced and put into practice will bear much fruitfulness in your use of the Greek New Testament.
English Grammar to Ace New Testament Greek
. Samuel Lamerson, Assistant Professor of New Testament, Knox Theological Seminary, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, published in 2004 a 110 page tool which he designed especially for students of New Testament Greek who have been out of school for a few years and has let slip knowledge of English grammar and its important categories. As any college and seminary professor realizes, few students who enter into biblical language courses have an adequate grasp upon the categories of grammar that are so crucial for acquiring an effective working knowledge of either Hebrew or Greek. Lamerson’s book provides a compact review of grammar’s categories as it builds a bridge between English and Greek.
Ardel Caneday (Ph.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is Professor of New Testament Studies and Biblical Studies at Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has served churches in various pastoral roles, including senior pastor. He has authored numerous journal articles, many essays in books, and has co-authored with Thomas Schreiner the book The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance.
