Biblical Language Learning

[ByTheSpirit]

So I want to learn Koine Greek then Hebrew and Aramaic. That would be AWESOME!

Those of you who know them well, how long did it take to really be able to comprehend?

Are there any resources out there for a poor guy like me to utilize? I have been watching videos on YouTube about the alphabet and phonetics. I do know some Greek but I am not able to read a Greek NT as of yet with full comprehension.

Just want some information to advance my own learning.

 

[Tree of Life]

So I want to learn Koine Greek then Hebrew and Aramaic. That would be AWESOME!

Those of you who know them well, how long did it take to really be able to comprehend?

Are there any resources out there for a poor guy like me to utilize? I have been watching videos on YouTube about the alphabet and phonetics. I do know some Greek but I am not able to read a Greek NT as of yet with full comprehension.

Just want some information to advance my own learning.

It took about one year each and I learned them in seminary.

You can work your way through beginners text books and workbooks. That could be helpful. My Hebrew instructor designed our course material so I don't have a Hebrew book to recommend. But Mounce's Basics of Biblical Greek is a very standard text with a workbook.

Focus on one language at a time. Do a little bit every day.

There's no need to learn Aramaic.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

It took about one year each and I learned them in seminary.

You can work your way through beginners text books and workbooks. That could be helpful. My Hebrew instructor designed our course material so I don't have a Hebrew book to recommend. But Mounce's Basics of Biblical Greek is a very standard text with a workbook.

Focus on one language at a time. Do a little bit every day.

There's no need to learn Aramaic.

I had a thought to perhaps learn Modern Greek on Duolingo. I know it is not the same as Koine Greek but I heard something that made much sense and that is learning modern Greek would at least bridge the language gap. Then once I learn the modern language I can bridge the gap from modern to ancient.

 

[Hidden In Him]

Don't let me discourage you. If you want to go the whole route and learn to read the languages, and if God gives you that grace, by all means go for it. But I would just interject that you don't actually have to master reading Biblical languages now. You can buy interlinears where everything is already parsed out for you, and then devote most of your time and energy to studying the vocabulary and how various words were used. That's where the real key to accurate translation and interpretation is to be found, imho.

Purchase a good interlinear, some original language concordances, and then as many good lexicons as you can get your hands on. Liddell-Scott is a must.

Just a heads up.

 

[SteveCaruso]

There's no need to learn Aramaic.

I find such assertions saddening.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

I find such assertions saddening.

Isn't Aramaic still in use today? I am sure it is different from Biblical era Aramaic, but I thought it was still in use among some Kurds and Armenians... probably have those people groups wrong

 

[Kerensa]

I did Biblical Hebrew and NT Greek at university (2 semesters of Hebrew, 3 of Greek) and I would definitely recommend them to anyone who's interested in studying the Scriptures more deeply. I agree with Hidden In Him that you can do a lot with interlinear study Bibles and concordances, but it does help to get a feel for the languages themselves and how they work.

I can't say that in only 12-18 months of studying the two languages I became at all "fluent" in either, and to be honest, I've forgotten a lot of the details of both, as I haven't kept up any formal study of either. But it was well worth it, and I know that if I ever do have the need or the calling to take either or both up again and go further with them, I've already got a good basis.

The hardest part is actually learning to read the two different alphabets (especially Hebrew) and coming to grips with grammar that's sometimes quite different from how English works (again, especially with Hebrew). I still can't read very much of either without a lexicon or other study guides to hand, but even to have the basics means one can dig in much deeper than is possible with only English or other modern language translations. It takes a lot of work, but if you love studying the Bible, it pays off.

 

[Tree of Life]

I find such assertions saddening.

Ah I didn't know the Aramaic guy would be watching!

I'm sure it has some value. But there is a reason that it's not required for ordination.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

Well just for clarification I am not looking for ordination nor do I personally find any advantage to such things other than maybe the education that normally comes with it.

I just want to learn the languages. But in time perhaps

 

[Kerensa]

Aramaic definitely does have value — it's just that it's not the language of the earliest known copies of the NT that we have. It also wasn't an option where I went to university, so I didn't have the chance to study it anyway! But I'd definitely be interested in it as well if I were continuing my formal studies in that direction.

I'm sure Steve will know more about this than I do, but Aramaic is definitely still in use at least as a liturgical language in some churches. When I went on a Christian tour of the Holy Land a few years ago, we visited an olive wood carving shop owned by a group of Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem. They used Aramaic in their church and while we were with them (they served us lunch before we browsed the shop), they said the Lord's Prayer for us in Aramaic — in possibly almost exactly the same words our Lord himself used — and we said it in English in return. That was a very special and quite holy occasion.

 

[Tree of Life]

I had a thought to perhaps learn Modern Greek on Duolingo. I know it is not the same as Koine Greek but I heard something that made much sense and that is learning modern Greek would at least bridge the language gap. Then once I learn the modern language I can bridge the gap from modern to ancient.

I don't know modern Greek but I've heard that the difference between modern Greek and koine Greek is immense.

 

[Kerensa]

I don't know modern Greek but I've heard that the difference between modern Greek and koine Greek is immense.

It is, from what I can gather. I don't know if modern Greek would be much help in learning NT Greek, apart from being able to read the alphabet and perhaps gaining a bit of vocabulary. It might even make it more confusing in some ways, having to remember which features of the language are ancient and which are modern...

 

[benelchi]

So I want to learn Koine Greek then Hebrew and Aramaic. That would be AWESOME!

Those of you who know them well, how long did it take to really be able to comprehend?

Are there any resources out there for a poor guy like me to utilize? I have been watching videos on YouTube about the alphabet and phonetics. I do know some Greek but I am not able to read a Greek NT as of yet with full comprehension.

Just want some information to advance my own learning.

It takes most people about two years to read the biblical texts with any real comprehension, and about four years to read it reasonably fluently i.e. to read texts that they haven't already read in an English translation. And that assumes you are putting regular daily work into the study of the text i.e. learning both vocabulary and grammar.

 

[benelchi]

There's no need to learn Aramaic.

There is if you want to read the book of Daniel, or other smaller portions of Aramaic text in the OT.

There is if you want to be able to read the Targums, the Peshitta, Syriac, and be able to understand the textual variants listed in critical texts of the BHS/BHQ or NA28/UBS5.

 

[benelchi]

Don't let me discourage you. If you want to go the whole route and learn to read the languages, and if God gives you that grace, by all means go for it. But I would just interject that you don't actually have to master reading Biblical languages now. You can buy interlinears where everything is already parsed out for you, and then devote most of your time and energy to studying the vocabulary and how various words were used. That's where the real key to accurate translation and interpretation is to be found, imho.

Purchase a good interlinear, some original language concordances, and then as many good lexicons as you can get your hands on. Liddell-Scott is a must.

Just a heads up.

Without learning a language, you will never really understand how the words are used in ANY language. The absolute worst sermons I have ever heard have all come from people who didn't know the biblical languages but tried to back translate passages (or words) using interlinear and lexicons. Don't do it! Invest the time to really learn the languages or use a less error prone method to study the biblical text.

That being said, I do not believe that anyone needs to learn the biblical languages unless they feel called by God to do so. It isn't something that makes anyone more spiritual, righteous, etc... In English, we have an abundance of good translations, and commentaries written by people who do read the original languages. Anyone can get a reasonably good understanding of the text just by reading a few good translations and looking through commentaries to understand any variants in the translations they are using.

Here is an invitation, do you accept?

בוא לביתי ואתה תֵּיאָכֵל

(Strong's 935)בוא
(Strong 1004)בית
(Strong 859)אתה
(Strong 398)אכל

 

[Hidden In Him]

The absolute worst sermons I have ever heard have all come from people who didn't know the biblical languages but tried to back translate passages (or words) using interlinear and lexicons. Don't do it!

I agree. I'm not talking about a half-hearted, lame attempt at the study of a particular Greek word. I'm talking about in depth study of it in all its NT uses, Septuagint uses and Classical uses, and coming to a dependable and reliable translation based on an examination not only of the individual word but the entire word group, including cognates whenever possible.

Most pastors don't do that. The ones I've heard give these half-baked word barrage interpretations that allow them to turn passages into whatever they want them to be.

 

[faroukfarouk]

It takes most people about two years to read the biblical texts with any real comprehension, and about four years to read it reasonably fluently i.e. to read texts that they haven't already read in an English translation. And that assumes you are putting regular daily work into the study of the text i.e. learning both vocabulary and grammar.

Reading God's Word in another modern language can also provide insights; up here in Canada we are bilingual; my wife and I read the Bible in French regularly.

 

[benelchi]

I agree. I'm not talking about a half-hearted, lame attempt at the study of a particular Greek word. I'm talking about in depth study of it in all it's NT uses, Septuagint uses and Classical uses, and coming to a dependable and reliable translation based on an examination not only of the individual word but the entire word group, including cognates whenever possible.

Most pastors don't do that. The ones I've heard give these half-naked word barrage interpretations that allow them to turn passages into whatever they want them to be.

How does one do an "in depth study of it in all it's NT uses, Septuagint uses and Classical uses, and coming to a dependable and reliable translation based on an examination not only of the individual word but the entire word group, including cognates," without knowing the language. Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic words are almost never used in their lexical form, and the specific form that was chosen by the author, the grammatical construction of the sentence, and the context are all critically important to correctly understanding how a word is used.

So, after an in depth study of the words below, would you accept the invitation? Why or why not?


בוא לביתי ואתה תֵּיאָכֵל

(Strong's 935)בוא
(Strong 1004)בית
(Strong 859)אתה
(Strong 398)אכל

 

[faroukfarouk]

I agree. I'm not talking about a half-hearted, lame attempt at the study of a particular Greek word. I'm talking about in depth study of it in all it's NT uses, Septuagint uses and Classical uses, and coming to a dependable and reliable translation based on an examination not only of the individual word but the entire word group, including cognates whenever possible.

Most pastors don't do that. The ones I've heard give these half-baked word barrage interpretations that allow them to turn passages into whatever they want them to be.

Exposition takes time and work!

 

[Hidden In Him]

So, after an in depth study of the words below, would you accept the invitation? Why or why not?

בוא לביתי ואתה תֵּיאָכֵל

(Strong's 935)בוא
(Strong 1004)בית
(Strong 859)אתה
(Strong 398)אכל

I'm more the student of Greek. However, I would consider accepting your invitation if there is a revelation in it. Is there a revelation from God you wish to teach, or is this more of a mental exercise. If it's more the latter then please take no offense, but I wouldn't be interested.

In answer to your question of would being able to read be beneficial? Of course. Reading quotes in Moulton-Milligan or any other work like that is certainly easier if you can read the original. But considering the time investment involved, as you say, unless a person is called to it, my argument is that a student's time is better served focusing on vocabulary, seeing as how many texts are already available in parsed forms and the Biblical uses are the most relevant anyway. And reading lexicons does not absolutely require the ability to read Greek. They're written in English.

You mentioned this:

In English, we have an abundance of good translations, and commentaries written by people who do read the original languages. Anyone can get a reasonably good understanding of the text just by reading a few good translations and looking through commentaries to understand any variants in the translations they are using.

How are you certain they're completely reliable? I own a host of Biblical commentaries, including Word Biblical, Anchor, NICNT and others. You believe they are always correct in their interpretations? They usually differ from one another, sometimes quite wildly.