Greek and Hebrew Scriptures

[SoldierInGodsArmy]

I want to study them. Do you guys have any recommended books, websites, sources that I could use. Where do I start?

 

[Yuyuchan]

Sorry I do not know any at this moment.

 

[sylk]

Here's some sites for study-
And I also threw an few xtra ones in there for you friend.


Hebrew and Greek Concordance Index - HTML Bible

Greek Audio Bible Online

Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre

Hebrew Audio Bible Online

http://www.headcoverings-by-devorah.com/HebrewPhrases_Banner6.gif

'ab - NAS Hebrew Lexicon

Strong's Concordance with Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

Bible Study - The Greek Scriptures

Have a good day & God bless you

 

[OzSpen]

I want to study them. Do you guys have any recommended books, websites, sources that I could use. Where do I start?

I commend you for wanting to learn the original languages of the Bible. may God bless and encourage you in your endeavours.

I have learned and taught NT Greek but I must admit that I found it easier to learn in a classroom. There have been many advances in ways to learn biblical languages in recent years, so I would contact your favourite Bible college or seminary and ask if it has a distance education course with CDs (for pronunciation) for Introduction to NT Greek and Introduction to Biblical Hebrew.

Even though I'm an Aussie living in Australia, my first NT Greek course was a summer course at Regent College, Vancouver BC, Canada with Dr. Larry Hurtado. It was he who introduced me to John Wenham's, The Elements of New Testament Greek (Cambridge University Press, London, 1965). I have taught from this book and have found it one of the most helpful intoductions to NT Greek.

I wish that I had learned Hebrew way back when I took that introduction to NT Greek. I may be getting a wee bit too old to learn Hebrew now but I am working on my PhD in biblical studies (dissertation only).

If you took up my suggestion, which Bible College or seminary would you phone or email?

Sincerely, Spencer

 

[wildboar]

I don't know Hebrew, but I do know Greek. If you really want to learn Greek the best route is probably to study Classical Greek in a classroom setting and then learn Biblical Greek. It has some limitations but some have had success learning Greek using William Mounce's book and it might be the best option for you if you don't want to take the time to learn any Classical Greek.

 

[cyberlizard]

Zola's introiduction to Hebrew: isbn: 1-930749-44-9... one of the few language books on my bookshelf...

here's a link to a page on amazon for it....


Steve

p.s. i have said something similar to this in other threads, but it bears repeating. One of the foreost scholars of Jesus speaking Aramaic has recently changed his entire position to one whereby Jesus spoke Hebrew... that said.... 2/3 of the bible are hebrew, and much of the NT are quotes from the old (and even though often quoted from the greek LXX, the underlying mindset was Hebrew)... therefor as far as I am concerned, Hebrew (rather than Greek) should be the language one focuses on.

 

[wildboar]

Regardless of the position a person takes on the issue of what language Jesus was speaking in, knowledge of Greek would still be required since all the manuscripts we actually have our written in Greek. I suppose could go the extra step after translating the Greek of trying to determine what the Hebrew was but there's no way around of learning the Greek for New Testament study. In some cases such as Jesus' conversation with the Syro-Phoenician woman I'm pretty certain that he would have had to have been speaking Greek. The consensus among scholars still is that most of the time Jesus was probably speaking Aramaic.

 

[cyberlizard]

but the issue still stands... whilst ever the NT which we have in Greek is filled with Hebraisms, which only make sense in Hebrew, the issue of translation becomes more difficult... sure you can translate the words, but miss the wood for the trees.

maybe what one needs really is a copy of the Hebrew old testament, a copy of the LXX (pdf versions in interlinear are freely available on the net), and decent software that can show Hebrew > Greek, Greek < Hebrew equivalent word usage...

all i can say with utmost credibility is that the words of Jesus were probably not uttered in Greek and therefore even the writers of the book had to do the best they could.


Steve

p.s. learn Hebrew... then Greek!

 

[wildboar]

cyberlizard:

Perhaps this is worthy of a new thread, but Could you provide some examples of the Hebraisms that only make sense in Hebrew? I have truly enjoyed my study of the Greek New Testament but the message of the Scriptures seem pretty clear in any language. This is in sharp contrast to the Quran that I have been reading lately where there are many sections that have some very, very different translations into English and in many cases none of the translations seem very intelligible. I can't tell if people are being told to kill themselves or others or their sinful desires.

 

[cyberlizard]

it is not that hebraisms do not make sense in the greek, just that they are alien to it... they are phrases from the language of another culture....

a stupid example can be found in 2 John v12, where the greek is literally, speak mouth toward mouth.... a stupid choice of words, but perfectly good in hebrew.

another would be the beginning of the sermon on the mount... "and he opened his mouth and taught them saying".... i am sure he could not talk through his ear.... another good example of Hebraic thought in greek language.

not to mention the ludicrous usage of the conjunctive 'and'... a definitive Hebrew feature.

 

[oldsage]

"Hebraisms" are just Hebrew idioms and would only make sense in the culture which is sprang from. Just because one learns English doesn't mean they understand idioms from one culture to the next. Speaking to a gentleman from Australia he told me he going to nurse his baby....Now for me this is kinda weird because I figured only women can do that....but what he was saying to me was he was going to hold his baby.

Now I speak English well and didn't understand what he was saying at first. The same happens with Hebrew idioms, one has to know the idiom not the language to make sense of what is being said.

So, I would have to agree with wildboar that Greek is a must for New Testament studies. I think the use of the LXX helps in finding what certain phrases in the NT mean when referenced from the OT.

I believe Hebrew is important to know for Biblical studies so not to diminish it. I think both languages should be a must learn for biblical scholars.

 

[wildboar]

it is not that hebraisms do not make sense in the greek, just that they are alien to it... they are phrases from the language of another culture....

a stupid example can be found in 2 John v12, where the greek is literally, speak mouth toward mouth.... a stupid choice of words, but perfectly good in hebrew.

another would be the beginning of the sermon on the mount... "and he opened his mouth and taught them saying".... i am sure he could not talk through his ear.... another good example of Hebraic thought in greek language.

not to mention the ludicrous usage of the conjunctive 'and'... a definitive Hebrew feature.

I don't know why you keep saying these things are stupid. If you knew only Hebrew you wouldn't be able to read these texts at all. If you read only Greek you could at least still read them. But you would still have to learn the idioms involved. I don't think speaking "mouth to mouth" is any stupider than our idiom of "speaking face to face." Hopefully neither one are literally occurring.

 

[SoldierInGodsArmy]

Thank you very much you guys for giving me advice and not only that, but sharing your experiences!

I'll take them all into consideration. I got accepted into Eastern Mennonite University (undergraduate school), and they have a seminary there which both of my pastors attend. Does anyone know if a seminary would work like a community college? If I can just take random classes of my interest instead of going for a degree?

I learn better in the classroom environment, especially if i had a question, a book cannot speak words to me with a reply. =p

 

[wildboar]

It probably depends on the seminary but I think most seminaries would allow you to take classes or at least audit them.

 

[Iosias]

I'd use Duff's The Elements of New Testament Greek and C. L. Seow's A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew.

 

[Duckybill]

You will find that Greek and Hebrew 'experts' are as far apart in their 'interpretations' of the Bible as the rest of the religious world. Read the English translations already available. They are quite consistent overall.

 

[Heterodoxus]

Whether you decide to pursue classroom training or not, I recommend Goodrich's Do It Yourself Hebrew & Greek workbook for persons who have no knowledge of biblical languages but wish to learn. This workbook is, IMO, the closest one can get to either Greek 101 and Hebrew 101 without entering a formal class. With it, you'll jump in up to your ankles, and it makes a transition into advanced learning much easier.

Monce's Basics of Biblical Greek workbook, and Pratico's Basics of Biblical Hebrew workbook are also helpful. All are inexpensive and handy for review. I'd send links, but I not allowed to do that yet.