New Testament Greek 3: module 1

What is the course about?

This course will be all about Greek verbs. If you have done some New Testament Greek before but found verbs to be the sticking point you struggled to get through, this is the course for you. We will look at the meaning and forms of Greek verbs, thoroughly dissecting things like tense, voice, mood and aspect, from Rodney Decker’s magisterial and fully academically up-to-date textbook (see below).

This is a live online course. You will need:
- Internet connection. The classes work best with Chrome.
- A computer with microphone and camera is best (e.g. a PC/laptop/iMac/MacBook), or a tablet/iPad/smart phone/iPhone if you don't have a computer.
- Earphones/headphones/speakers.
We will contact you with joining instructions before your course starts.

What will we cover?

Over the year we shall be using Rodney Decker’s textbook Reading Koine Greek (2014), and shall aim to cover at least chapters 13-22, learning about the aorist, imperfect, perfect and pluperfect tense-forms, active, middle and passive voice, the infinitive and all of its strange Koine Greek uses, and exactly how all of these communicate the aspect of a verb. We shall do a lot of reading of unadapted reading, both as prescribed in the textbook and in lessons between where we just read.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

- deeply understand everything that Koine Greek indicative and infinitive verbs communicate.
- feel as though you can really understand the basic meaning of most sentences in the New Testament, despite still needing to pick through some of the more complex ones.
- really have fun and use your Greek knowledge to access layers of meaning and nuance that previously could only be learned through commentaries and other secondary texts.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

This is a course for students who have already spent a good amount of time learning New Testament Greek, or any dialect of Ancient Greek. If you have done one year of university-level Greek but perhaps it was some time ago, or recent but you don’t feel you thoroughly understood it, then this course will be perfect for you. If you learned Classical Greek but want to read the New Testament with a deeper understanding of its idiosyncratic language, then this course would also be right. Finally, it would also be the right level if you have self-taught a fair amount of Greek or taken the first year of this course at City Lit. As this course is taught in English, you should be able to follow verbal and written instructions in English and take part in group discussions on readings / exercises / grammar points.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

The tutor will use the textbook, handouts and other teaching aids, and patiently work through the material taking questions and discussion, encouraging students along the way, in an open and productive manner that follows a pace set by the students. Questions and discussion are genuinely encouraged. You will need to do 30 minutes to an hour of homework minimum each week, but the more you put into it the more you will get out of it!

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

- Reading Koine Greek by Rodney Decker (Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, 2014).
- The New Testament text can be found at gntreader.com, but advice will be given on which editions are best to buy when the time comes.
- Good online dictionaries can be found at philolog.us and billmounce.com, but advice will be given on which dictionaries are best to buy when the time comes.

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

New Testament Greek 3: module 2.