# Recommended books for teaching oneself biblical Greek and Hebrew



## Confessor (Nov 21, 2008)

Please and thank you.


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## fredtgreco (Nov 21, 2008)

Basics of Biblical Hebrew by Pratico and Van Pelt is very good.

As to Greek, there are any number of options, and each has its adherents. I am personally not a huge fan of Mounce, mostly because I am "old school" Greek (learned Attic in 1987). I found Machen easy to use. Others find Machen very difficult.

But the old, old standby for me is Hansen & Quinn (but that is Attic).

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Basics-Biblical-Grammar-William-Mounce/dp/0310250870/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227327315&sr=1-1"]Mounce[/ame]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/New-Testament-Greek-Beginners-2nd/dp/013184234X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227327289&sr=1-4"]Machen[/ame]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Greek-Intensive-Course-Hardy-Hansen/dp/0823216632/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227327231&sr=8-1"]Hansen & Quinn[/ame]


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## N. Eshelman (Nov 21, 2008)

I used(use) Kittel, Hoffer, and Wright for Hebrew along with a DVD rom by Dr. David Murray. It is available FREE at the Free Church Seminary. 

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Biblical-Hebrew-Text-Workbook-Language/dp/0300043945/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227328499&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: Biblical Hebrew: A Text and Workbook (Yale Language Series): Bonnie Pedrotti Kittel, Vicki Hoffer, Rebecca Abts Wright: Books[/ame]

For Greek I used Mounce, but it was in the context of a classroom, so it doesn't count... even though it is a very user friendly grammar.


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## Pilgrim (Nov 21, 2008)

How does the revised Machen by McCartney compare to the original?


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Nov 22, 2008)

I recommend for Greek:







This is what I used when I learned Greek at PTS. Excellent book that is easy to follow.


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## CovenantalBaptist (Nov 22, 2008)

All good suggestions, mostly deductive (which I believe is necessary).

The following inductive studies were developed particularly to help you get started and reading the actual languages in very short periods of time, and I like the style of the writer. He tries to make the process engaging. You need the deductive learning approach so that you get the paradigms and rules down, but these books (as supplements) help you to actually get your "hands dirty" much quicker and I think are particularly suited to self study. I think that these are a welcome supplement to a deductive book like Mounce or Machen. Baugh's primer is good too as is the companion book going through 1 John.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Testament-Greek-John-Dobson/dp/0801031060/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227361266&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: Learn New Testament Greek: John H. Dobson: Books[/ame]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Biblical-Hebrew-John-Dobson/dp/0801031028/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b]Amazon.com: Learn Biblical Hebrew: John H. Dobson: Books[/ame]


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## larryjf (Nov 22, 2008)

Having audio is important as you can learn easier if you are able to hear the language as well.

I like these free online resources...
Learn the Hebrew Alphabet

New Testament Greek


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## Dwimble (Nov 22, 2008)

Here's a simple little book that I found to be great for learning the basics. It uses all kinds of creative memory aids and pictures to help you memorize things:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Greek-Me-J-Lyle-Story/dp/159160222X/ref=pd_sim_b_1]Amazon.com: Greek to Me: by J. Lyle Story (Author), Peter Allen Miller (Author), Cullen I.K. Story (Illustrator)[/ame]


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## Kenneth_Murphy (Nov 23, 2008)

If you have itunes, you can watch classroom lecture videos of both the first year hebrew and greek taught at Concordia Theological Seminary.


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## larryjf (Nov 23, 2008)

There are also lectures from Dr. Mounce at biblicaltraining.org
Class


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## Confessor (Dec 1, 2008)

If I were simply to get the grammar books and workbooks for _Basics of Biblical Hebrew_ and _Basics of Biblical Greek_, do you guys think I would be in good shape to learn both on my own? That is, would I be in significantly better shape if I got any different books?

I thought that it might be a good idea to get those to maintain some sort of consistency in the style of learning the languages. Are the books consistent in that regard?

Also, thank you all for the recommendations. I am sorry I forgot to say that earlier.


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## cbryant (Dec 1, 2008)

There is also software available for learning.

Hebrew Tutor and Greek Tutor from Parsons Technology.


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## Confessor (Dec 3, 2008)

bvmp

Sorry, I'm terribly impatient.


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## GD (Jan 27, 2009)

*Some recommendations*

While some who are gifted in the area of languages may find learning just from a book feasible, it can be difficult without interacting with a professor. It's at least helpful to hear the language spoken, so let me recommend Greek and Hebrew by immersion using Randall Buth's method derived from modern linguistics at Biblical Language Center Home Page. You can try samples of his picture/sound file combinations there. J. Gresham Machen also emphasized the auditory factor. 

_In the first place, the Greek should be read aloud. A language cannot easily be learned by the eye alone. The sound as well as the sense of familiar passages should be impressed upon the mind, until sound and sense are connected without the medium of translation. Let this result not be hastened; it will come of itself if the simple direction be followed_. - From “The Minister and His Greek Testament”, online at http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/jgmmingreek.htm​Since his Introduction is only for NT Greek, it obscures the fact that he loved and trained in Classics and did not approach Koine Greek as something isolated from the stream of Greek development. 

C. S. Lewis was a major proponent of immersion:

_We opened our books at Iliad, Book 1. Without a word of introduction Knock read aloud the first twenty lines or so in the "new" pronunciation, which I had never heard before....He then translated, with a few, a very few explanations, about a hundred lines. I had never seen a classical author taken in such large gulps before. When he had finished he handed me over Crusius' Lexicon and, having told me to go through again as much as he had done, left the room. It seems an odd method of teaching, but it worked. At first I could travel only a very short way along the trail he had blazed, but every day I could travel further. Presently I could travel the whole way. Then I could go a line or two beyond his furthest North. Then it became a kind of game to see how far beyond. He appeared at this stage to value speed more than absolute accuracy. The great gain was that I very soon became able to understand a great deal without (even mentally) translating it; I was beginning to think in Greek. That is the great Rubicon to cross in learning any language. Those in whom the Greek word lives only while they are hunting for it in the lexicon, and who then substitute the English word for it, are not reading the Greek at all; they are only solving a puzzle. The very formula, "Naus means a ship," is wrong. Naus and ship both mean a thing, they do not mean one another. Behind Naus, as behind navis or naca, we want to have a picture of a dark, slender mass with sail or oars, limbing the ridges, with no officious English word intruding_. - From _Surprised by Joy_, cited online at http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/b-greek/2007-June/043358.html​Confessor, once you get a handle on any of the above languages, you can also take a "challenge" or "competency" test for grad/undergrad credit. Many universities have challenge tests where you can earn credit for demonstrating acceptable knowledge of the languages. I know Liberty allows testing out of 6 hrs of Hebrew and 9 hrs of Greek using tests based on the Mounce (Grk) and Pratico (Heb) texts. University of London's divinity program offrs something similar with classes in both.


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## jawyman (Jan 27, 2009)

Confessor said:


> If I were simply to get the grammar books and workbooks for _Basics of Biblical Hebrew_ and _Basics of Biblical Greek_, do you guys think I would be in good shape to learn both on my own? That is, would I be in significantly better shape if I got any different books?
> 
> I thought that it might be a good idea to get those to maintain some sort of consistency in the style of learning the languages. Are the books consistent in that regard?
> 
> Also, thank you all for the recommendations. I am sorry I forgot to say that earlier.



I have used both of these and I would recommend them. They are clear, concise and simple. Buy the flashcards and you should be good to go.


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## Marrow Man (Jan 27, 2009)

with purchasing the flash cards. They are a great help and time saver.

I found that making my own flash cards for Greek was very helpful. Use 3x5 index cards and then make sure you take them with you wherever you go. If you get caught in line at a grocery store or in a traffic jam, just whip out those cards and begin quizzing away!

I found Mounce's book very helpful, btw.


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## Jimmy the Greek (Jan 27, 2009)

This is a biblical Greek primer only. It will not replace 1 or 2 years of studying Greek. It will, however, introduce you to the basics and all you need to know to use the scholarly tools.

Amazon.com: Basic Greek in 30 Minutes a Day: James Found: Books


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## VictorBravo (Jan 27, 2009)

Confessor said:


> If I were simply to get the grammar books and workbooks for _Basics of Biblical Hebrew_ and _Basics of Biblical Greek_, do you guys think I would be in good shape to learn both on my own? That is, would I be in significantly better shape if I got any different books?
> 
> I thought that it might be a good idea to get those to maintain some sort of consistency in the style of learning the languages. Are the books consistent in that regard?
> 
> Also, thank you all for the recommendations. I am sorry I forgot to say that earlier.



Have you ever studied a language other than English before? The reason I ask is that if you haven't, you have two things to learn. First you need to learn how to study a language and second, you learn the language.

I find it not too difficult to learn new languages, mainly, I think, because I spent a lot of time learning one language vey well many years ago. That means coming to understand universal principles of grammar and noting the differences in how languages approach the grammar issues.

So, if you have you have that under your belt, working through a book and a workbook on your own would be fairly easy. If you don't, you may want to have some sort of class, even an online lecture, to keep you directed. At the very least, pick something that has both audio and written exercises. And do the homework diligently, regardless of the method. There will be days when you think it is all boring and really tedious, but if you keep at it, you will start to find yourself actually thinking in the new language. That's when the real learning and pleasure begin.

For Hebrew, believe it or not, I used the old R. Harris book and a used edition of Gesenius' grammar I found in a second-hand bookstore. I don't recommend that approach to anyone who likes a systematic approach, but I sure had fun. You will also need a decent lexicon, Brown Driver Briggs is the standard, I think, but I also have a Davidson Analytical (sort of a cheater's lexicon because it lists every form of every word in the Bible).

But I really started making progress when I loaded mp3s of the the Hebrew Bible onto an iPod shuffle. Hebrew - English Bible by Books / Mechon-Mamre (Click around that website--there is a wealth of information).

Same approach for Greek. I tied Mounce, but I found his approach too cute for my tastes. I like the old school approach, where you work and memorize and build, so I went back to Machen.

As I said above, though, pick a method and stick with it all the way to the end of a series. Don't jump from method to method. Most beginning courses can be completed in a half year or so, and then you can evaluate what you need to work on. When you are learning the basics like the alphabet and grammar, almost any course will get you through that.

BTW, I like to make my own flash cards too. I cut the 3X5 index cards in half, put Hebrew and Greek terms from a glossary on the top with the English translation on the bottom so my thumb would cover it when I looked at them. Use both sides and you can carry around maybe 130 different verbs and nouns in your wallet. It's a great use of downtime.


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## tellville (Jan 27, 2009)

Confessor said:


> If I were simply to get the grammar books and workbooks for _Basics of Biblical Hebrew_ and _Basics of Biblical Greek_, do you guys think I would be in good shape to learn both on my own? That is, would I be in significantly better shape if I got any different books?
> 
> I thought that it might be a good idea to get those to maintain some sort of consistency in the style of learning the languages. Are the books consistent in that regard?
> 
> Also, thank you all for the recommendations. I am sorry I forgot to say that earlier.



If there were ever two grammars made that had the helps, resources, and format to learn language on your own it is those two. 

Mounce is amazing. Actually, the way my prof taught Greek was that we would have to go through Mounce first, do all the workbook assignments before class and after we had gone through all of it first by ourselves then he would teach us the chapter. It allowed him to go into much more depth because we had all ready all sloggd through the chapter ourselves. He wouldn't have been able to teach this way with many other text books.

I did Hebrew as a directed study using Pratico and never had any actual lectures. My friend and I met with the Prof once in the middle of semester but that's it. 

All this to say that basically I learned Greek and Hebrew on my own using these grammars. Of course, I had the incentive of marks and tests to keep me going when I wanted to give up  

Also, I took senior Greek and Hebrew classes as well as Attic Greek classes and did not learn higher forms of these languages on my own. 

Anyway, hope that helps!


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## S. Spence (Jan 27, 2009)

Ahh man!

I wish I had come across this thread earlier, I'm only after ordering two books on Greek and Hebrew from Amazon.


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## CharlieJ (Jan 27, 2009)

Speaking as someone who tutors and (occasionally) private teaches NT Greek, decide which language you want to learn first. I highly recommend Greek, since it will be more immediately applicable and allow you to experience a highly logical language form suited for dense material. Also, it will be easier due to carryover in alphabet and vocabulary. 

Learning two languages simultaneously is almost sure to confuse, unless you have already mastered a secondary language. The experience you gain from learning Greek will make Hebrew easier (or vice versa). However, you don't get that experience bonus until you are at least fairly proficient in your first secondary language.


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## Confessor (Jan 27, 2009)

Now that's what I like to hear!

Thank you all so much!


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