1.1 Motivation

The New Testament was originally written in Greek. Being immediately inspired by God, and by His singular care and providence, these writings have been kept pure in all ages. They are the authentic and authoritative Word of God. The authority for which it ought to be believed and obeyed depends wholly upon God who is truth itself and the Author of the Holy Scriptures including the New Testament. Because the original Greek writings are not known to all the people of God, they are to be translated into the common language of every nation so that all can read and search them in order that they through patience and comfort of the Scriptures may have hope.¹

Learning Greek will not only help us to translate the Word of God into the languages of other nations, it will also deepen our understanding of the New Testament in our own language so that we can communicate it clearly to those who cross our path every day.

¹ The Westminster Confession of Faith. Chapter 1.

1.2 Method

This Greek grammar began to be developed for the instruction of my grandchildren in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. They started to learn these languages along with some of their friends when they were 4 and 5 years old.

The method of this grammar is to learn the Greek language as we read the bible a little at a time. Each section is a small building block that begins with information and tables primarily for familiarity and reference. This is followed by short videos, flashcards, and quizzes designed for memorization. Some sections also include PDF downloads.

After learning the alphabet and vowels, we will begin to work our way through the Greek in the Gospel of John one syllable, one word, one verse at a time. Learn each block well before you proceed to the next.

There is also a Vocabulary section on the Greek home page. Use the lists, flashcards, and quizzes in that section to build your Greek vocabulary ss you progress through the chapters of this grammar.

1.3 Erasmian Pronunciation

This grammar will use the traditional Erasmian pronunciation. The differences between Modern and Erasmian pronunciation are displayed in the table below:

Letter	Erasmian	Modern
Β β	b as in book	v as in van
Γγ	g as in good	y as in yes or ch as in Bach
Δ δ	d as in day	th as in the
Ε ε	e as in obey	ee as in feet
Ι ι	i as in intrigue	i as in intrigue
Ο ο	o as in not	o as in note
Ρ ρ	r as in row	r slightly rolled
Υ υ	u as in rue	u as in intrigue

1.4 Resources

• Mounce, W. D. (2019). Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar (V. D. Verbrugge & C. A. Beetham, Eds.; Fourth Edition). Zondervan.

• Köstenberger, A. J., Merkle, B. L., & Plummer, R. L. (2016). Going Deeper with New Testament Greek: An Intermediate Study of the Grammar and Syntax of the New Testament. B&H Academic.

• Machen, J. G. (1924). New Testament Greek for Beginners. The Macmillan Company.

• Long, F. J. (2005). Kairos: A Beginning Greek Grammar. Fredrick J. Long.

• Croy, N. C. (1999). A Primer of Biblical Greek. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.