Book Review: Learn To Read New Testament Greek, 3rd. ed. and Workbook

When I first encountered Learn to Read New Testament Greek by David Alan Black a few years ago, I stayed up all night and into the early hours of the morning—going through—what I thought was a clear and user-friendly beginner’s Greek grammar.

Now this noteworthy grammar, as of March 2009, returns in its third edition, and this time around, it is accompanied by a user-friendly Workbook.

The Grammar:

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: B&H Academic; Third edition (March 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805444939
• Amazon
• Westminster Books

I showed my review copy to a pastor friend.  He wanted to know if the grammar was suitable for beginners and old timers who need a refresher.  Absolutely!

A Synopsis:

The text is divided into 26 lessons, most of which are arranged according to the following pattern: a presentation of the grammatical concepts and forms to be learned, divided into manageable units; a list of essential vocabulary words to be mastered; and exercises based on the material covered in the lesson.  The book is suitable for study or review, for individual or group work, as part of a refresher course, or as a handy reference guide.  In most classroom settings it can be used for a full year of study by taking up a lesson a week, with ample time for supplementary testing and review.  (p. vii)

A Cool Feature:

Throughout the text when a definition is given, its root is often given (I’ve not seen that in a whole lot of grammars):

A conjunction (from Lat. contiugo, “I join together”) is a word whose function is to join together words, phrases, clauses, and sentences.  (p. 30)

An Endorsement:

Professor Darrell L. Bock, Dallas Theological Seminary, take on Learn to Read New Testament Greek:

“Clear charts, clear examples, clear discussion—what more could one want from a beginning grammar!”

One Drawback:

No Scripture index.  I sure would have love this grammar to have a scripture index.

The  Workbook:

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: B&H Academic; Workbook edition (March 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080544792X

I’ve found workbooks to be quite useful in learning and retaining significant material from a text.

A Synopsis:

Keyed to the third edition of David Alan Black’s popular Learn to Read New Testament Greek main text, this   supplemental workbook includes nearly twelve hundred Greek to English and English to Greek sentences, more than seven hundred drilling exercises to reinforce the foundational principles of Greek grammar, and many other helpful learning resources for introductory Greek students as well as teaching tips for the instructor.  (Back cover)

Much thanks to James Baird and the Broadman and Holman Academic family for this review copy of a noteworthy Greek grammar.

David Alan Black is professor of New Testament and Greek at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina.  A leading authority on linguistics and New Testament interpretation, he holds the D. Theol. in New Testament from the University of Basel and has done additional studies in Germany and Israel.