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KEVIN / MAY 11, 2013

About Me
How to Learn New
Testament Greek |
Tips for Teaching
Yourself Koine Servant of the Word.
Husband. Father. Writer &
Blogger. Corazón Latino.
Serving with Leadership
Resources training
pastors to preach God's
Word with God's heart. I

sometimes write at
Unlocking the Bible, The
Gospel Coalition, and For

the Church. Soli Deo

Gloria

This post is intended to give a one-stop-shop explanation

of how you can teach yourself New Testament Greek

(also called “Koine Greek”).

In the summer of 2010, I attempted to teach myself

Biblical Greek so I could test out of two Beginners Greek

classes at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

The Result?
I gave up.
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A few months after the next semester started, I regretted

giving up and getting beat in my attempt to learn biblical

Greek. But I did resolve to make it the goal of my next
summer to conquer the Greek. And that is what I did. Search this website

My goal was to test out of an entire year of Beginner’s

Greek (two classes, 8 credit hours) and get placed into

Greek Exegesis 1. The rest of that year I talked to people Tweets by @kp_halloran

who had taught themselves Greek and passed the test to Kevin Halloran
@kp_halloran
see what I should do. Here are a few things they said How to Express Pro-Life Views in
Winsome Ways
along with a few personal tips: kevinhalloran.net/how-to-express…

1. Treat it like a job. I saved myself 8 credit hours

worth of tuition by teaching myself, which

amounted to several thousand dollars. Pretend that Embed View on Twitter

your teaching yourself Greek is a job where you can

clock in and get paid. Then add what you would save
to what you expect to make over the summer. This

might only help motivate you if you are a poor Kevin Halloran
1,667 likes

seminary student like I was!

2. Map out the entire course. I had about two months Like Page

to work my way through the entire 35 chapters of

the Basics of Biblical Greek book (listed below). I

scheduled days on my calendar to do each individual
 chapter, and dates where a friend who knew Greek Blog Sponsors
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well could testHOME
me (which goes POPULAR
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with the next tip).
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If
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you are just learning Greek for fun (and really want
to learn it), set some goals and talk to some people
who have done it. Like many things in life, if you
have no ultimate goal in sight, it is easy to drift off

and waste all the time and effort you put into
studying. If you are taking a placement test, nd out
from others what would be wise to study. A friend
recommended for me to read the Didache in

Greek for practice and because they sometimes used

portions of that on the test I took.
3. Find some sort of accountability. One of the reasons
I gave up studying Greek myself is because I had no

stake in the game–no re under my butt to make

sure I got the work done and did it well. To change
that, I paid a friend to test me several times in order
to force me to keep up with my work.

4. Study often and study

consistently. Taking a week

or even a weekend off can

set you back in your

studies. Put some

ashcards or a sheet with paradigms listed in your
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pocket and pull them out when in traf c, waiting for

an appointment, etc. Try to not take too much time

off from studying. If you need a break, try to at least

review some of the basics and things you learned

most recently for at least 10-15 minutes every few

days. You will be glad you did!

5. Work smarter, not harder. Keep a cheat-sheet with

paradigms and vocab cards in your pocket, and

study them every chance you get. Listen to audio in
 the car (see recommendations below) or nd good
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YouTube videos to teach
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you.The
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two laminated
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reference sheets below (each around $5-7 on

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Amazon) will be the best $10-$14 you have ever
spent, and will save you countless hours ipping

around in your text books.

6. Remember that your goal is to know God’s

Word. Spending a ridiculous amount of hours

memorizing vocabulary words and parsings for a

dead language can be discouraging! Remember that

the God of the universe chose to reveal himself to

humanity through his Word, and that the words you

translate (or will translate) are the very Words of

God. Take joy that you have the privilege to study

God’s Word at such a deep level—it is something

people all over the world would love to have the

opportunity to do. Also, if you are struggling with

the language, know that God’s acceptance of you

does not depend on your parsing skills or mastery of

grammar–it depends on the nished work of Christ

on the cross.

Recommended Resources for

Elementary Greek:
1. Basics of Biblical Greek

Grammar* by William Mounce (make sure you get it

with the CD). This textbook is as clear and simple as

they get. He goes at a good pace and explains things

in an understandable way. The CD that came with

mine had a CD-ROM that had video lectures of Dr.

Mounce and a ashcard program for learning Greek
 vocabulary. I used the 2003 edition in 2011 and it
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helped me pass my placement
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test.
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2. Biblical Greek Survival Kit by William Mounce. I did

not use this one, but it contains what I did use and

more. This survival kit has a set of ashcards, audio

CD for vocabulary (which would have been so

helpful!), and a laminated ‘cheatsheet’ with all of the

noun and verb paradigms in one place (invaluable!!!).

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3. Basics of Biblical Greek Workbook.* If you are going
How to Express Pro-Life
to teach yourself with the Mounce book, this
Views in Winsome Ways
accompanying workbook is a must. It ensures that
Avoid Distractions as Your
you understand what you are learning in the book
Spiritual Act of Worship
and lectures and is the only thing that can gauge
how you are doing. Is Critical Race Theory

4. Basics of Biblical Greek Vocabulary Cards (The Compatible with

Zondervan Vocabulary Builder Series)* If you look Christianity?

at the tips section below, you will see the Today’s Links (02.05.2020)
importance of knowing vocabulary. Keep in mind the
A New Thought-Provoking
CD-Rom that comes with the Mounce text comes
Documentary on a Biblical
with a computer program that can test vocab. There
Theology of the
are now phone apps as well.
Supernatural
5. Sing and Learn New Testament Greek: The Easiest

Way to Learn Greek Grammar.* The track on Three New(ish) Podcasts

prepositions on this CD is worth the price of the CD to Help You Get into God’s

alone. I think that track is still in my iTunes “Top 25 Word

Played” playlist several years later! Here is a video of Jesus is Better than
a Greek class singing many of the tracks on this CD Materialism
to give you a preview. The CD comes with a booklet
15 Books on the Holy
with lyrics and explanations of concepts that I
Spirit for Christian
always found myself going back to.
Readers
6. Biblical Greek Laminated Sheet (Zondervan Get an
Sermon: The Melodic Line
A! Study Guides). This will make your life SOOOOO
of Genesis (Overview
 much easier. The most important things of Sermon)
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beginning Greek all on one laminated sheet.
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* designates resources I used

BLOG CATEGORIES
The bene t of getting all of these related items is that

they all organize terms, vocab, and their approach the Apologetics Bible &
same way. It would be confusing and a little dif cult if
Theology Books
you used resources from different people.

& Reviews
Other Recommended Resources for

Advanced Exegetical Study:

Christian Living
Culture Evangelism
The Basics of New Testament
Humor Leadership Life
Syntax: An Intermediate Greek

Grammar by Daniel Wallace. Links Marriage &

New Testament Greek Syntax Laminated Sheet Relationships Ministry
(Zondervan Get an A! Study Guides). If you are
Missions Prayer
taking a Greek Exegesis class and using the
Quotes Resources
categories set out by Daniel Wallace, this is the best

money you will ever spend. Trust me! Sermon Illustration Social Media

New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students & Technology Uncategorized

and Pastors(3rd Edition) by Gordon Fee. Writing

Exegetical Fallacies by D.A. Carson. This is probably

a good book to reread every few years to make sure

you’re dividing the word of truth correctly.

Tips for Learning New

Testament Greek:
Know the declensions, paradigms, vocabulary, and

how sentences t together (syntax). This is so

important! You have to know how the different parts

of Greek function and how they t together. When

 you know the little parts by
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instinct, the whole
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sentences put themselves

together.

Know vocabulary. I said

this before, but it is so important that I thought I’d

say it again in case it didn’t stick the rst time.

Because not all New Testament Greek vocabulary

occurs the same number of times in the Bible, make

sure you have mastered the words that occur most

frequently. Most classes/textbooks force you to

learn those rst and constantly review them.

Group similar vocab words together, and then

study the group to note the differences. For

example, the word didomi and paradidomi are very

similar, but not the same. Studying related words

together will help you keep them straight in your

head.

When translating (for the more advanced), hold off

using Bible software. Knowing how to use software

is great, but it may steal from your ability to actually

know the language. Do the hard work now, then

using software in the future will be better because

you’ll actually know what it all means.

Read a verse or two a day of Greek. Try reading a

few verses in Greek each day (once you’re at a

reading level). This will allow you to keep the vocab,

rules, and syntax fresh without much effort. Little

efforts like this over a long period of time add up!

For students trying to stay fresh in both biblical

Hebrew and Greek, the book More Light on the Path:

Daily Scripture Readings in Hebrew and

 Greek provides just a few verses a day in Greek and
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Hebrew that takes
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just a few minutes
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to read.SPEAKING
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Other Resources:
Daily Dose of Greek — Dr. Robert Plumber of SBTS

shares a short video each day to help you keep up

your Greek. Browse his site for more amazing

resources for learning Greek.

BibleWebApp — This free online tool shows the

Greek New Testament parallel to your selected

English translation, will parse word and verbs, and

help you tremendously! I didn’t have Logos while I

went through Greek, but used this all the time

instead.

Free Online NT Greek Dictionary — If you need me

to explain this one, you’re going to have trouble with

New Testament Greek :).

Biblical Greek Audio. Read the New Testament

along with audio clips of each verse.

Basics of Biblical Greek Courses on YouTube from

Concordia University (starting at chapter 6 of

Mounce)

The Ten Best Books for Studying New Testament

Greek

Here is a video that can help you learn the Greek

alphabet:
ANCHORED IN CHRIST
The (koine) Greek Alphabet Song
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May God richly bless your studies!

What are some tips you have

for learning biblical Greek?
Photo used courtesy of Diffendale, ekidreki, and

Chadbrooks under the Creative Commons License.

Subscribe to my blog on the top right of this page for

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Comments

John Landt says

May 14, 2013 at 6:12 am

Kevin,

Great post! Thanks for sharing.

~ John

KevinHalloran says
June 5, 2013 at 2:02 pm

no problem! I hope it is of bene t and

encouragement
 Alice says
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October 22, 2013 at 2:18 pm
HOME ABOUT ME POPULAR POSTS SPEAKING RESOURCES THE GOSPEL ESPAÑOL

Wonderful post! I just started to get interested in learning

biblical Greek. This is very helpful!

Alice says
October 22, 2013 at 2:30 pm

wonderful! This is so helpful! I am thinking about starting

to learn biblical Greek.

Patteh says
January 9, 2014 at 2:22 am

I decided to teach myself Greek last year and my

boyfriend was very supportive (he got me the Mounce

textbook and workbook as a gift). I gave up. Reading your

post motivated me to pick up the books again

-Patricia

KevinHalloran says
January 9, 2014 at 9:49 am

awesome! Praise God Patricia, I hope He uses it for

you to know Him at a deeper level through His Word

Angelo Cheung says

July 21, 2015 at 12:19 am
Hi Kevin, I have designed a set of biblical Greek alphabet
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ashcards for beginners,
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is it possible
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that you could
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write me a review? I can send you a copy if you would like

to. Here is the images for your reference:

http://www.carddia.com/products/biblical-greek-

alphabet. Thank you!

Ademar Souza e Silva says

August 15, 2015 at 5:24 pm

Wonderfull Kevin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I live in Brazil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JESUS CHRIST IS OUR VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1Jo 5.4

A great number o people are learning from you.

Thanks JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love you my friend!

In the love of JESUS CHRIST,

Rev. Ademar Souza, City of Foz de Iguaçu, Paraná,, Brazil

KevinHalloran says
August 17, 2015 at 11:24 am

Thank you Rev. Ademar. To God be the glory!

Norm Brekke says

September 9, 2015 at 4:52 am
Thanks, Kevin. I am a 1997 seminary grad that has totally
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“lost” my Greek knowledge
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and ability
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to use it. I found
POPULAR POSTS SPEAKING RESOURCES THE GOSPEL ESPAÑOL

your article in a search on how to teach myself Greek.

This article is very clear, nuanced, and has the details

needed to go back and relearn my Greek. I appreciate the

effort you have placed here.

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