Intermediate Greek II - GRK 102

Course Description and Objectives	Grading Scale
Course Texts	Schedule
Evaluation

Course Description and Objectives

1. Description. Extensive reading in Greek New Testament, vocabulary building, textual criticism, exegetical method. Prerequisite: GRK 2.

2. Objectives. This course should help students to:

• understand basic exegetical methodology, including the theory and practice of word study, textual criticism, discourse analysis and rhetorical analysis.
• discover the world of early Jewish and Christian extra-biblical literature.
• increase their Greek vocabulary and knowledge of Principal Parts.
• review the elements of Greek syntax learned in GRK 1.
• cultivate an appreciation for exegetical tools, secondary literature and contemporary translations of the Bible.
• reflect on ways to use Greek in and for the church without erecting barriers between the Bible and the Christian community.
• develop life-long habits of reading the Greek New Testament.
• read and understand the Greek New Testament with increasing confidence.
  

Course Texts (top of page)

Required Texts

Kubo, S. A Reader's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Zondervan, 1975.

Metzger, B. M. The Text of the New Testament. 3rd ed. Oxford, 1992.

Metzger, B. M. Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek. Metzger, 1983.

Nestle-Aland. Novum Testamentum Graece. 27th ed.

O'Brien, P. T. The Epistle to the Philippians. NIGTC; Eerdmans, 1991.

Recommended Texts and Tools (Reference or Reserve)

Aland, Kurt and Barbara. The Text of the New Testament. 2nd rev. ed. 1995. Esp. pp. 96-110, 222-260.

Bauer, W. ed. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Rev. F. W. Gingrich and F. Danker. University of Chicago, 2000. (Reference: PA881 .B38 1979)

Black, David Alan. New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide. Baker, 1994.

Caird, G. B. The Language and Imagery of the Bible. Eerdmans, 1980. Esp. pp. 3-61.

Cotterell, P. and M. Turner. Linguistics and Biblical Interpretation. IVP, 1989. Esp. pp. 129-181, 230-256.

Gingrich, Wilbur. Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament. 2nd ed. Rev. Frederick W. Danker. University of Chicago, 1983.

Louw, J. P. & E. Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. 2 vols. 2nd ed. American Bible Society, 1994. (Reference: PA881 .G68 1989)

McKnight, S. Introducing New Testament Interpretation. Baker, 1989. Esp. pp. 21-74, 89-132.

Meeks, Wayne. The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul. Yale, 1983. Esp. pp. 51-73.

Metzger, B. M. Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek. 3rd ed. Baker, 1999.

Silva, M. Biblical Words and Their Meaning. Revised ed. Zondervan, 1994. Esp. 17-51, 101-211.

Silva, M. Explorations in Exegetical Method: Galatians as a Test Case. Baker, 1996. Esp. pp. 197-215.

Young, R. A. Intermediate New Testament Greek: A Linguistic and Exegetical Approach. Broadman & Holman, 1994. Esp. pp. 247-277.

Zerwick, M. Biblical Greek. Scripta Pontificii Instituti Biblici, 1963.

Zerwick, M. & M. Grosvenor. A Grammatical Analysis of the Greek NT. Biblical Institute Press, 1981.

Additional Works on Philippians on Reserve

Bakirtzis, C. and H. Koester, edd. Philippi at the Time of Paul and After His Death. Trinity Press, 1998.

Caird, G. B. Paul's Letters from Prison: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. Oxford University Press, 1976.

Donfried, Karl P. The Theology of the Shorter Pauline Letters. Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Fee, Gordon D. Paul's Letter to the Philippians. Eerdmans, 1995.

Hawthorne, Gerald. Philippians. WBC. Word, 1983.

Lightfoot, J. B. St. Paul's Epistle to the Philippians. 1913; Zondervan, 1953.

Martin, Ralph P. The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians: An Introduction and Commentary. TNTC. Eerdmans, 1980.

________. Philippians. NCB Commentary. Eerdmans, 1980.

Silva, Moises. Philippians. Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary. Moody, 1988.

Vincent, M. R. Philippians and Philemon. 1897; ICC. T. & T. Clark, 1979.

Evaluation (top of page)

1. Vocabulary and Principal Parts (20%)

• Weekly quizzes, testing mostly Greek-to-English but some English-to-Greek proficiency, shall begin promptly at 12:45 PM on Wednesdays.
• See Schedule for word frequencies and Principle Parts covered by each quiz.
• Quizzes will be cumulative but weighted towards the newest words.
• Quizzes missed for excusable absences can be made up by arrangement with the instructor.
• At term's end, the two lowest quiz scores will be dropped.

2. Translation and Exegesis: Philippians (60%)

• Most of our time will be spent in careful, leisurely (?) reading and discussion of Paul's letter to the Philippians. This means each student must carefully prepare the assigned passage, consult the corresponding reading in O'Brien's commentary, and come to class with questions and issues for discussion. After completing each chapter of Philippians, we shall devote a day to review, discussion and a brief quiz.
• Each student shall develop a color-coded Philippians workbook, containing the following elements:
  • the date of the class, and a log of time spent in preparation.
  • pencil: an expanded translation of the text. Erase mistakes neatly.
  • blue: points of lexical semantics (word meaning), notes from Lexicons and word studies
  • black: points of syntax, exegetical puzzlers, questions for discussion
  • red: text critical issues
  • green: notes on relevant aspects of Paul's social world (early Judaism, Hellenism, Roman society, Philippi) and rhetoric
  • theological reflections & questions; Pauline / biblical parallels
  • biblio of tools & sources consulted, beyond the standard lexica & basic grammars

The critical use of O'Brien's commentary should be evident throughout. Additional tools, including Young, Bauer, Kubo, Zerwick & Grosvenor and other commentaries, are on Reserve or in the Reference section. The following web links may be of some use in preparation:

• go here for an exegetical bibliography prepared by Craig Blomberg et al.
• go here for a handy table of recommended tools for Greek exegesis
• go here for a list of grammatical and lexical tools prepared by the Div. school at Vanderbilt
• go here for valuable bibliography on the social-scientific interpretation of Paul

Workbooks shall be inspected periodically and graded at the end of the term, for neatness, completeness, thoroughness, and long-term value. The Workbook and in-class participation shall be weighted approximately equally.

• During the course of the semester, as indicated in the Schedule below, I will be introducing various tools and methods, and pulling us away from reading the text for brief periods. Note the schedule for various readings and stay tuned for various mini-assignments to be included in the Philippians Workbook.

3. Secondary Literature (20%)

• Metzger's The Text of the New Testament is due March 4. Come with text, reading notes & questions, prepared to discuss.
• Read as much as possible from the Reserve book list. Get to know these books. Skim some parts; slow down for others. Pursue what interests you.
• Each students shall locate (using ATLA and, if necessary, ILL), read and summarize for the class a journal article of relevance for the interpretation of Philippians. Articles and date of in-class summaries must be confirmed with the instructor in advance.
• Keep an up-to-date, typed Reading Log, including author, title, number of pages read, date read, and any reading notes.
  Grading: quantity & quality of reading, consistency, notes.

4. End of Year Party (1%)

• Instead of an exam, students will attend an end-of-year party.

Grading Scale (top of page)

.		B+	87-89	C+	77-79	D+	67-69	.
A	95-100	B	84-86	C	74-76	D	64-66	F	0-59
A-	90-94	B-	80-83	C-	70-73	D-	60-63	.

Schedule (Supplementary Readings) (top of page)

Jan 7	Jan 9 Phil 1:1-2 Yonge: 9-204 (skim & review)	Jan 11Phil 1:3-5 Syntax of Cases Review Sheet
Jan 14 Phil 1:6-8 Yonge: 214-218, 235-244	Jan 16 Phil 1:9-11 Vocabulary Quiz 81+	Jan 18 Phil 1:12-15
	Jan 23 Phil 1:16-18 Vocab. 56+	Jan 25 Phil 1:19-22
Jan 28 Phil 1:23-26	Jan 30 Phil 1:27-30 Principle Parts Quiz thru ballo	Feb 1 REVIEW Philippians 1
Feb 4 Phil 2:1-3	Feb 6 Phil 2:4-6 Vocab. 34+	Feb 8 Phil 2:7
Feb 11 Phil 2:8	Feb 13 Phil 2:9-11 Vocab. 24+ and Prin. Parts thru elpizo	Feb 15 Phil 2:12-15
	Feb 20 Phil 2:16-19 Vocab. 20+	Feb 22 Phil 2:20-24
Feb 25 Phil 2:25-27	Feb 27 Phil 2:28-30 Vocab. 18+ and Prin. Parts thru kaleo	Mar 1 REVIEW Philippians 2
Mar 4 Textual Criticism Metzger, Text of the N.T. due	Mar 6 Textual Criticism McKnight: 53-74 Vocab. 17+	Mar 8 Textual Criticism
Mar 18 Phil 3:1-4	Mar 20 Phil 3:5-7 Vocab 16+ and Prin. Parts thru pascho	Mar 22 Phil 3:8-11
Mar 25 NO CLASS--Regional AAR/SBL	Mar 27 Phil 3:12-16 Vocab 15+
	Apr 3 Phil 3:17-21 Vocab 14+ and Prin. Parts thru prasso	Apr 5 REVIEW Philippians 3
Apr 8 Phil 4:1-3	Apr 10 Phil 4:4-7 Vocab 13+	Apr 12 Phil 4:8-10
Apr 15 Phil 4:11-13	Apr 17 Phil 4:14-17 Vocab 12+ and Prin. Parts thru chairo	Apr 19 Phil 4:18-20
Apr 22 Phil 4:21-23 Reading Log Due.	Apr 24 REVIEW Philippians 4 & Loose Ends Vocab. 10+ & all Prin. Parts incl. p.46	Apr 26 Loose Ends