Lexicons and calling for advice for new students
Greg Kilbrai
gkilbrai at dlcwest.com
Fri Dec 4 22:35:42 EST 1998
>Hello Fellow Greeks,
>I am continuing a study of Greek that was started this semester and I
want to know what you folks think is the absolute best Lexicon money can
buy.
>
>I would really appreciate your input.
>Joey Ingles
Hi Joey. I will answer from a student's perspective, because I'm only on
my third semester of Greek so far. (Hopefully the faculty on the list
won't cringe when they read this - but if they do, they are a friendly
bunch and will point me in a better direction. ;-) )
As a little b-greeker, I have the Walter Bauer by Arndt and Gingrich
[BAG] that others have recommended to you as the best. But at this point
my knowledge of greek grammar and vocabulary is so limited that I find
BAG very cumbersome to use. Although rich in detail for word studies,
each entry is only in the standard dictionary form, which is difficult
if you are reading a verb that is not in the 1st person singular,
present indicative!
Because I still have trouble with parsing and identifying verb
tenses/moods and the case of nouns by sight, I find I most often rely on
another lexicon:
The analytical lexicon to the greek new testament
William D. Mounce.
Zondervan, 1993.
This has every NT word listed regardless of gender, number or case or
verb tense/mood/number, along with a general English translation and
some scripture referrences. I use it constantly for preparing my
assignments, because I'm still working on the basic foundations in
greek.
I pray for the day when I will outgrow this stage, but at this point the
Mounce lexicon is a much more helpful tool for me in my study of Greek
than the BAG - I guess the definition of "best" will change depending on
your level/proficiency in Greek and what you need it for.
Now then, perhaps the faculty members could add a few words of advice:
am I taking a reasonable approach to my studies? If I keep at my studies
how much longer will it be before I can get off this plateau I seem
stuck on? Do you think the kind of lexicon I'm using is a genuine tool,
or am I relying on it too much as a crutch? Would more paradigm
"memorizing" help me? Should I be making more effort to parse by sight,
or will this come with time? Any tips would be welcome!
Greg Kilbrai
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