Improving Greek skills

Ken Litwak javajedi2 at yahoo.com
Thu Jun 6 18:59:52 EDT 2002


  In college, I had three years of NT Greek.  We did most of Machen in the
first year, about 2/3 of Dana and Mantey in the second year, and I made
lots of use of BDF in the third year.  I then used Greek regularly in
seminary.  In grad school, I also used Greek, both for doctoral Greek
exams, which required translating from the APostolic Fathers, NT and LXX,
and even more so, in a seminar on Hellenistic Historiographers.  Here's
the issue.  I found the APostolic Fathers pretty challenging. That was
nothing, however, comparted to Josephus or harder stil, THucydides or
Xenophon. I don't think I lack course wrok in Greek, but it seem slike
others can simply breeze thorugh Josphus or Polybius while I have to work
really ahrd to make sense of them.  Simply reading more is not an ansser
for me, because while sturggling on my own, I don't learn whatever magic
thing I need to become truly better and faster both.  How does one acquire
that?  What else do I need to do to be able to read Josephus or Philo or
Lucian (who was easier than THucydides but no cake walk) with the same
apparent ease other s do?  Ort, a tleast, without it being a ten-hour job
to translate one or two pages tino something intelligible?  Thanks.


Ken



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