[B-Greek] reference book question

Raymond Regalado fwgk5942 at mb.infoweb.ne.jp
Mon Nov 22 20:20:16 EST 2004


On 2004.11.23, at 05:28  AM, Steve Raine wrote:

> Hello folks--
>
> Looking to get a good reference book for NT study (to supplement 
> Mounce & Wallace.)
>
> Probably deciding between  Smyth's Grammar and Robertson's Grammar (in 
> light of historical research).

You will probably end up getting both, along with BDF! ;-)

> Pros and cons of each?

Here's an interesting quote from S.M. Baugh's "A First John Reader" 
that illustrates what's in store for us beginning students of Greek on 
using reference grammars (BDF in this case).

------------------------
"Can you learn Greek syntax by sitting down and reading through a Greek 
reference grammar?  If you read the long-time standard, 
Blass-Debrunner-Funk (BDF), here's a sample of what you would find when 
learning about the dative case:

       192. The ethical dative: Rev. 2:5, 16 ERCHOMAI SOI could
	be an ethical dative (likewise BGU IV 1041. 16 [ii AD]; for
	classical parallels s. Havers 4, 158 etc.; pap. [Mayser II 2,
	270] ELQE MOI), unless it reflects incorrectly, like Mt 21:
	5 OT ERCHOMAI SOI, Hebr. [LEKH, LEKHA] 'to you' (in He-	brew with 
verbs of motion). 'ASTEISOS TW QEW A 7:20
	(speech of Stephen) also is a hebraism.

Now there is much we can say about this grammatical description, but 
... What in the world is an "ethical dative"?...  BDF does not bother 
to tell you what it is!" (p. vii)
------------------------

Personally I find Max Zerwick's "Biblical Greek" along with his "A 
Grammatical Analysis of the New Testament" the most useful for my 
purposes (i.e. learning inductively as I read through the GNT after 
having finished first year Greek).

Sincerely,

Raymond Regalado
Tokyo, Japan




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