[B-Greek] The best starting place?

Curtis Hinson curtis at curtishinson.com
Sat Aug 26 17:50:58 EDT 2006


I do object to the suggestion Koine is to older Greek as Hip-Hop is to 
English.  Would you say the same about German and Yiddish?

It is my personal opinion that there is far too much emphasis on reading 
Homer and Attic in biblical scholarship.  Homer and intervening pagan 
writers had little in common with the way the NT authors thought and 
nothing in common with their social and religious background.  Do we 
need to read pagan ancient German to understand Yiddish?  In fact might 
that not make us understand Yiddish less well to start from that 
assumption?  Do we need to read Chaucer to understand modern English?

The language of the New Testament and the LXX is not some sort of 
degraded descendant of classical Greek.  It's it's own language: 
Judeo-Greek, and understanding Moses and Abraham are a better starting 
place than Homer.  I think it's ill-thought to dismiss the Jewish Greek 
because it's authors think and function differently than Homer.

Do we say E.E. Cummings is less of a poet, or Langston Hughes, because 
they don't have the same meter or vocabulary of Shakespeare?  Do we have 
to understand Shakespeare to understand Langston Hughes?  In fact if we 
view Langston Hughes through the lense of why he's not Shakespeare, 
might we not miss the unique genius that was Langston Hughes?

The literature of the New Testament has a beauty and subtlety all it's 
own.  For that matter, Hip-Hop has a beauty and subtlety all it's own.

Bless the Name
Curtis Hinson
http://adfontes.ath.cx
http://curtishinson.com


Elizabeth Kline wrote the following on 8/25/2006 7:35 PM:
> I started with Koine and after then Homer and then Attic but would  
> not  recommend that sequence. Learning Koine first is like learning  
> English by listening to Hip Hop.
>
>
> Elizabeth Kline
>
>
>
>
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