[B-Greek] UBS Reader's Edition GNT

Carl Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Wed Nov 21 08:56:02 EST 2007


On Nov 21, 2007, at 12:52 AM, Timothy Mitchell wrote:

> It seems that the issue here is that those of us who can "read" the  
> Greek Text in the sense that a "3rd grader can read english", need  
> something that is intermediate in difficulty. Since we cannot speak  
> to each other (an unfortunate mode of study that hopefully will  
> change in the way Koine Greek is taught) in Koine Greek and immerse  
> ourselves in the language, we have to read, read, read! And the way  
> that ones vocabulary is built in the mother tongue is buy using new  
> words in the context of a sentence in conversation and reading, not  
> learning from a dictionary (at least most of us don't =)). The idea  
> behind Zondervan's "A Readers Greek New Testament" (which can be  
> derived buy reading the introduction) is that the time involved is  
> what is at stake, also reading the text with a limited vocabulary,  
> with the goal of learning more words, in context. I know for me,  
> divorcing myself from reading the Greek Text to look up a word's  
> definition and use in a lexicon removes my train of thought from the  
> context of what was being read to the lexicon I am consulting. While  
> on the other hand, being able to read along in the text and then  
> only having to briefly glance down to the bottom of the page to note  
> a definition, which context decides (and which is all lexicons do  
> anyways is consult all the usages of a word to gain it's meaning)  
> and, in my experience, which is limited for sure, is much more  
> attuned to natural learning of any language. I think here we have  
> publishers recognizing the learning styles of individuals and is  
> catering to the public's needs (and a rising market for making some $ 
> $$$). I think sometimes those who have studied Greek for many years  
> have forgotten some of that beginning road to get where they are at  
> now, and those of us who are not there yet are happy to use the new  
> tool's available to help us get there, if not there, maybe close =).

I agree that there's a need and a place for something in between a  
straightforward interlinear (which, it seems to me, is precisely what  
the "UBS Reader's Edition GNT" really is, with the exception that the  
parsing and English glosses for each Greek word are in footnotes  
rather than directly under the Greek words) and a critical edition of  
the GNT (either UBS4 or NA27). I think the NET Diglot is really serves  
that intermediate slot very well: a literate English version on the  
facing page can be consulted with some confidence by one who runs into  
difficulty understanding the Greek text here or there and surely gives  
a better sense of how the Greek words and phrases function in context  
to contribute to the fuller sense of what's being expressed in the  
text. And, as I've noted previously, the translator's notes are  
especially helpful in clarifying where the translator has abandoned  
the literal phraseology of the Greek in favor of something more  
intelligible or more idiomatic in the English; i.e. the translator's  
notes are, I think, much more serviceable to the intermediate student  
who is struggling with a text that is somewhat beyond the competence s/ 
he has thus far developed.

I'm aware and I (grudgingly, of course) accept the proposition that  
some learners find the interlinears really helpful and really do move  
on beyond them to reading the Greek text without that crutch, but I  
would still say that the diglot is more likely to fill that need for  
an intermediate reader of the GNT.

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)




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