[B-Greek] Fw: B-Greek Digest, Vol 100, Issue 8 - review of Machen

Mark Lightman lightmanmark at yahoo.com
Sat Apr 16 09:52:50 EDT 2011


Barry wrote

<Vance mentiones that the text doesn't inform people that δοκέω is not a 
contract verb.  It's listed as such in every text I have ever seen.  Does he 
mean καλέω, KALEW, or have I been missing something all these years?>

Hi, Barry,

I've read his review twice, and each time, since I know that DOKEW is a contract 
verb, I read his sentence as "doesn't inform people that DOKEW IS a contract 
verb."  But you are right, he writes "that DOKEW is not a contract verb"  It 
appears to be a typo.

An irony, in a review which, in my opinion, nitpicks about the few mistakes in 
Machen.  If this is what Vance means, it's funny, because lots of the more 
inductive text books which are preferred by some to Machen use contract verbs 
before even telling you what a contract verb is.  Machen is actually very good 
at telling you everything you HAVE to know to read the Greek NT.

I also think that a review like this is less relevant in an age where you can 
read dozens of positive reviews of Machen by students on Amazon and elsewhere on 
line.  (Usually, you can read these reviews long before a review comes out on 
SBL.)  Students, not all, but some, have always liked Machen and always will.  
For what he does, present the basics of NT Greek is a concise, organized way, 
and give lots of simple exercises that drill the basics, he is unsurpassed.  
This does not mean that other texts can't do other things.

 Mark L



FWSFOROS MARKOS




________________________________
From: Barry H. <nebarry at verizon.net>
To: Shirley Rollinson <rollinsondr at yahoo.com>; b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Sat, April 16, 2011 5:30:21 AM
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] Fw: B-Greek Digest, Vol 100, Issue 8 - review of Machen


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Shirley Rollinson" <rollinsondr at yahoo.com>
To: <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 8:27 PM
Subject: [B-Greek] Fw: B-Greek Digest, Vol 100, Issue 8 - review of Machen


>With reviews like that - who needs enemies ?
>yassas
>Shirley Rollinson
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

> 1. Silva on the purpose of Greek (Carl
> Conrad)
> 2. Re: Silva on the purpose of Greek (Oun
> Kwon)

>From: "Oun Kwon" <kwonbbl at gmail.com>To: "B-Greek" 
><b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>FYI

>A book review on this

>www.bookreviews.org/pdf/4633_4739.pdf

1.  Haaving taught out of the original Machen for a number of years, I agree 
with many of the criticisms that Prof. Vance advances.  I was still at WTS 
when Dan was working on the revision -- he at one time had asked me for some 
supplemental materials I used in my teaching (specifically on the various 
uses of αὐτός, AUTOS), but never actually used them.  I expected a much more 
throrough revision than what we actually got.

2.  Some of what we now perceive as weaknesses in Machen's original have to 
do with the time period in which it was published.  The changes in our view 
of the language due to linguistics weren't available in Machen's time. 
Machen could also expect the majority of his students to have had at least 4 
years of Latin and French or German by the time they showed up in his 
classes.  Machen could assume a great deal of familiarity with certain 
grammatical principles, and his students wouldn't have blinked an eye at 
some of the brevity of explanations in the text.

3.  Vance mentiones that the text doesn't inform people that δοκέω is not a 
contract verb.  It's listed as such in every text I have ever seen.  Does he 
mean καλέω, KALEW, or have I been missing something all these years?

N.E. Barry Hofstetter, semper melius Latine sonat...
Classics and Bible Instructor, TAA
http://www.theamericanacademy.net
(2010 Salvatori Excellence in Education Winner)
V-P of Academic Affairs, TNARS
bhofstetter at tnars.net
http://www.tnars.net

http://my.opera.com/barryhofstetter/blog
http://mysite.verizon.net/nebarry





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