[B-Greek] Fwd: other relevant languages besides Greek?
Donald R. Vance, Ph.D.
donaldrvance at mac.com
Mon Mar 21 12:57:40 EDT 2011
Michael Stone (and, apparently, George) will disagree, but I studied
Armenian and I didn't find it much help. I would put Greek, Hebrew
(Biblical, Mishnaic), and Aramaic (Biblical, Targumic, etc.) on the
first tier. Syriac (an Aramaic dialect), Coptic, and Latin on the
second tier. Ethiopic, Armenian, and Slavonic and any others on the
third tier. As Randall correctly points out, your interests will
driver your choices. I really enjoyed Coptic and reading the Nag
Hammadi stuff. I want to do Ethiopic to read some of the other non-
Protestand canon stuff, just because it fascinates me.
Donald R. Vance, Ph.D.
Professor of Biblical Languages and Literature
Oral Roberts University
dvance at oru.edu
donaldrvance at mac.com
On Mar 21, 2011, at 1:52 AM, Randall Buth wrote:
> shoemaker egrapse
>> Which ancient languages are relevant to the study of the original
>> New Testament and the 1st & 2nd century church?
>> So far, my list of candidates is:
>> Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Hebrew, Bohairic, Syriac, Ethiopic, Sahidic.
> (George added Armenian, which is a good addition.)
>
> It's a good list. And ones interests lead to natural priorities.
>
> It might help to stratify the list. Two stand out as special and
> dominating:
> Greek--after all, it is the language of the NT.
> Hebrew--it is the primary repository of Jewish cultural background,
> including DSS, intertestamentals, and rabbinics, not to mention the
> Hebrew Bible.
> I would put Aramaic-Syriac on a second tier, maybe along with Latin,
> and then the rest on a third tier depending on specific interests.
>
> --
> Randall Buth, PhD
> www.biblicallanguagecenter.com
> Biblical Language Center
> Learn Easily - Progress Further - Remember for Life
>
>
>
> --
> Randall Buth, PhD
> www.biblicallanguagecenter.com
> Biblical Language Center
> Learn Easily - Progress Further - Remember for Life
> ---
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