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b-greek-digest V1 #770
b-greek-digest Sunday, 2 July 1995 Volume 01 : Number 770
In this issue:
Re: Apocalyptic literature
Re: Biblical Greek Library
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From: Pat Tiller <ptiller@husc.harvard.edu>
Date: Sat, 1 Jul 1995 13:31:15 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: Apocalyptic literature
On Wed, 28 Jun 1995, Shaughn Daniel wrote:
> Pat Tiller wrote:
> >According to Shaughn Daniel's citation and translation of Der Kleine
> >Pauly, (June 28, 1995), "Apoc. originated in Christianity above all with
> >sects and gnostics." I doubt if there is much evidence for this.
>
> Original German sentence:
> >>A. enstanden sich im Christentum vor allem bei Sekten und Gnostikern.
>
> Pat,
>
> It could be the translation that is getting in the way of things here.
Possibly so, but the problem is not with sich entstehen or with bei, but
with Sekten.
My impression is that Der Kleine Pauly thinks that most early Christian
Apocalyptic literature was composed withing sectarian or gnostic groups.
Some people might think that Christianity itself originiated as a Jewish
sect. Hence all Christian literature (of the 1st century or so) is
sectarian. But I don't think that is what der KP means. It is possible
that the earliest Gnostic apocalypses were not Christian: Apocalypse of
Adam, Allogenes (date?), and that Christian Gnostic apocalypses came after
the use of the apocalyptic genre in non-gnostic Christian circles.
Certainly there are lots of relatively early Christian Gnostic
apocalypses--I don't really object much to that part of der KP's
statement. The real problem is in demonstrating that Rev, Shepherd of
Hermas, Ascension of Isaiah 6-11, and the Apocalypse of Peter (not the Nag
Hammadi apoc) have sectarian origins. How would one establish that their
authors belonged to Christian sectarian groups, while other contemporary
Christian groups were not sectarian?
> 1. Regardless of the translation, which is more true FOR Christianity?
> a) the majority of apocalyptic literature originated/arose after Rev
> b) the majority of apocalyptic literature originate/arise before Rev
The majority of all Christian literature arose after Rev, so (a).
> 2. Which of the following is more true FOR Christianity?
> a) the majority of apocalyptic literature originated/arose
> within sects and gnostic groups
> b) the majority of apocalyptic literature originated/arose
> before sects and gnostic groups
What about "(c) outside of already-existing sects (whatever "sect" may
refer to) and gnostic groups"?
> 3. Therefore, which of the following is more true?
> a) the majority of apocalyptic literature arose within Christianity
> primarily from sects and gnostic groups
> b) the majority of apocalyptic literature did not arise within Christianity
> primarily from sects and gnostic groups
I still don't know how to answer this one.
Are we assuming some kind of time frame? 1st 3 centuries, maybe, or are
we including all of Christian history? How do we understand "sect"?
Pat Tiller
Harvard Divinity School
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From: Bruce Terry <terry@bible.acu.edu>
Date: Sat, 01 Jul 1995 17:49:54 CST
Subject: Re: Biblical Greek Library
On Fri, 30 Jun 1995, Rod Rilea wrote:
>I am wanting to develop my Biblical Greek library for study purposes. I am
>interested in finding out what works are essential for someone beginning
>Biblical Greek studies. I am learning the language on my own at present
>and I am hoping to get to the point that using greek as part of my studies
>for sermons and personal study becomes second nature.
Rod--
I can't tell exactly where you are at the moment when you say "beginning" or
exactly how fast you hope to progress when you say "on my own." It sort of
sounds like you are interested in what Goodrick calls "low road" Greek. I
just finished teaching a two-week equipping group session on "low road" Greek
and Hebrew at the mission seminar at ACU. Below find a book list which I gave
to my students. The books range from those for serious students who know
almost no Greek and/or Hebrew except the alphabet up to the book that scholars
use (in the case of Bauer, Arndt and Gingrich). I have not listed grammars
here; I started on Dana & Mantey in teaching myself. Considering the current
price, Brooks & Winbery is a very good substitute, especially with the new
typesetting. I'll know how good after I put my 2nd year Greek students
through it this fall.
If you are interested in the "high road" instead, ignore many of the books
listed first under each section, especially the interlinears. Take a course
in beginning Greek at your local university, college, seminary, Bible
institute, or by correspondence from the University of Wisconsin.
The main thing to learning Greek is continual use. Read a couple of verses
every day in your private devotionals; it makes great "slow" reading. Use as
much as you can in your sermon and lesson preparation (but as many have said,
don't tell people you have done this). One can climb from the low road to the
high road. I know; I have done it. You just have to keep on using it.
- --Bruce
Recommended Books for "Low Road" Greek and Hebrew
Introduction
Do It Yourself Hebrew and Greek by Edward W. Goodrick
The Books and the Parchments by F. F. Bruce
Greek and Hebrew Interlinears
The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament (Nestle-Marshall)
The one by Berry is not recommended for primary use
Analytical Greek New Testament by Barbara & Timothy Friberg
This is a grammar interlinear
The Interlinear Hebrew Greek English Bible by Green
The New Testament volume is not recommended for primary use
The NIV Interlinear Hebrew-English Old Testament by J. R. Kohlenberger
The Septuagint in Greek and English with the Apocrypha
Side by side rather than interlinear
Concordances
Englishman's Greek Concordance
The New Englishman's Greek Concordance and Lexicon
The Word Study New Testament and The Word Study Concordance
Englishman's Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance
Young's Analytical Concordance
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance
The Eerdman's Analytical Concordance to the Revised Standard Version
Modern Concordance to the New Testament by Michael Darton
Concordance of the Septuagint
Wordbooks, Dictionaries, and Lexicons
Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words by W. E. Vine
New Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian
Literature by Arndt and Gingrich
Index to the Arndt and Gingrich Greek Lexicon by Alsop
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament by Louw and Nida
by topical order rather than alphabetic
The Analytical Greek Lexicon
Dictionary of New Testament Theology (3 vol.) by Colin Brown
A Reader's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament by Kubo
Nelson's Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament
The New Brown Driver Briggs Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon
Index to Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon by Bruce Einspahr
Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon
Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (2 vol.) by Harris, Archer, and
Waltke
A Reader's Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Armstrong, Busby,
and Carr
Other Helps
Word Pictures in the New Testament by A. T. Robertson
Word Studies in the New Testament by M. R. Vincent
A Parsing Guide to the Greek New Testament by Han
Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament by Rienecker and Rogers
Genesis: Analytical Key to the Old Testament by John Joseph Owens
A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament by Metzger
********************************************************************************
Bruce Terry E-MAIL: terry@bible.acu.edu
Box 8426, ACU Station Phone: 915/674-3759
Abilene, Texas 79699 Fax: 915/674-3769
********************************************************************************
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End of b-greek-digest V1 #770
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