William D. MounceCríticas

Includes CD-Rom "Talk-through-the-book"

Students of biblical Greek and Hebrew may not know everything they need to know, but they do know there’s a lot they need to know! Whether studying for exams or translating passages of Scripture, students need critical information at their fingertips. Instead, it’s usually scattered throughout textbooks, self-made crib sheets, and sticky-notes on their computer monitor. The Zondervan Biblical Greek and Biblical Hebrew Reference Sheets are handy, at-a-glance study aids ideal for last minute review on your smartphone, a quick overview of grammar on your tablet or laptop before beginning your homework, or as an aid in translation or sermon preparation while you run the Passage Guide. The study guides are tied to Basics of Biblical Greek and Basics of Biblical Hebrew.

i have the pdf version of both the textbook and workbook of the series. it does not correspond to the hardcopy pages numbers and was very difficult to leverage the material in class. When I confronted the author through email, the representative offered no remedy to the problem.½

i have the pdf version of both the textbook and workbook of the series. it does not correspond to the hardcopy pages numbers and was very difficult to leverage the material in class. When I confronted the author through email, the representative offered no remedy to the problem. I do not like to spend money and find no remedy to a legitimate gripe.½

This book is part of my collection that really focuses in on Biblical Commentary more than anything else (including some well known authors in the theological world). All of these books haven't been read cover to cover, but I've spent a lot of time with them and they've been helpful in guiding me through difficult passages (or if I desire to dig deeper).

The WBC is the best-selling multi-volume commentary series in the market today. WBC authors are all experts in their field and skillfully bring the text to meaning through careful exegesis and exposition. Each WBC contributor creates his own translation based on the best texts and literature available. The WBC has the largest bibliography of any commentary.

I took Spanish in high school (a correspondence course) and I must say that I wish that the textbook and workbooks for that class were produced in the same format as this Greek Grammar. Mounce teaches in a compare/contrast style. Throughout the book he teaches, or reminds you of, English grammar and then gives you the Greek grammar. It is at times quite different from the English equivalent but the contrast actually helps one understand it more. He will also give you examples of things you will learn later on in the book and tell you not to try to learn them yet since, "They are given just to expose you to the concepts." I like that as repetition helps things stick in my mind.

Mounce has a little character called 'the professor' who appears throughout the book giving you fun facts about what you are learning, summaries of what you have just learned and more information as well. Though a bit weird, it proves to be quite helpful and interesting. I love the incentives the author gives for studying each chapter by means of written examples by preachers and teachers showing the importance of each grammatical point for exegetical study. For instance, at the beginning of his chapter about infinitives, Mounce has an exegetical insight from Darrell Bock demonstrating how infinitives often "complete important ideas". He uses the example of 1 Corinthians 15:25 which reads, "For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet." (ASV) The tense of the word for 'reign',βασιλευειν,is an infinitive in the present tense, describing a continuous action. "this present infinitive explains what is necessary about what God is in the process of doing through Jesus…Paul stresses that Jesus is in the process of ruling until the job of subjecting everything under his feet is complete." So, in order to properly interpret passages like this, one needs to understand Greek infinitives.

Mounce has come up with many ways, including what I have mentioned above, to encourage your persevering with learning Greek. At the end of some chapters he has 'exegesis' sections that show you how what you have learned is used in exegesis. And at the end of every chapter he has a section showing you the percentage of what you have learned of the total words in the New Testament. By the time you finish chapter 6 you'll have learned 36.79%of the total word count in the New Testament. And before I forget, I must also mention that Mounce has many free resources online that compliment this grammar, including a program called "FlashWorks" which exercises your memory of the Greek words you have been learning. You may tell it what chapter you are on and it will drill you accordingly.

I highly recommend this Grammar, it is deliberately geared towards keeping you focused on the many benefits of learning Greek because of its great value as a tool in the proper exegesis of the Word of God.

Many thanks to Zondervan for sending me a free review copy of this book(my review did not have to be favorable)

Please. If you want to teach Greek, teach Greek, not your theology. As a teaching tool, this may be highly regarded... but it just grates to be hit over the head with the author's ideas. If I'm learning to read the Bible, it's because I want to develop my understanding of my theology, not William D. Mounce's. And if I'm learning koine to read something else (e.g. Josephus, Philo, LXX), then I have even less use for something that insists αυτος means "He," not he/she/it.

Yes, I'm still grumpy about the introduction. And the whole approach. Be sure you can stomach before you buy.½

This is where it started for me.

Have you ever wanted to learn Greek? A good number of Bible students and faithful church attenders have given a yes to this question. But these same people are often perplexed as to how they can actually learn Greek, Some may find themselves overwhelmed in a intorductory Greek class and conclude that it will have to always be “just Greek to me.”

Bill Mounce, perhaps more than anyone else, has made it his mission to make the study of biblical Greek accessible to everyone. Not content to be the author of the most widely used introductory Greek textbook ("Basics of Biblical Greek"), Mounce has provided a wonderful resource for those of a less scholastic bent with his excellent book "Greek for the Rest of Us: The Essentials of Biblical Greek". Now in its second edition, "Greek for the Rest of Us" is more useful than ever and comes complete with a host of online and additional resources to guide the reader into a greater understanding of biblical Greek.

Why study Greek?

Some may wonder why all the fuss about Greek. If the English of the King James Bible was good enough for the Apostle Paul, why do we need to study Greek? In all seriousness, why exactly should we bother with the study of Greek? Mounce sees at least five benefits from the study of biblical Greek:

"•making sense of the information that Bible software shows
•finding what the Greek words mean
•seeing the author’s flow of thought and his cental message
•understanding why translations are different
•reading good commentaries and using other biblical tools that make use of Greek" (p. viii)

Three books in one

Mounce’s plan of attack is to teach the reader just enough Greek for what they need. His book is divided into three sections which will teach the reader foundational Greek, church Greek, and finally functional Greek. Those making it through the entire book, with the online homework assignments, will actually cover the equivalent of two years of Greek. But many will not need that level of detail. Here is how Mounce delineates what each level of Greek will cover:

"•Foundational Greek teaches you enough Greek so you can use the Bible study software, understand a Strong’s Bible, and do Greek word studies.
•Church Greek teaches you more Greek so you can understand a reverse interlinear and use better reference works, especially commentaries.
•Functional Greek teaches you even more Greek so you can be comfortable working with a traditional interlinear and go even deeper into the best commentaries." (p. viii)

Greek on the bottom shelf

Mounce is a teacher extraordinaire. He has a gift in bringing concepts down to the bottom shelf where anyone can understand them. Illustrations, charts, pictures and examples abound. In everything he stays very practical and helpful. The layout of the book is easy to read and clear. He gives sample entries in Greek dictionaries that are recommended for those in foundational Greek. He provides screenshots from a variety of Bible software programs (some accessible freely online) and explains how to use them. And he covers interlinears and references a host of Greek tools that would be a benefit for those aiming to keep their Greek.

One of the best features of this book is his development of phrasing. He shows how to break down a passage of Scripture into meaningful phrases and examine how they are strung together in the text. As the level of Greek understanding grows, he returns again and again to the phrasing model adding more and more to the exegetical strategy he is teaching. Finally he provides a wonderful group of semantic tags for the functional Greek student to use in selecting which relationships different phrases have to each other in a given text. This method has immediate relevancy for Bible teachers, students and pastors.

Helpful cautions for the budding scholar

Along the way, Mounce offers careful cautions to those just stumbling into the stimulating world of Greek. He reins in the tendency to find meaning in a word’s etymology and make too much of word studies divorced from the actual context of a given passage. He also provides some helpful thoughts as he begins to expand on verb tenses:

"[After covering this material,] does this mean you can look at a verb and decide for yourself what its nuance is? Probably not…. Does this mean you can argue with a commentary or translation based on your knowledge of Greek. Absolutely not. You just don’t know enough Greek…. Will you be able to see why translations are different and be able to follow the discussion in commentaries? Yes." (p. 126)

He also gives a thorough treatment of Bible translation differences and the differences between the different Greek text families (Byzantine manuscripts vs. Alexandrian, etc.). There again he cautions those who are not fluent in Greek from presuming to know more than they do when it comes to the realm of textual criticism. As a Bible translator himself, he explains how all Bible translations are interpretive by their very nature and highlights the difficulties inherent in translation. Even so, he does not recommend dynamic translations for serious Bible study (p. 268).

Mounce also details what to look for and how to use good Bible commentaries. In short, Mounce doesn’t leave you with Greek on the brain, but brings you to where you can apply the Greek you have in ongoing Bible study.

Evaluation

This book is the most helpful introduction to Greek I’ve seen. It can be used for a wide variety of contexts, and would make a perfect resource for a church-led Bible institute class. It would allow some to be exposed to Greek and give others the tools to pursue it at a greater level. There is also a nice laminated resource sheet with declensions and common vocabularly words that is available along with this title and would make a great learning aid suitable for such an institude class.

The book would also serve well as a reference tool in its own right for those trying to remember some Greek fact which has been muddied by the passage of time. There are online tools and even vidoe sessions that go along with the book, making it ideal for personal study, and it could even work for a homeschooling family aiming to introduce biblical Greek to their children.

One point to bring out here, is that this book will highlight differences in BIble translations and while it doesn’t answer every question raised, his explanation does favor the modern scholarly consensus favoring the Alexandrian texts. It can still be used with great benefit by those favoring a Majority text view, in my opinion, however. There may be various points where one may disagree with Mounce’s approach, but in the whole he is to be thanked for giving the church such a useful resource.

Disclaimer: this book was provided by Zondervan. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

I have read this book at least three times, constantly reviewing my Koine Greek. In terms of pedagogy, this book can be used to self-teach oneself. I have no other first year Greek grammars to compare it to (other than a Classical Greek Grammar) so this review maybe slightly biased. But his approach definitely makes learning Greek easier. I have done another three semesters of Classical Greek and I felt sorry for the students who had to memorize every single paradigm. Mounce's approach (note that the forms in Koine do not vary much from Classical) is much easier than the previous, since he gives many rules that make learning the paradigms much easier.

As I moved on and reflected back, I do give a word of caution. Unlike a year of Classical Greek, Mounce's approach is slightly lighter and the first year student (at least after Mounce's book) is not adequately prepared to tackle the Greek text. Everything is limited after the first year, so once one is done with this book, please, I urge you, continue. Remember the goal is to learn to read God's word!!!

For the most part, this is a fantastic resource! I have noticed that there are some words that link to nonexistent words, though, which adds a bit of frustration if this is the only dictionary you have. While I cannot remember all the times (not a ton, but probably two or three) that it has said, "see .....", I've went to see ..... and ..... wasn't in the dictionary, I was smart enough to jot down one note in the front of the dictionary: "Compassion, on pg 124, references Mark 1:31, but should be Mark 1:41."

That's a minor issue, and I haven't read the entire dictionary so that could very well be the only scriptural mess-up. If I find those places where a word is referenced but not actually listed, I'll post those as well.

Again, excellent book overall, but the few errors in it stand out and can be annoying sometimes.

Excellent book. It almost takes the difficulty out of learning the language, while simultaneously reminding you of the purpose for learning Greek, and keeping it fun too. I heartily recommend this to anyone desiring to learn Greek.

My class on Biblical Greek used this book as out main text. The book was fine as far as a text but the class never elaborated so I didn't get much out of it. I'll make a second attempt on trying it on my own when i have more time. I reccomend using the workbook with it and taking your time, going back to the basics when you need to.

Fantastic, also ordered the set of flash cards for vocabulary.
Am staring chapter 18, comes wih a disk which I use the FLASHWORKS a couple times a day.

While nothing beats actually taking a full 2-3 year NT Greek class, this book comes close. While the are so many things that are missing, it does enable the student glean very useful knowledge of "the Greek behind the English". If you do not have time to take at least 2 years of Greek, this is the way to go.

The Answer to One of My Oldest Dreams
Ever since I was in high school, I have harbored a desire to learn ancient Greek.

Since my rapid fire synapses that ease the learning of a foreign language have long since stopped firing, I had pretty relegated this desire to the unfulfilled list. That is, until I discovered this book. William Mounce, with this book, places a rudimentary mastery of Greek within my reach.

The book is an incredible resource. Let me caution, finishing the course will not make me a Greek master. Rather, Mounce teaches enough Greek to enhance Bible study.

The book is more, however. The author provides several chapters showing how a novice can apply his or her limited knowledge of a little Greek.

• "What are Translations?" is an insightful look into a bible translators mind.
• "Phrasing - An Introduction to our Bible Study Method" / "Fine-tuning Phrasing." These two chapters are worth what you are asked to pay for this book.
• “What Are Word Studies?" An excellent explanation of how to perform a word study.
• "How to Read a Commentary." The author explains the differences in commentaries; what do and do not do.

Gratefully, the grammar portion of the book is short and manageable. This makes it ideal for the type of self-study I am attempting. Another study aid is the CD-ROM, which comes with the book. Each week’s lesson is reinforced by a lecture, complete with slides, delivered by William Mounce to a group of lay-people attempting to do what I have undertaken.

If you have a desire to learn Greek, but do not have the time or the fortitude to undertake an academic approach to language, this is the book for you. Who knows, I might even tackle Hebrew appendix contained in this book.

Replaces Vine's as the exegetical standard dictionary. Vine's is still valuable though rather dated, but Mounce's is better.

An excellent book, a classic. This book, along with the accompanying CD make the study of koine greek downright easy.

I just got this for Christmas. I've taken a couple of semesters of classical greek and I'm hoping that this book will help me make the switch to koine. I've just finished the first two chapters and I think that the focus of the book is great, it is set up for those hoping to use greek in understanding the bible and teaching it.

Workbook to go with Mounce's grammar; good stuff for practice. Answers available online to check your work.

Good basic approach to learning Biblical Greek.

grammar plus CD-Rom

You don't have to be a Greek student to understand biblical Greek. If you'd love to learn Greek so you can study your Bible better, but you can't spare two years for college or seminary courses, then Greek for the Rest of Us is for you. Developed by renowned Greek teacher William Mounce, this revolutionary crash-course on 'baby Greek' will acquaint you with the essentials of the language and deepen your understanding of God's Word. You'll gain a sound knowledge of basic Greek, and you'll learn how to use tools that will add muscle to your Bible studies. In six sections, Greek for the Rest of Us will help you: * Recite the Greek alphabet * Read and pronounce Greek words * Learn the Greek noun and verbal system * Conduct Greek word studies * Decipher why translations are different * Read better commentaries Greek for the Rest of Us broadens your knowledge still further with an appendix on biblical Hebrew.