Label your room with Koine Greek

I find this quite interesting to do. This enhances my memory of these words, and even reminds me of the circumstances where they are used in the Bible! I feel more conscious of the Holy Word in my daily life. You'll certainly be more creative in labeling your things with Greek words of the world of Jesus and His first apostles.

Body part words in Greek--Exercise

Now try and see whether you've remember the words!

Body parts in Koine Greek

These are all words found in the New Testament. They are arranged around a picture of an advertisement model of an airline.
Can you recall where in the NT are foreheads, arms, cheeks etc. mentioned?

清新自然的學習

為甚麼我喜歡看教小朋友學新約希臘文的書呢？因為清新自然得多。教大人的書怎樣不自然？比如每個生詞後都用括號告訴你，那個詞在新約聖經出現了多少次。

Poetry in the Greek New Testament

"Man cannot live without a song"--I read a sentence somewhat like this in Our Father Abraham by Marvin Wilson, but now I'm too lazy to find the exact quote and the page number. Anyway, recently I feel deeply that a person really cannot live without songs. Singing is different from speaking. We need songs. In seeking to immerse myself in NT Greek / Koine Greek, I really need songs--songs of praise and prayers. The NT contains no book of psalms. So I start excerpting and learning the Psalms quotations in the NT, together with other verses written in the genre of poetry, such as quotations of the OT prophets. Exclamations, crying out to the Lord, expressing wonder and amazement, pouring out one's heart to the Lord with words of biblical songs, singing--is essential. Life is not prosaic.

Unfortunately I am not good at composing tunes. So for the time being I read them aloud as poems with feeling. I hope that someone can turn these NT Greek poetic lines into songs with tunes. If you have done so, please tell me! Actually I'd like to try to make music with these words, but I do not have a guitar or a piano here when I'm sojourning in another city!

1. What is Man

Heb 2:6-8=Psa 8:4-6

τί ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ὅτι μιμνῄσκῃ αὐτοῦ, [ind. pres. mid.]

ἢ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ὅτι ἐπισκέπτῃ αὐτόν;

Please correct me if you know Koine Greek!

Please correct me if you know Koine Greek!

The following is written in Koine Greek--well, at least I'm trying to write in Koine Greek.
I know that the only way to make the words and grammar rules really stay in my head is to use the words and the rules. So I'm trying to write something. No one has checked what I’ve written so I do not know how many errors I have made.

I'm trying to write something with vocabularies from 1 Timothy chapter 3.

Ὀρεγομαι μαθειν την διαλεκτον της Καινης Διαθηκης. Ὀρεγομαι ἀναγνωσκειν την Καινην Διαθηκην καλως.

Some study aids which I recently came across

Sing and Learn New Testament Greek (CD)

Mainly this CD puts noun endings and verb endings etc. into familiar tunes. Frequently the lyrics are not make up of words, but of endings. Well this kind of songs is not to my taste. It sounds so meaningless and awkward. I don't think I can memorize the endings like that. I prefer the endings to be rehearsed together with real words in memorable and meaningful (and fun) contexts.

Song School Greek, by Michelle Hahne

(Children's book with CD which has songs)
This is pretty cool.

Label your stuff with NT Greek

Here are ten Koine Greek words for objects in your house or apartment, such as "pen" and "key." All are from the New Testament. Do you remember where do these items appear?
I've just written labels of these things and stuck them on the objects in my room. I think it is a fun way to familiarize oneself with NT Greek words.

e.g.

1	lightning (electricity)	ἀστραπη	f
2	towel	λεντιον	n

Wish for some Koine Greek songs for worship and prayerful singing

I've learnt Biblical Hebrew and in recent years have reaped great benefit by singing Hebrew songs. Compared to my earlier stage of learning Hebrew without singing, the contrast is great. Song is a great help to memorize conjugations, prepositions, and vocabularies. Moreover, those songs can be sung sincerely as worship to God, or as an expression of joy, prayers or supplication. Thus this language grows less and less "foreign," because it becomes more and more one of my "heart-languages."

For Biblical Hebrew, there are hundreds if not a thousand such songs with words from the Bible. I guess it's because Hebrew is alive and the Jewish people have been worshipping God with songs for centuries, until now, and will continue to do so. Naturally, Biblical Hebrew worship songs abound and I have good hope that in the future I can enjoy listening to and singing new Hebrew worship songs too.

I hope to find such songs for Koine Greek, but so far not very successful. The ones I've found usually has one of the following properties:
- dry, without emotion, obviously only intended to be a learning tool
- without instrumental music to accompany it
- quite long and complicated, like a whole hymn sung in a grand cathedral, rather than a simple song which one can hum while doing household chores
- sung by one person only, the teacher himself
- like chants which are from very old traditions which I cannot easily sing it as my own heart's voice
- in Modern Greek, whose system of pronunciation is different
- translation of an existing English worship song, so there's copyright limitation. One cannot sing it with a guitar and record it and put it on the web.

So I wish someone will produce Koine Greek songs for worship and prayerful singing.

Perhaps those good songs by teachers like Steve C. Singleton can be sung by a group together with guitar or piano accompaniment, possibly sung in parts to make it sound nice. Then it can be put on YouTube, so people can listen to it on and on without the English explanation intervening.

Perhaps a group of students can create such a song together, and then sing it with guitar playing, and record it and share it on YouTube. If there are several student groups doing this, all students learning Koine Greek--not least seminary students who are to love the Greek NT-- in the world can benefit.

I've drafted two Koine Greek songs with such thoughts in mind. One sings that "the Lord is my helper, I shall not fear. What can man do to me?" One sings that "in yet a little time, the Coming One will come and will not tarry, but my righteous people will live by faithfulness." Both are taken from the Book of Hebrews.

Start from the shortest chapters

Previously I decided to start from the Gospel according to Mark.

Now I've changed my mind, and rather start from the shortest chapters in the New Testaments. I study them word for word, and then load it onto my MP3 to listen to them often. This way I can utilize the little time squeezed out from my daily work and maximize the number of chapters which I can listen with understanding.

Here is a table of the number of verses of all the chapters of the New Testament.

A series of YouTube Koine Greek songs

A friend told me this. It's great for learning. Try to sing these songs together with friends, in parts, with a guitar or piano, record it, and listen to it over and over.

Ἐκ πιστεως ζησεται

Ἐκ πιστεως ζησεται

The above is the link to a downloadable mp3 file.

Hebrews 10:37-38, Habakkuk 2:3-4

ἔτι γὰρ μικρὸν ὅσον ὅσον,

ἔτι γὰρ μικρὸν ὅσον ὅσον,

Talk to God in NT Greek

[This is an update of my earlier post. I've re-ordered the prayers so that they form a more reasonable sequence.]

In a blog article Do you need to speak Greek in order to read it?, a scholar reminds us that it is good or even necessary to speak NT Greek, if one wants to read the New Testament in its original language really fluently.

With whom can I speak? I am doing revision at home, I am not in a university or seminary or study group setting (although I long for one). I think I can talk to God. God understands NT Greek, for sure.

What is one way to pray to our Father in Heaven using the language in which the words of His Son and His Son's apostles were formally written down? (I admit that my intention is for language fluency. I do not believe at all that the original language contains special mysterious power.)

A tune draft: Κυριος ἐμοι βοηθος

Link to the wav file: kurios emoi boeithos

In an ealier phase, I learnt Biblical Hebrew without using songs. In recent years, my learning has been renewed with a large dose of songs. The difference in the effect on memory, grasp of vocabulary, and reading fluency is huge! Plus, it is such a joy to sing to the Lord! And often together with brothers and sisters!

This learning effect has been demonstrated in me in my learning of one European language, although I cannot find anyone to sing praise song in that language with me, because I do not have time to find a fellow learner. Few people learn that language.

That's why now I make a point to find and sing a lot of New Testament Greek songs. Since not many has been found yet, I resort to composing simple tunes to worshipful words in the NT.

I absolutely do not intend such a poor quality thing to be a real song, rather it's just a draft of a shape of a tune to hold words for memory. I put up a recording just because I'm too lazy to write or type musical notations.

Please excuse me for the poor tune, rough singing, low-quality guitar playing and recording. I do not have enough time or technology or patience to make nice recordings. I'll be glad if someone takes it and improves it. It can also be downloaded. I do not reserve its copy right. But please just tell me, because I hope to listen to your improved version!

Text from: Hebrews 13:6 and Psalms 118:6, Hebrews 13:5

Lyrics:

Sing songs in New Testament Greek

If the language you're practicing is Biblical Hebrew, you have hundreds of ῳδας  to sing, easily located on You-Tube. But for NT Greek, I have failed until now to find ῳδας easily. But then I've only started a week or so! So, your suggestions will be most welcomed.

Here are links to the few I've found.

My 2013 notebook with Greek names of feasts

One can practise using the Greek names of Biblical feasts by writing them down in one's 2013 notebook. Jews have told us when will those days fall. Then we can remeber the meaning of those feasts on those days, and appreciate the yearly cycle which God has designed for His people.

Jewish Holiday Calendar 2013 Jan to Aug

Jewish Holiday Calendar 2013-14

Please note that the days begin at sunset of the stated date. According to Biblical culture, a day starts at sunset.

Start from Mark's Gospel

I have revised the elementary grammar of NT Greek. Now I listen to text recordings of all New Testament chapters whenever I do household chores. At night I read the text and refresh my memory of the grammar points.

I read only slowly. From which book should I start?

Perhaps it is good to start from Κατα Μαρκον. It is because, I will hear many similar sentences in Κατα Μαθθαιον και Κατα Λουκαν. Therefore, if I am familiar with words and sentences from Mark, I may be able to understand from hearing some words and sentences in Matthew and Luke.

Using NT Greek in daily activities

χαιρε! (Greetings!)

In the coming four to five months, I would strive to integrate New Testament Greek revision with my daily life. I will use this blog to share what one can do in this regard, the useful links which I shall find online, etc. If you're also revising NT Greek, you're welcomed to join the conversation with some NT Greek.

How can one utilize daily life elements for NT Greek revision and learning?