New Testament Greek B

• • Special verbs
  • • Third declension nouns
  • • Participles
  • • The Passive and Voices
  • • The Perfect
  • • The Subjunctive
  • • Using Verbs
  • • Translating increasingly complex text from the New Testament
  • • Being exposed to a variety of paleographic hands to aid development and recognition

You must have successfully completed the following subject(s) before starting this subject:

• ACU-THEL505-New Testament Greek A

Additional requirements

No additional requirements

This unit is designed to further develop the knowledge and skills acquired in THEL505 New Testament Greek A, and to continue to open up the world of biblical texts and theological scholarship which is essential to the study of ancient history and theology. Greek is also the language of the Septuagint and a vast array of literatures of people and cultures surrounding the Mediterranean in the post Hellenistic age. Learning ancient Greek therefore enables students to read foundational texts, access the works of central figures in the historic tradition in the original language, and engage in detailed research and interpretive study in theology and biblical studies.

This unit involves a study of Greek through reading and translating texts from the Greek New Testament. Students are further exposed to increasingly more complicated features of Hellenistic Greek. This builds to the main focus of the unit, which is developing understanding of these topics through translation and interpretive activities.

Each week of semester there will be an opportunity to apply Greek knowledge, even after the first hour of study, to translating and investigating a genuine historical object from the ancient world which will demonstrate the value of learning (and continuing to learn) Greek. The purpose of this approach is to illuminate the way in which the Greek that is being learnt has real-world application to interpretive issues or resolving ambiguities in the New Testament text. It is often the case that English translations of the Greek Bible either obscure the clarity of the Greek text or make explicit elements of translation that are only implicit in the original. The historical objects will include, but are not limited to a) ancient coins, b) epigraphic inscriptions, c) papyri, d) ostraca, e) wax tablets, and even f) ancient maps. Exposure to these artefacts provides experience with real historical data which serves to reinforce the learning of the Biblical language. It will also enthuse the student amid the more difficult weeks of learning paradigms and vocabulary by encouraging application of learning to genuine historical material.

In order to pass this unit, students are required to attempt all assessment tasks and achieve an overall grade of Pass (50% or higher).The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for students to demonstrate their achievement of each learning outcome. The unit’s main focus is on building students’ understanding of grammar and syntax, and their capacities in translation. It thus prepares students for more advanced topics in exegetical tasks and critical analysis. The first assessment task aims to embed and test knowledge of developing grammar and syntax.

• Quizzes on Greek morphology, grammar, and syntax. This assessment enables students to chart and demonstrate knowledge of Greek morphology and basic grammar and syntax. (20%%)
• Translation Forum (Greek to English). This assessment enables students to demonstrate basic ability in translation, and also apply knowledge of basic Greek grammar and syntax. (20%%)
• Composition Forum (English to Greek). This assessment enables students to demonstrate basic ability in translation, and also apply knowledge of basic Greek grammar and syntax. (20%%)
• The final examination consists of a range of translational and grammatical questions. (40%%)