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NT 011a New Testament Greek

Summer 2015Westminster Theological Seminary


Van Till Rm. 4Mon., Wed., & Fri 8:30-12:30
Instructor: Brandon Szerlip
E-mail: bszerlip@student.wts.edu
Phone: (740) 507-7497
Office: L8 (on ground level of library near moveable book stacks)
Degree Program Learning Goals for M.Div and M.A.R. Students:
Exhibit a deep love for the triune God, his word, his truth and his church and a
Christ-like humility in relation to others.
Be able to exegete the text of scripture as given in the original languages.
Be able to understand and articulate the system of doctrine contained in the
Westminster Standards and its importance for biblical, systematic, and practical
theology, and integrate this system of doctrine into life and ministry.
Be able to understand the particularity of cultural context and apply God's eternal
word to a changing world and to particular individuals and congregations.
Understand the biblical principles of leadership and demonstrate potential for
becoming a future leader in the church.
Instructor's Note: The biblical languages (and the ability to perform responsible
exegesis) are foundational for most if not all other classes at Westminster for the
M.Div. and M.A.R. degrees. As such, Greek ultimately contributes to all of the above
degree learning goals. However, learning Greek is particularly applicable to goals 1,
2, and 4. By faith, being able to exegete scripture in its original language with depth
and precision (goal 2) leads to a more profound knowledge of God's word and
person which should, by faith, engender a deep love for the Triune God (goal 1).
Furthermore, since language is always bound up with culture, learning Greek will
also help the student understand the original cultural context in which God's word
has been given and in turn bridge that context for congregations and individuals
(goal 4).
Course Purpose:
To prepare students for further work in the New Testament by giving them a reading
knowledge of Koine Greek.
By the end of the course the student should:
Have competency in Greek grammar, syntax, and vocabulary, as covered in Machen
chapters 1-20 and the Supplementary Vocabulary List.
By the end of 2nd and 3rd Semester Greek the student should:
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Have greater skill in exegeting portions of the New Testament in Greek (by the end
of the third semester)
Know all the words that occur at least 1 Ox in the Greek New Testament (by the end
of the third semester)
Be equipped to utilize the skills of discourse analysishow to trace an author's flow
of thought in a passage (Discourse Analysis will be taught in the third semester
Required Materials:
1. J. Gresham Machen and Dan G. McCartney, New Testament Greek for Beginners (2d
ed., rev. by Dan G. McCartney; Upper Saddle River, NJ.: Pearson, 2004).
2. Bruce Metzger, Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek (3d ed.; Grand
Rapids: Baker Books, 1999)
Recommended Materials: (Most of these available in Reserve at the library)
1. Clayton Croy, A Primer of Biblical Greek (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999)
2. William Mounce, The Basics of Biblical Greek (3 rd ed; Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2003)
3. ___________, The Basics of Biblical Greek Workbook (3 rd ed; Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2009).
4. Vis-Ed, Blank Vocabulary Cards (1000 count). Springfield, OH: Visual Education
Association, 2003.
5. Nestle-Aland, Novum Testamentum Graece (27th or 28th ed.).
6. Samuel Lamerson, English Grammar to Ace New Testament Greek (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2004).
Grading Rubric
Vocabulary Quizzes: These short quizzes will test vocabulary only and will be given
at in class at the beginning of each class which has a V under Additional items in the
course schedule.
Quizzes: There is no term paper or Mid-Term for NT 011a but there are regular
quizzes which cover grammar and vocabulary of several chapters of Machen at a time
and will be given in take home format. These quizzes may test/include the following
elements: vocabulary, writing out new paradigms (noun, adjective, pronoun, verbs
etc.), very simple questions relating to new grammar, translation, and parsing.
Homework Notebook: A homework notebook is due at the end of the semester. See
course guideline 5 for details on the format and expectations of the homework
notebook.
Final Exams. Major translation exams will be weighted as follows: verbs are worth 3
points, nouns and adjectives are worth 2 points, all other words worth 1 point. Each
part of the parsing is worth 1 point. Partial credit will be given as much as possible.
Additionally, students will be responsible for reproducing lexical forms along with
their parsings.

Course Grading Percentages:


Vocabulary Quizzes
Quizzes
Homework/Participation
Final Exam
Grading Scale:
100-95

10%
40%
10%
40%

79-77

94-92

A-

76-74

C-

91-89

B+

73-71

D+

88-86

70-69

85-83

B-

68-65

D-

82-80

C+

Below 65

Important Note Regarding the Final Exam:


To pass this course, you MUST PASS THE FINAL EXAM. Even in your overall average is
a 65 or above, you will not pass the course unless you pass the final exam. Thus, for
example, if you make a 60 on the final exam, but your overall average is an 80, you will
NOT pass the course. Therefore, to pass the course you must have 1) an overall passing
grade for the course, AND 2) you must pass the final exam.
Tentative Course Schedule
*Note: homework due for chs. 1-3 will be assigned in class by the instructor. At chapter 4, "M",
under assignments always assumes the student has read the chapter in advance. The homework is
always, all odd numbers from exercise "A" in Machen and is to be completed as defined by
Course Guideline number 5.
Assignment(s) and
Session/Date/Subject
Additional Items
Reading Due
7/22-Alphabet & Accent
M1-2
7/24--PAI Verbs & 2nd Declension

M3-4

V 3-4; Quiz 1:M1-4

7/27-- 1st Declen.. & Adjectives

M5-6

V5-6

7/29--1st Declen. Mas. Nouns & Pronouns

M7-8

V7-8

7/31-- PMI & PPI Verbs; Adverbs

M9-10

Quiz 2:M5-10 (V9-10)

8/3--IAI, IMI, & IPI Verbs

M11-12

V11-12

8/5-- FAI & FMI Verbs

M13

V13

8/7--1AAI & 1AMI Verbs

M14

Quiz 3:M11-14 (V14)

8/10--2AAI & 2AMI Verbs

M15

V15

8/12-- API & FPI Verbs

M16

V16

8/14--3rd Declen. Nouns & Adj.

M17, M25

Quiz 4:M15-17& 25
(V17& 25)

8/17-- Present Participles

M18a

V18a

8/19-- Present Participles (Cont.)

M18b

V18B

8/21--Aorist Participles

M19-20

V19-20

8/25 Final Exam

Final Exam

Final Exam

Course Guidelines
1. Grammatical concepts build on one another so it is crucial to grasp each concept as
it is presented and practiced. These concepts build quickly, so you should expect to work
daily on the subject material. As the old saying goes, "you get out of it what you put
into it."
2. Therefore, class attendance, preparation, and participation are all essential for
learning Greek. Unexcused absences will affect your grade. Excessive unexcused tardiness
will affect your grade. Any absences or tardiness due to an emergency, illness, or like
matters in the estimation of the instructor are permitted, provided the instructor is
notified in a timely manner, preferably, before that day's class.
3. Quizzes/Chapter tests will be take-home format, distributed in person by the
instructor to each student at the end of Thursdays class, and will be due no later
than the beginning of class the following Monday handed in either in class or in the
instructors faculty box in the Andreas Center. Note Quizzes/Chapter tests will not
be handed out or emailed to students who are absent on the day the quiz/test is
handed out. If the absence is unexcused in the estimation of the instructor, a
student who misses class on the day of a quiz or test is handed out will receive a 0
for that quiz/test.
4. During class, students should expect a high degree of interaction with the instructor.
Students are expected to be able to translate, parse/decline, etc., without the immediate
aid of their written translation assignments. While students may consult their notes in
the case of a jam, students will be expected to be able to translate primarily by sight.
5. Each student will prepare their homework/notes as Grammatical Digests for each class
period as a semester-long project. The completed project will be due to the professor at
the time of the Final Exam for a grade. These grammatical Digests should consist of the
following: 1) a sentence flow for each Greek exercise assigned, either neatly written or
typed out. 2) a translation for each exercise assigned, and 3) parsing and declining for
Verbs, Nouns, Adjectives, Pronouns, etc. Your participation grade will be greatly
affected by the quality of this project.
a. Note: The largest factor in the grading of this assignment will be completion. If
you are missing assignments or only partially complete assignments, your grade
will suffer. Assuming that there are 20 chapter assignments, each assignment will
be worth 5 percentage points. If the assignment is not completely finished, you
will only get half credit. If the assignment is less than 50% complete, you get no
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credit for that chapter. While I will not count off for "wrong" answers, an honest
effort to practice and improve your translation, sentence flow, and parsing skills
must be evident. Notes and corrections to your own work are encouraged but
should be made in a different color pen so I know what work is original to you.
Also, neatness counts! If a notebook is unorganized or very difficult to read your
grade will be negatively affected. If you have particularly bad hand-writing,
consider typing your homework. Quality of in-class participation (see guideline
number 4) and unexcused absences and tardiness (see guideline number 2) will
make up 5% of your participation grade and the notebook will make up the
remaining 15%. SEE APPENDIX 2 FOR MORE INFORMATION AND A
SAMPLE OF THE ASSIGNMENT.
6. Supplements providing answers to assigned homework MAY NOT be used in any way
prior to the evaluation/review of the subject material in class. The instructor will be able to
tell when and if students are doing their own work.
7. While teaming up with other students to review homework and/or study for quizzes and
exams is encouraged, students may not significantly work together to complete
homework. You will not benefit from letting someone else do your work.
8. Exams, and to a very minor extent, quizzes are cumulative given the nature of learning a
language. Do not try and learn it all the night before the exam.
9. At the end of each quiz, exam, and on the homework project, students will be required
to sign the following pledge:
a. "I pledge on my honor that I have neither given nor received any assistance
verbal, written, or electronicon this examination beyond that specifically
permitted by the instructor in charge." Westminster Honor Code
10. While the course schedule provided above, it is tentative. The instructor retains the right
to modify it as he sees fit. However, any changes will be minor in nature.

Appendix 1: Supplemental Vocabulary Words & Schedule (revised 2013-2014)


(numbers in parentheses are total words learned for each lesson)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.

(8)
(12)
(16)
(16)
(21)
(17)
(17)
(17)
(17)
(17)
(17)

(17)
(14)
(17)

(16)
(17)
(15)

(17)

(17)
(17)
(19)
(17)

(17)
(21)
(20)
(17)
(17)

(23)
(17)
(21)
(17) /
(19)

Appendix 2:
Grammatical Digest Project
Grading Rubric for Digest Project Grade

(A) Digest includes for every exercise assigned:


1) A finished English translation,
2) A finished sentence flow, and
3) Full parsing for every noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, and participle.
(B) Digest includes for every exercise assigned:
1) A finished English translation,
2) A finished sentence flow, and
3) Full parsing for at lest every noun, verb, and participle.
(C) Digest includes for every exercise assigned:
1) A finished English translation,
2) A finished sentence flow, and
3) Full parsing for at lest every verb and participle.
(D) Digest includes for every exercise assigned:
1) A finished English translation, and
2) Full parsing for at least every verb and participle.
(F) Digest includes for every exercise assigned:
1) A finished English translation.
3.

Sample Grammatical Digest Entry


Machen 20.A.
F:

When he was cast out of the synagogue, the rulers gathered together.

APPGSM from
GSM from
GSF from
API3p from
NPM from

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