Beyond the Greek New Testament - by Max Botner (Paperback)

About the Book

An expert in Greek teaches students to read beyond the New Testament, showing both how to do it and why it matters.

Book Synopsis

Many New Testament Greek students have laid the groundwork necessary to read other ancient Greek texts, and yet they shy away from it. In this book, an expert in Greek teaches those students to read beyond the New Testament, showing both how to do it and why it matters.

This helpful Greek language resource equips students to read and enjoy the vast corpus of ancient Greek literature. It covers a variety of relevant texts from the Septuagint and the Apostolic Fathers to Homer and Ignatius, making it a perfect supplemental text for courses on Greek or New Testament backgrounds. The book also considers the specific challenges students face when they seek to read complex Hellenistic and classical texts. Each reading includes a brief introduction to the text, suggested readings, and extensive footnotes that provide key points of grammar, vocabulary help, and cross-references to major Greek grammars.

Students will acquire a greater capacity to read larger portions of Greek text and the confidence that no text or author is beyond their reach.

From the Back Cover

This book shows students how to read beyond the New Testament and why it matters. It covers the Septuagint, the Apostolic Fathers, the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Philo, Josephus, and Greek historians and biographers, philosophers and rhetoricians, and poets and playwrights.

"This is the book I wish I'd had when I was teaching Greek to university and seminary students. It beckons the new generation into a kind of intellectual maturity: understanding not only the New Testament but also the world in which it was birthed. A gift that will keep on giving."
--N. T. Wright, former Bishop of Durham; University of St. Andrews (emeritus); Wycliffe Hall, Oxford

"Makes a compelling case that going beyond the Greek New Testament is one of the best ways to gain proficiency and the motivation to continue one's Greek journey well beyond seminary studies. As I read this book, I felt the excitement that I had when I first started reading Greek texts. I wish that this book had been available then! It will certainly be a valuable resource now."
--Dana M. Harris, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

"Anyone who picks up this book will have an exceptional resource for improving their Greek. It should be a standard textbook for any advanced Greek class."
--Elizabeth E. Shively, St. Mary's College, University of St. Andrews

"A phenomenal way to introduce students both to more advanced Greek readings and to significant ancient texts that are outside the Greek New Testament. Serious students will come away with an increased ability to read Greek and with a wealth of insight about the ancient world."
--Joshua W. Jipp, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

"Fills an important niche in Greek studies. Botner eases the way into secular Greek for those previously exposed primarily to New Testament Greek. He skillfully opens up the broader Greek world for an audience that will surely profit from learning about the social and linguistic environment in which the New Testament was composed."
--J. S. Rundin, University of California, Davis

About the Author

Max Botner (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is associate professor of biblical studies at William Jessup University in Rocklin, California. He is the author of Jesus Christ as the Son of David in the Gospel of Mark, which won the Manfred Lautenschläger Award for Theological Promise, and the coeditor of Atonement: Jewish and Christian Origins.