New Testament Greek 1 | Adults

This course is intended to be an introduction for adults to the Greek language, specifically Koine (New Testament Greek, also called Biblical Greek), grammar, and fluency. It is taught in the received pronunciation (modern pronunciation) which is a living language within the Greek Orthodox Church worldwide.

Adult New Testament Greek 1 provides adult students the opportunity to receive a clear, sophisticated, and imaginative introduction to the New Testament Greek language, also known as Koine Greek. Students will cover the fundamentals of New Testament Greek grammar, syntax, and vocabulary, and will read and translate excerpts of the New Testament.

Saint Raphael’s School teaches what is often called “Koine Greek.” It is the dialect of Greek which was spoken throughout the Eastern Mediterranean following the conquests of Alexander the Great in the late 4th century BC, and persisted throughout the Roman and Byzantine periods and eventually evolved into the Modern Greek language which is currently spoken in Greece today. Koine Greek is the dialect of Greek with which the New Testament was written (which is why is Koine Greek is often called “New Testament Greek”).

Along with the New Testament, the various services of The Eastern Church, hymns, prayers, and saints lives were also composed in Koine Greek. At Saint Raphael’s School, Koine Greek is taught using the “Modern” or “Received” pronunciation. This pronunciation is identical to that used by speakers of the Modern Greek language today, and it is also the pronunciation currently used for the liturgies and services of the Orthodox Church of Greece, and most of the Orthodox Churches under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch, including The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOARCH).

Schole Academy teaches both Classical and Koine Greek. Classical Greek is slightly different from and grammatically more complex than Koine Greek. While our course at Saint Raphael’s focuses on equipping Orthodox Christians with the tools to understand the New Testament, the church fathers, and the liturgy, Scholé course exposes students to the Greek of a lengthier period, from Homer (8th century BC) through “The Golden Age of Athens” (5th century BC) and into the Hellenistic/Koine period (including the New Testament and Patristics). Whereas our course uses the modern pronunciation employed in the Orthodox Church, Scholé Academy uses a pronunciation “reconstructed” to approximate that of the time period of 5th century Athens. We hope this description of the two sets of courses helps you decide which is more appropriate for your purposes.

Required Materials:
Books and supplies are not included in the purchase of the course.

_Reading Biblical Greek: A Grammar for Students, Richard J. Gibson, Constantine R. Campbell _
Reading Biblical Greek Workbook: A Translation Guide to Mark 1-4

Optional Materials:

The New Testament: Original Greek (Koine) New Testament (Greek Edition), George Valsamis
A Book-by-Book Guide to New Testament Greek Vocabulary, Christopher Fresch
Illustrated Mark in Greek, Frederick J. Long & T. Michael W. Halcomb, Glossa House
Service of Orthros-An Interlinear Study Guide, Evie Zachariades-Holmberg and Demetrios E. Tonias
- ISBN-13: 9781885652331
Service of Vespers-An Interlinear Study Guide, Evie Zachariades-Holmberg and Demetrios E. Tonias
- ISBN-13: 9781885652324
Frederick William Danker, The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
Biblingo Flashcards (digital resource)
Parse Greek: Greek Quizzing (app)
- Apple
- Google Play

Dustin Finch

[email protected]

Dustin Finch’s love for Greek began in the Fall of 2008 at Williams Baptist College (Walnut Ridge, AR), where he was later honored with the Zondervan Biblical Languages Award for Greek in 2009 and for both Greek and Hebrew in 2010. He graduated with an M.Div from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (Elkhart, IN) and was honored with the Gertrude Roten Excellence in Greek Exegesis award in 2019. Since becoming Orthodox, his love for Greek has only grown as he has read the Greek text of icons, hymns, liturgical services, the Symbol of Faith, lives of the saints, and the Fathers. Moreover, he has been learning to pray in Greek—using the Psalms and the prayers of the Church. He lives in Jonesboro, AR with his wife, Angela, his sons, Owen (14) and Wilkes (10), and his dog, Maggie. He is a member of St. John Orthodox Church in Memphis, TN.

Computer: You will need a stable, reliable computer, running with a processor with a speed of 1 GHz or better on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with Mac OS 10.7 or later; Windows 8, 7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do not recommend using an iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be much better solutions, as they enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer. Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation, which may be used by our teachers for class activities.

High-Speed Internet Connection: You will also need access to high-speed Internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal use of your bandwidth. The faster your Internet, the better. We recommend using a connection with a download/upload speed of 5/1 Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.

Webcam: You may use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer. Webcam Recommendations: Good (PC only) | Best (Mac and PC)

Headset: We recommend using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the level of background noise heard by the entire class. Headset Recommendations: USB | 3.5mm

Zoom: We use a web conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy to use. To download Zoom:

Visit zoom.us/download.
Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
Open and run the installer on your computer.
In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.

Scanner: In this class, students frequently submit homework assignments by scanning pages from their workbooks. Students and/or their parents should have easy access to a scanner and the ability to use it.

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First, read the available course descriptions, noting prerequisites, target grades, and course objectives. If you think your student is prepared for the course, go ahead and register. After registration, a placement assessment may be provided to students, depending on the course and the student’s previous enrollment with Scholé Academy. Registration is finalized when the student’s placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.

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This registration will be finalized when the student's placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.