Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:
* They are officially published under that name * They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author * They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
The lexicon in the back is compact and handy for quick-reference (but not suited to deep exegesis). The critical notes are unobtrusive but handy and the font quite readable. If you want longer critical notes (e.g. more manuscript citations, more variations noted), get the "blue" Nestle-Aland rather than the "red" UBS4. The blue one doesn't have the lexicon, and is more aimed at academics, whereas the red is aimed at students and educated lay persons who want a good Greek NT. The blue one has a new edition (28th is the most recent) that hasn't appeared in a "red" version like this, but the primary differences are in the Catholic epistles (James, I & II Peter, I-III John, etc.) and should only be relevant to those engaged in fairly deep or complex studies of the documents. That is to say, this is still a fine edition. I really like this Bible, and reading it in the Greek is a fantastic way to force oneself to really read the darn thing slowly and with attentiveness; the radical and really immediate sense of the text pops when read in the original language, whereas our comfort with the various English translations can sometimes numb us to what is being said. That isn't a comment on the English translations themselves, but rather that familiarity can cause us to "rush" over lines that, when chewed on, have a lot more to offer than we might otherwise think.
Nestl茅 Aland 28th is my go to for scholarly work when I am doing textual criticism or exegesis, but this is simply a brilliant tool for students and those just coming out of seminary, etc. It is lightweight, clean text, and is not burdened down by large textual footnotes. I just completed my M.Div this summer, and have worked this into my morning study. Viz, translating about a half chapter to a chapter a day, with the goal of translating through the entire new testament in a year. Where the text differs from UBS4 there are footnotes, but these are minimal and are not cumbersome. The repetition this builds is fantastic, as you begin learning those words that occur under 30 word occurrences. This is bound in nice leather, and has a nice bookmarker ribbon as well. The third edition of the Reader's Greek NT comes out this winter, something definitely worth picking up. Cannot recommend this more highly.
The volume of New Testament Greek resources available for the beginning to mid-level student have expanded greatly during the past few years. Among them was the 1st edition of A Reader鈥檚 Greek New Testament, published by Zondervan in April 2004. The updated 2nd edition of A Reader鈥檚 Greek New Testament was more recently published by Zondervan in November 2007. If you have any familiarity with the 1st edition, you may have had the same initial thought I did about this updated edition....what a pretty box. This is a change from the 1st edition, which was shrink-wrapped in plastic with a cardboard sleeve. The 2nd edition is packaged in a very attractive, presentation quality box. The new packaging has an elegant look and feel that will make it stand out when presented as a gift. Upon tuning the box over, you鈥檒l notice a list of important updates to this edition. They are as follows:
鈥� New Greek font 鈥� easier to read 鈥� Footnoted definitions of all Greek words occurring 30 times or less 鈥� Mini-lexicon of all words occurring more than 30 times 鈥� Greek text underlying Today鈥檚 New International Version 鈥� Footnotes offering comparisons with UBS4 鈥� 4 pages of full-color maps 鈥� Marker ribbon
Now that we鈥檝e fully examined the box, it鈥檚 time to take a look at what鈥檚 inside. A Reader鈥檚 Greek New Testament, 2nd edition measures 10 inches by 7 inches, making it slightly larger than some of the more compact editions of the Greek New Testament many of us have in our libraries. The binding is Italian Duo-Tone, which gives it the look and feel of burgundy colored leather. There is gold embossed lettering on the front cover and spine. The pages are gilded with gold as well. All things considered, there鈥檚 a fine looking Greek New Testament in that fine looking box.
When you finally crack open A Reader鈥檚 Greek New Testament, 2nd Edition, you鈥檒l find its contents laid out in the following order:
鈥� Introduction (P. 7-18) 鈥� Books of the Greek New Testament in canonical order (P. 20-568) 鈥� Lexicon (P.569-574) 鈥� Maps
As a rule of thumb, I spend a bit of time reviewing the introductory material before I use a Greek or Hebrew resource of this type. The introduction is where you鈥檒l find valuable information to help you maximize your results from the material at hand. Here are some of the important things you鈥檒l learn in the introduction:
鈥� RGNT2 can help the student to learn vocabulary inductively 鈥� The patterns and abbreviations used in the word definitions 鈥� The textual apparatus employed in this edition
Readers should most definitely consult the section of the introduction under the heading, The Text. (P. 9-10) In several paragraphs, it is explained how and why the Greek text in A Reader鈥檚 Greek New Testament, 2nd Edition is an eclectic text that differs from the standard Greek text found in NA27 or UBS4. Following the introduction, the reader will encounter the actual Greek New Testament. The books are laid out in canonical order. About 陆 to 3/4 of each page is the actual New Testament Greek text. The other one 录 to 陆 consists mostly of the footnoted definitions of words occurring 30 times or less. When there are possible variant readings in the Greek text, the variation from the UBS text is noted and/or the variant cited in the NIV is given. After the close of Revelation, you鈥檒l find a mini-lexicon of words occurring more than 30 times in the Greek New Testament. Just before the back cover, you鈥檒l find maps of the following:
鈥� Holy Land in the Time of Jesus 鈥� Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus 鈥� Apostles鈥� Early Travels 鈥� Paul鈥檚 Missionary Journeys
As somebody who enjoys and appreciates the study of New Testament Greek, I am very excited about this updated edition of A Reader鈥檚 Greek New Testament. It will be a good fit for those who are new to the study of New Testament Greek and those whose Greek has gotten a little rusty. Students and scholars pursuing more advanced studies will still have need of an edition containing a more extensive critical apparatus (UBS4 or NA27). If you are somebody who has struggled to learn new languages with memorization and flashcards, the possibility of inductive learning should especially be appealing. In a publishing space that has often had very expensive resources, this new edition of A Reader鈥檚 Greek New Testament comes at a bargain of a price. Many thanks to Zondervan for making this entry point into to the study of New Testament Greek more accessible and more affordable!
Richard J. Goodrich (PhD in ancient history, University of St. Andrews) is research fellow in the department of classics and ancient history, University of Bristol, England.
Albert Lukaszewski (PhD, New Testament, University of Saint Andrews) is general editor of the Lexham Syntactic Greek New Testament project and author of the forthcoming Grammar of Qumran Aramaic. He lives with his family on the east coast of Scotland
I found this edition really helpful for my first read-through of the New Testament in Greek after I finished my studies. The footnoting of words that occur fewer than thirty times means that the reader can read the text without the need to refer continually to a lexicon. I still use my reader's Edition for reading and find that having the vocabulary available to me enables me to focus on parsing and concentrating on the meaning of the text. A very useful asset for anyone wanting to retain their Koine Greek after putting in all that effort, and wanting to benefit from reading the text in the original language.
This is exactly what it says it is. The New Testament in Greek, which of course was one of earliest languages it was written in. I received this when I was attempting to learn Greek at the University of Toronto (I wasn't successful). My rating is based upon the English-language versions of the New Testament I have read, given that the subject matter is the same and I am presuming what is written in both versions to be relatively the same.
If you are a beginning Greek reader and at all interested in the history of early Christianity, definitely read the New Testament in Greek. This edition has a glossary, which makes it super convenient (no matter how little your Liddell).
Anyway, the Gospel of John is an easy Greek read that gives you the flavor of early Christian thought.
Does not list all variations of text, but does well enough. Dictionary section would be more helpful if extended - more words, more forms of nouns and verbs, and more definitions, especially when meanings current at the time the New Testament was originally written were given priority over traditionally accepted Christian meanings.
It took me 3 years but I finally got through it! I read the Logos edition with interlinear help when needed for words occurring less than 50 times. The specific edition was "Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament, 27th Edition with GRAMCORD(鈩�) Greek New Testament Alpha Morphological Database and McReynolds English Interlinear".
Reviewing or rating the GNT seems somewhat impertinent. I have been reading/rereading parts of the GNT since graduate school over three decades ago (3rd ed then, 4th now because I haven't got around to buying the 5th), so it may live in currently reading on a quasi-permanent basis.
The Gospels are the main course. Mark's Greek is terse and abrupt, the syntax somewhat jagged. Everyone is constantly afraid and the genuine ending at 16.8 峒愊單课参酷喀谓蟿慰 纬维蟻 characterizes it well. It has the ring of authenticity in a way that Luke's novelization doesn't. Although John remains my favorite.
There is a lot (too much) of Paul. He has his moments, but often leaves you wondering what the bishops at Nicaea were thinking when they put it in the canon.
I don't, of course, rate the scriptures; the scriptures rate me.
When I started earnestly trying to read the Greek New Testament, I had been studying Greek for over five years. It took me nine months, reading at the rate of about a chapter a day. These days, I rarely read it in English, I get so absorbed in Paul's passionate rhetoric, John's simple challenges, and all the other writings, high-level, low-level, or anything in between. I get more out of it every time, and have never looked back.
Three years ago, I began learning my first ancient language, Koine Greek鈥攖he universal form of Greek utilised during the Hellenistic, Roman, Christian and early Byzantine periods (300BC - AD600). A year later, I started translating New Testament passages daily, alongside my theological studies, to increasingly familiarise my understanding of the language and early Christian literature. Today, I translated the final chapter of Acts, which means that my 7940 verse project has finally ended. It feels tremendous not just to have completed this extremely influential and multifaceted corpus but to have translated a substantial text from an ancient foreign language into English. In future, I plan to dive into some Greek and Roman texts, to refresh my Hebrew and to learn Latin.
The UBS 5 edition and the NA28 Accordance edition made translation a lot easier to handle. The introduction to UBS 5 includes the formatting of the main text, textual variances and notes. In addition, the book includes a detailed list of cross-referencing and a helpful lexicon.
Other than a better understanding of Christian history, I can't say I got much philosophical value from reading this.
Simply repeating a message many times does not grant it the virtue of validity. There are many contradictions in the nature and goodness of Christ. On the one hand he is supposed to suffer for all humans and grant them forgiveness through his suffering and eternal kindness and love. On the other hand, God, Christ and the angels are discribed as the punishers that will usher the Apocalypse.
The whole story just feels pre-structured to fit descriptions in the Old Testament scriptures about the Messaih in order to be able to say, "hey look, the old testament prophecies have been achieved in Jesus Christ, so forget the old faith and follow us now".
This all just sums up to weak storytelling seemingly aimed at getting the masses to financially support and blindly follow the teachers of this supposedly "only true" faith.