The Upper Register

Savor the Greek New Testament: The Two Year Plan

As I have been doing every year since 2008, I have posted a new GNT calendar with daily reading assignments for 2012. If you follow this calendar you will be able to read the entire GNT in one year.

GNT One-Year Calendar 2012

However, the feedback I have received from many of you indicates that it is quite challenging to attempt to read the whole Greek New Testament in one year. The reading portions are too big. So this year I have created a new calendar for those who would like to go at a more leisurely pace. If you follow this calendar, you will read Matthew 1 through Acts 9 in 2012, followed by Acts 10 through Revelation in 2013.

GNT Two-Year Calendar, Year One 2012

You will notice that the reading portions are not all of equal length. This is owing to the desire, as far as could be practically achieved, to match the reading portions with the content-based divisions of the text.

I plan to upload Year Two 2013 at a later time.

Also, to assist you in reading, don't forget to check my Greek Syntax Notes:

http://www.upper-register.com/papers.html#GNT

I will personally be doing the slower 2-year pace this year (along with the Vulgate), so anyone who wants to join me, feel free to drop me a note.

Eat Fresh Strawberries in 2011

If you are thinking about reading the Greek New Testament in 2011, see the following links:

The Annual Greek New Testament Program
The Read-Greek Calendar for 2011
Greek Syntax Notes

"The real New Testament is the Greek New Testament. The English is simply a translation of the New Testament, not the actual New Testament ... The freshness of the strawberry cannot be preserved in any extract." -- A. T. Robertson, The Minister and His Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1977), 17.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Read the Greek NT in 2010

I've uploaded a new calendar for those who would like to read the Greek New Testament in 2010. For an introduction to my Annual GNT Reading Program, as well as the Greek Syntax Notes for each book of the New Testament, go here. The program is based on The UBS Greek New Testament: A Reader's Edition which I highly recommend. There is also a cheaper paperback edition.

 

Hermann Cremer's Biblico-theological Lexicon, Pt 2

Let me give you a taste of the insights that can be found in Cremer's Biblico-theological Lexicon of New Testament Greek.

Bebaioo - "to make firm or reliable"

Cremer helpfully points out that in Classical Greek the verb typically takes an impersonal object, e.g., to confirm laws or promises. This usage is known in the NT as well. But in the NT it is also used in a way that is hardly known in Classical usage, namely, with a personal object:

"... our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 1:8 NASB).

"And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ" (2 Cor 1:21 ESV).

"... rooted and built up in him and established in the faith ..." (Col 2:7 ESV).

"... it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them" (Heb 13:9 ESV). 

Cremer writes:

The union of bebaioun with a personal object, hardly known in classical Greek,--certainly not at all in the manner of the N.T.,--is distinctive of the N.T. ... The N.T. bebaioun with personal object does not refer to the character or bearing of the object; it signifies a confirming of the person's state of salvation, preservation in a state of grace ... He confirms us in Christ, so that we become ever more assured and certain of Him ... This combination of bebaioun with a personal object was anticipated by the LXX. Ps xli.13.

Were one confined to Thayer or BDAG, one would not gain this insight about the difference between the Classical and Biblical (LXX + NT) usage of this theologically important verb.

 

Sale on Greek NT Reader's Edition

CBD is offering a 52% discount on The UBS Greek New Testament, A Reader's Edition. This great price ($28.49) is only available on four copies with slight imperfections. They also have a decent price on the non-defective ones ($37.99 as compared to the regular price of $59.95).

I highly recommend this reader's edition of the Greek New Testament. It is definitely superior to the Zondervan version because the font and format are easier on the eyes and because it provides some parsing in addition to contextual glosses of words occurring less than 30 times. You will be tempted by the cheaper price of Zondervan's reader's edition, but don't fall for it. The extra expense, which isn't much if you buy from CBD, is absolutely worth it.

Get the UBS Reader's Edition today and start reading the apostolic witness to Jesus Christ in the inspired original.

Update: See this review for a comparison of the UBS and Zondervan versions, including photos and sample pages.