Philippians: A Greek Student's Intermediate Reader

by Jerry L. Sumney

From Textbook to Text Reading the original text of the New Testament often remains intimidating to the student after a foundational year of Greek. This text will help second-year students bridge the gap from elementary grammars and exercises to the biblical text itself. This skill-boosting resource provides hands-on experience in the use of reference grammars and other tools so that students can increasingly venture forth on their own, translating and exegeting the biblical text in the original language. Presenting the complete Greek text of Philippians, a verse-by-verse translation, and an analysis of every word, including morphology, meaning, and syntax, it includes a useful glossary with definitions of the more common functions various forms perform. Ideal as a textbook in a semester-length study of the text of Philippians by intermediate seminary or college students, it will help them gain confidence in Greek syntax—the ways words are combined and used to express thought—as they work their way through an entire New Testament book.

Genres: Fiction

161 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2007

About the author

Jerry L. Sumney is professor of biblical studies at Lexington Theological Seminary. He is the author of Colossians: A Commentary (2008) and Identifying Paul's Opponents (1990). He is the coeditor of Theology and Ethics in Paul and His Interpreters (1996) and Paul and Pathos (2006).

Reviews

[David Campton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less a commentary, more a handbook to help students read this brief epistle in the original Greek, but it is also helpful when trying to assess other commentators handling of the Greek. As well as the text itself, the appendices with pointers for further study are also useful.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is good at what it's trying to do - break down the Greek of Philippians. So it's kinda helpful as a reference or if you're wanting to brush up your greek grammar.

[Kate Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great dissection of what's going on Philippians, phrase-by-phrase. However, Sumney doesn't tell you what the impact is on meaning -- which means you have to read very slowly and do a lot of independent thinking to get at why it matters (theologically, pastorally) that we make the translation decisions we do.

[Travis Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent pal with whom to tromp through Philippians.