Welcome, Recruits! By the end of this five-part course, you'll have perfected the Greek alphabet, gained the ability to directly read Greek Biblical text, and learned enough high-frequency vocabulary words to encompass more than 15% of all the words in the Greek New Testament!
Sometimes the hardest part of learning a new thing is simply getting started. So in this class we're jumping right into learning Koine (New Testament) Greek from ground zero! We'll start off with learning the letters through a repeatable and memorable alphabet chant, then move from sounds, through the nitty-gritty, and straight into reading and writing! Taught by a linguist and former college Greek lecturer, this course takes more of a natural linguistic approach to the text of the New Testament (NT), relating the "dead" language to the mechanisms and workings of languages widely still in use. Learners will internalize lessons using movement, reading aloud, listening, and tactile skills; providing a multi-faceted exposure to language learning.
Lesson One serves as an introduction to the language, familiarizing learners with the strange new letters and how they should sound. Subsequent lessons provide additional practice a few letters at a time. Printable worksheets will be provided for each letter containing: 1) a high-frequency NT noun starting with that letter, 2) a sample NT verse containing the high-frequency words for reading practice, 3) an optional coloring activity, and 4) lined pages for handwriting practice. Class time will consist of instruction, review, reading, and writing practice. The final lesson includes instruction and orientation on accessing the text of the New Testament online and using the tools found at Biblehub.com (a free online resource).
Lesson One: - The Alphabet Chant - Vowels and their sounds - Diphthongs - Jots and Tittles - Punctuation - Introduction to texts
Lessons Two through Four: Eight letters per lesson - Vocabulary building - Reading practice - Writing practice
Lesson Five: Introduction to the New Testament tools available on BibleHub.com
Letters, sounds, punctuation, jots, tittles, and historical text
The letters Alpha through Theta
The Letters Iota through Pi
The letters Rho through Omega
Learn the features and how to navigate the NT Greek tools available free on Biblehub.com!
Cory says:
While working through Koine Greek, I wanted a cleaner, more reusable way to handle vocabulary—especially for creating and reusing flashcards without being locked into proprietary tools. That led me to build a complete Greek New Testament vocabulary database, which I’ve now made publicly available.
The site linked below provides four downloadable CSV datasets that include:
* all unique Greek word forms in the New Testament, and
* all word occurrences in the Greek New Testament,
organized either by:
* traditional canonical order (Matthew, Mark, Luke, etc.), or
* the reading order recommended in Greek for Life (Pennington).
The files are UTF-8 CSVs, designed to work well with Excel, flashcard apps, or programmatic analysis. Everything is freely available under an open license.
"Heidi plays off of her strengths in this friendly and instructive introduction to New Testament Greek. She has years of experience with online teaching, and she has a thorough knowledge of ancient Greek and surrounding topics and materials.
The course is brief, meant to lead you into a familiarity with the Greek alphabet, followed by frequently used words and a number of tools that will help you make use of that information immediately.
I suggest this course for those who hope to learn Greek someday and don’t yet have that opportunity, but also as a refresher for those who had it years ago and think they’ve forgotten it all, as well as for people who have some fear of language learning.
The teaching style is relatively inductive, creative, and amiable. You will not feel intimidated, but rather encouraged."
"It was awesome! Heidi did an incredible job explaining the basics of the Greek language in a fun lighthearted way to a beginner.
I really feel ready to dive deeper into Greek and Greek bible study having gone through this crash course."
Homeschooling Farmer
This class is primarily a language learning class. However, due to the texual source material (New Testament), it may be classified by some organizations as "religious" in nature. As such, this particular class may not be eligible for state or federal grant funds. If you are planning to use ESA or grant funding, please confirm eligibility with your funding agency before enrollment.