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Beginning Hellenistic Greek





I.
Nature of the Course

Beginning Hellenistic Greeek is a two-semester course designed to introduce you to the foundational ellements of Hellenistic Greek, the form of Greek used by the writers of the New Testament, the Septuagint, and a great body of other religious and philosophical literature of the Hellenistic Period. The Fall semester focusses on common grammatical forms and vocabulary needed to read the New Testament in Greek.



II.
Course Objectives

A.
Learn all Greek words occurring 50 times or more in the New Testament (310 words total).

B.
Learn the standard forms for Greek Nouns.

C.
Learn the forms for the Aorist and Present tenses of the Greek verb in the indicative mood.



III.
Books




A.
Main Textbook


The main textbook for this class was written by your instructor. Dr. Palmer wrote the first edition while teaching Greek at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. It has been revised several times, incorporating the insights of students as well as current linguistic research on second language acquisition and the structure of ancient Greek.





The book is currently out of print. You will be provided with a copy free of charge.




B.
Greek New Testament


You will also need a Greek New Testament. Choose one of the following editions.



Aland, Durt, et all., eds. The Greek New Testament. 4th ed. New York: United Bible Societies, 1993.

Aland, Durt, et al., eds. Novum Testamentum Graece. 27th ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1993.




C.
Lexicon


In the second semester of this class you will need one of the following two lexica. While it is not necessary to purchase a lexicon at this time, many students find it helpful to have one to assist with reading assignments.



Baur, Walter. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature.

Nida, Eugene, and Johanness Louw. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1988.




IV.
Course Requirements




A.
Class Attendance


If you miss more than two weeks worth of class, two percent will be deducted from your final score for each additional absence. While no deduction will be made for the first two weeks worth of absences, you should keep in mind that this is a language class, and your grade will inevitably suffer if you miss class at all since you will fall behind and have great difficulty making up the missed work..




B.
Preparation for Class


You must read the assignments listed in the course schedule before the day for which they are assigned. If at any time it becomes clear that you are consistently not prepared for class, the instructor may require a conference to discuss your progress. Any day for which you are clearly unprepared will be treated as an unexcused absence.




C.
Quizzes (100 points)


You will take short quizzes on the days specified in the course schedule. Each quiz will have a value of ten (10) points. Only eight of your quiz scores will count toward your final grade. Your lowest scores will be eliminated if you have taken more than eight quizzes. Your final quiz score will be the percentage of points earned in comparison to points available for your best eight quizzes.





The quizzes will cover both vocabulary and grammar. Beginning with quiz two, they will usually involve some reading comprehension questions.




D.
Vocabulary Exams (200 points)


You will take two vocabulary exams, each worth 100 points. The dates for these exams are stated in the course schedule. The first exam will cover all words covered in the first five lessons. The second exam will cover all words presented in lessons six through ten.




E.
One-hour Grammar and Comprehension Exams (300 points)


Three one-hour grammar and comprehension exams will be administered on the days specified in the course schedule. Each exam will have a value of one hundred (100) points. The second and third exams will not deliberately cover material studied before the previous exam, though your understanding of earlier material will inevitably affect your understanding of the material covered on the exam.




F.
Final Exam (150 points)


You will take a final exam on the date specified in the course schedule. The exam will last two hours and have a value of one hundred fifty (150) points. Part of the final exam will focus on topics studied since the third one-hour exam, but the rest will be comprehensive, covering the entire semester.






V.
Calculation of Grades




A.
Total Points Possible





Graded Activity
Potential Value
Explanation
Quizzes
100 points
Percentage of points earned out of points attempted on your highest eight quizzes.
Vocabulary Exams
200 points
Two exams, 100 points each
Grammar and Comprehension Exams
300 points
Three exams, 100 points each
Final Exam
150 points

Total
750 points





B.
Letter Grade Equivalencies


At the end of the semester, the instructor will compare the number of points you have earned to the chart below to determine your grade.





Points Earned

Letter Grade
675-750
=
A
600-674
=
B
525-599
=
C
450-524
=
D
Less than 450
=
F





These letter grade categories are based roughly on the following percentages:





Percentage of total possible points for the semester

Letter Grade
90-100 %
=
A
80-90 %
=
B
70-80 %
=
C
60-70 %
=
D
Less than 60 %
=
F