A Workbook for New Testament Syntax: Companion to Basics of New Testament Syntax and Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics [Paperback]

This workbook is an important tool that helps students work inductively through NT syntax. Every common usage is involved in the questions. The questions move from simpler Greek to more complex Greek. And the passages are clustered around categories of usage. I personally think this is by far and away the best way to learn NT syntax. The student reads the grammar, then get into the workbook and work through the questions.

Wallace's Grammar is an excellent reference tool for NT exegesis. However, if you want to really KNOW the in's and out's of NT exegesis without having constantly refer back to Wallace's Grammar, then this workbook is the best tool to get you there.

There IS an answer key and it IS available for FREE for any who are teaching the course. Simply send an e-mail to jesse.hillman [at] zondervan [dot] com. The answer key was not put in the back of the book or online so as not to encourage cheating.

Overall, this workbook is a great guide through the challenging terrain of learning NT syntax. Heartily recommended!

Just a note here in response to the reviews. A key is available from the publisher for instructors and self-learners. Simply send an email request to deskcopyrequest [AT] Zondervan [dot] com.

The Workbook for New Testament Syntax is simply an outstanding pedagogical tool. The book progresses from simpler Greek to more complex Greek as it moves through the twenty lessons. By the time the 19th lesson rolls around, the Greek is quite challenging: Acts 13 and 18! But working through the programmed lessons, starting out with John 1, the authors have succeeded in enabling students who have just come out of first-year Greek to build their syntactical knowledge to the point where they can translate and think exegetically through some of the toughest Greek of the NT by the time they get through the book. Instead of eliciting stellar examples of each grammatical category, as a standard grammar would do, it focuses on passages that are theologically rich (with the Kenosis appearing in two different lessons because of its importance), grammatically rich (with the grammatical form that occupies that particular lesson), and important exegetically. Altogether, the lessons draw from 18 different NT books. The students translate nearly 400 verses from the NT and get exposure to every one of the more common grammatical uses (as defined by Wallace's arrowed system of identification). It is obvious that a great deal of thought has gone into this volume.

Vocabulary that occurs less than 50 times in the NT is supplied with each lesson, making it easy for the student to dive right in. As well, an introductory paragraph adequately informs the student about the context of the text to be translated.

Each lesson has a built-in 100 point value (though a few have more than that, with some bonus points built into the lesson). The numerical value of each question is listed in brackets, with the constituent elements broken down. Thus, for example, on p. 20 (Lesson 1) question 16 has a question about ho logos in John 1.14. The question asks for the case, case usage, and word to which it is related. The point value is listed as "[1+1+1]"--one point for each element in the question. On p. 167 (Lesson 18), question 5 says: "alla: This conjunction is adversative, contrasting what two elements? [4]." The more difficult and more exegetically meaningful questions are worth more. The total for each lesson comes up to 100 points. The point values have been well thought out: they are weighted appropriately for each lesson, and many of them are quite challenging.

An answer key is provided free by the publisher upon request, as long as the person requesting it is the teacher of the course or studying Greek on one's own.

There is so much to translate that it seems that the best way to use the Workbook in a classroom setting is to require the students to read the matching grammatical section of one of Wallace's grammars ahead of time, then utilize this information to answer the questions. The classroom time can be taken up with translation and syntactical analysis as the students come across various constructions in the text. This, indeed, seems to be the approach preferred by the authors.

Not everything is perfect, though. There are a few weaknesses to the Workbook. First, I was able to figure out the point system from the introduction, though I could not find any explicit reference to the bracketed points. But this should be plain to anyone who reads the introduction. Second, I did not notice any place that mentioned the answer key being available for professors. Perhaps this was by design: it's tempting to cheat on syntax if one can gain ready access to the answer key. But in future printings, I would prefer that mention of the answer key be given in the introduction or preface.

Also, the first printing did not have 3-hole punches nor perforated pages. It also had some of the lessons starting on the back side of where another one ends. That was an oversight on the publisher most likely, for it would not be easy for a student to turn in just one lesson as homework since he or she would need the first page of the next lesson for the next class! But I understand that these problems have been fixed.

All in all, I frankly have never seen a syntax workbook so well crafted nor one so competent in achieving its goals. I only wish that I had had this Workbook when I was studying second year Greek in seminary. I think my mastery of the language would have been much greater much earlier on. And I would have learned the value of exegesis along the way. I highly recommend the Workbook for NT Syntax as the best way to master NT syntax.