New Testament Greek for Beginners (2nd Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Machen's Book is Still the Standard
Review: The long ago departed J. Gresham Machen provided the academic world with the standard text for teaching Koine (common) Greek, often called New Testament Greek. This book is extremely well done, and after viewing two three separate Greek texts, this is the most detailed. He covers all the rules in Greek such as declensions, Present Actives, Participles, aorists, imperfects, Perfect tenses, subjunctives, etc. His vocabulary section in the back is great for the student as a quick reference or study tool for memorization. Further, as another reviewer noted, one can practice what they have learned in each chapter with Greek to English and English to Greek exercises. This is more difficult book than Mounce's text if one was trying to learn Greek alone. With a minor in Greek, I suggests one seek a teacher or someone with at least two years of Greek if using a book to learn Greek anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Old is not always a bad thing!
Review: There are some modest problems with Machen's grammar, but age is not one of them. I learned with this grammar and I still use it to teach introductory Koine. It is not an accident that so many Greek teachers learned with this grammar -- it covers all the material needed to read the NT competently. I personally would like to see MI verbs covered earlier in the lessons but this is a small matter that can be corrected by the instructor if they are so inclined. The grammar is well thought out as well. Lessons that are heavy and require a lot of work are followed by lighter lessons so the student is not overwhelmed. The exercises, though not directly from the NT, cover the grammatical points of the lesson and help the student understand the rules of grammar.
My greatest trouble with Machen's grammar is that it assumes the student is well versed in English grammar. Sadly, most university students do not know what a subjunctive mood is or a superlative adjective etc. I am constantly needing to explain Machen's definitions to my students because they do not have the basic instruction in English to comprehend the Greek. This is not so much a fault of Machen's grammar as a telltale sign that classical learning is not valued in public education. My second problem is his constant use of archaic pronouns. Again, this is not so much about Machen being an 'archaic' book but that when the grammar was written, the KJV was pretty much the only version used in the churches. Ye, thee, thou, etc. would have seemed a very reasonable and dignified way of translating pronouns. Now it just sounds silly (for most of us anyway). Again, this can be corrected by the instructor.
All round, Machen is a good grammar that covers the material. It does not offer a magic pill solution to learning a foreign language. If you use Machen you will need to work; however, the pay off is knowing Greek well.