Product Description

Not only an indispensable reference resource, Grammar of Septuagint Greek is also an ideal reader for anyone wishing to study the Septuagint in the original language. A reprint of the standard Septuagint grammar originally titled Selections from the Septuagint, this invaluable volume includes: an extensive introduction to the origin, inspiration, date, supremacy, and Greek of the Septuagint; the grammar proper with major sections covering accidence and syntax; and extensive selected readings with in-depth introductions and full textual and grammatical notes—especially helpful for the student of New Testament Greek wishing to develop language skills through reading less familiar texts. Helpful improvements to this new edition include: new, updated indexes of ancient sources and significant Greek words from the readings; a convenient and complete vocabulary with definitions; and an alphabetical list of proper nouns from the readings, with translations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #91268 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

About the Author
F. C. Conybeare (1856-1924) was an Armenian scholar and a fellow of University College, Oxford, who devoted himself to research in church history and in the textual criticism of the Septuagint and the New Testament. His other works include Myth, Magic and Morals, a Study of Christian Origins, and The Historical Christ (1914).

St. George Stock was a classical scholar whose writings and studies focused on Plato, Aristotle, and Stoicism, in addition to Septuagint studies.

Customer Reviews

A Great Supplement to Other Grammars
This is an attractive and well organized grammar of the Greek of the LXX. The introduction is a 24-page essay on the history of the LXX in which they show the Letter of Aristeas to be the principle evidence for the early dating and standard conception of the origin of the LXX and then they subsequently show the Letter to be a forgery. Aside from this idiocy the book is a flawless presentation of LXX Greek TO THOSE WHO ALREADY KNOW KOINE GREEK. There is a 74-page grammar section in which the syntax of the LXX is covered and the unusual aspects of LXX morphology are given attention. It is not a full grammar for those who do not know the Greek language, so Old Testament scholars-to-be still have to learn to read the New Testament first. I recommend Mounce's Basics of Biblical Greek as a true starter. The remaining 207 pages are basically a graded reader. Several of the more famous OT stories are rendered here with extensive explanatory footnotes at the bottom of every page. The method is really excellent. The syntax section is in a reference format and is not intended to introduce Greek grammar to those who do not know it. If you can already read the New Testament and want some good insight into the quirks of the LXX, then this book is for you.

This book is more helpful if you know Classical Greek
The initial reviewer of this book stated that this volume can be a great reference for those who know Koine Greek, and he is not incorrect. However, I must add that the user of this book also needs some knowledge of Classical Greek; without such knowledge, this book appears to be rather unhelpful. The grammar section is set up to help readers understand the Septuagint (LXX) by pointing out the instances in which LXX grammar is different from Classical Greek grammar (as the LXX is, in many passages, a blend of Classical & Koine Greek with some Semiticisms thrown in for good measure); again, the only way to understand these differences is to have knowledge of both Classical and Koine Greek. While the volume can still be of some limited benefit to those who only know Koine Greek, using it will most likely be more of an exercise in frustration than an aid to study. Get a copy of Herbert Weir Smyth's "Greek Grammar" if you want to become familiar with Classical Greek, and then return to the present volume. Oh, and don't try Henry Thackeray's "A Grammar of the Old Testament in Greek According to the Septuagint" simply as an alternative to the Conybeare & Stock book; Thackeray's grammar is a good one, too, but it also assumes the reader has some knowledge of Classical Greek.

ADDENDUM: For information on some helpful books and tools for study of the Septuagint, see my review of Rahlfs's "Septuaginta".

Great grammar -- a century ago.
I enjoy studying the Septuagint very much, and if you do as well, it would behoove you to acquire this book for reference purposes.

As a text book, it is barely usable, however. The book was first published in 1905 and its text has hardly been touched since. It is amazing to think of all the hard work that went in to compiling the vast amount of information present in the grammar, especially without the aid of a computer.

The downside to this book is that it is a great example of a 19th century grammar (the century within which I presume most of it was researched and written). This is a bad thing because I think students will have a difficult time with it (I know I have), keeping up their interest and actually understanding the material. Given the paucity of teaching resources on the LXX, this is a tragedy. But, in spite of a dire need for major updating, this book is very handy as a reference tool and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in it as such.