Journal: Journal of Dispensational Theology
Volume: JODT 14:41 (Apr 2010)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous

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JODT 14:41 (April 2010) p. 67

Book Reviews

New Testament Greek: A Beginning and Intermediate Grammar, by James Allen Hewett, revised and expanded by C. Michael Robbins and Steven R. Johnson (includes CD). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2009, xxiii + 324 pp., cloth, $34.95.

First published in 1986, New Testament Greek: A Beginning and Intermediate Grammar has helped countless numbers of first-year Greek students learn the fundamentals of New Testament Greek. The revisers are C. Michael Robbins, who teaches Greek at Claremont Graduate University, and Steven R. Johnson, who teaches Greek at Lycoming College. James Allen Hewett, who previously taught Greek at Asbury Theological Seminary, apparently had no part in the revision, although he has an entry on the dedication page with the revisers.

Like the first edition of New Testament Greek: A Beginning and Intermediate Grammar, this revision is one of the better grammars of New Testament Greek available. There are about 475 Greek words introduced in the vocabularies, mainly words occurring more than thirty times. The material presented is comprehensive in scope and much more detailed than other grammars. Each chapter ends with an abundance of translation exercises, many drawn from the New Testament, to give students practice in using the grammatical concepts introduced in the current and preceding chapters.

Just over a fourth of the new preface by Robbins and Johnson is a discussion of revisions and additions to this edition. (The original preface is wisely retained.) The revisers stated: “While the original structure has been left essentially intact, this revision involves more than the correction of errors and improvements in formatting. Building on Hewett’s excellent work, the discussions in each chapter have been substantially rewritten in the light of more recent discussions in Greek grammar.” Changes from the first edition, the vast majority of which are improvements, can be categorized as additions, omissions, and revisions.

The revision of Hewett’s grammar contains some important new features. There are additional tables, charts, and examples, including the addition of a table of abbreviations at the beginning of the book. There is a greatly expanded use of Scripture verses as examples. Beginning with chapter 5, there are now five basic English-to-Greek exercises at the end of each chapter. The sections within each chapter are now numbered for easier reference to them. The most notable additions are the two new introductory chapters that precede the chapter on the alphabet. The first

JODT 14:41 (April 2010) p. 68

new chapter “replaces some of the scattered discussion of English grammar found throughout the first “edition.” It is ...

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