It's Still Greek to Me: An Easy-To-Understand Guide to Intermediate Greek

I bought this book for my New Testament Exegesis course. I have found it to be an enjoyable read. It has a good sense of humor, which helps make for a light-hearted read that will put readers at ease while learning a language that may leave a feeling of unfamiliarity.

I had to purchase this book for my third semester of seminary Greek. I really enjoyed reading it. In fact, this is what I will use when I want to brush up on my Greek. Wallace will always be the standard if I need to research an exegetical problem on some passage, but Black does a great job of covering just what I need to know. I think this is a fantastic resource for anyone who has finished the first year of Greek and wants to understand more than the basics but doesn't want to swim in the sea of technicalities that is Wallace.

I had Dave Black for elementary Greek and used his "Learn to Read New Testament Greek." I took another professor for intermediate Greek, and we used Dan Wallace's book. I bought this anyway, and couldn't be more grateful. The material is much the same, but the explanations are much more comprehensible. Black can cover in 3-4 pages what Wallace would in 20-30, and you actually understand what you are dealing with. Furthermore, Black doesn't beat you in the head with over the top technicalities. Bottom line, while there may be other grammars which are helpful, this is the book that opened my understanding of intermediate Greek and enabled me to succeed in the class.

Once a student finishes the first year of Biblical Greek, there are three "intermediate" grammars that should be read: Dan Wallace's "Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics", Dana and Mantey, and this book by David Alan Black. Without any question, you should read Black's book first. First of all, "It's Still Greek to Me" is just plain fun to read (which is not something that can be said of very many grammar books!). Yet, all the wit and excellent writing are not merely to entertain - but reveal Prof. Black as a genuine master teacher who makes NT Greek grammar not only clear but memorable. For students who are just finishing their first year of Greek, this book should be started as soon as you turn in your last paper for the semester - and definitely before you begin your second year of Greek or your first NT exegesis course. If your school uses Dan Wallace's highly regarded "Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics" for intermediate Greek, you would still be VERY wise to read Black first. Much of the value of Wallace's work is the enormous number of actual texts that he interacts with. Unfortunately, this can cause students to miss the forest for the trees. By reading Black first, you will better be able to appreciate both the forest and the trees. NT Professors are strongly encouraged to add "It's Still Greek to Me" to their "highly recommended" and "required" reading lists that they provide to their students. Highly recommended.

Black's book makes Greek easier for the struggling student. It explains the whys and wherefores of Greek in detail. It not only defines terms, but it gives examples from Scripture, so that the student can know how these grammatical functions work in the text.