My Island Scenario: Studying Without a Crutch
Picture me stranded on an island with just my Greek New Testament, a pencil, and a notebook—no Wi-Fi, no apps. Could I still parse, translate, and unpack a verse like Ephesians 4:16? That’s my “island scenario”—a discipline to ensure I’m mastering Koine Greek, not leaning on digital shortcuts. Tools like Logos Bible Software (my digital powerhouse) speed up my work, but I rely on my Morphology and Syntax Notebook (moleskin and Apple Notes), BDAG (Bauer’s lexicon) for precise word meanings, Smyth’s Greek Grammar for syntax clarity, Wallace’s Exegetical Syntax (Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics), and Blue Letter Bible for quick cross-references. My handwritten diagrams—erasures and all—keep me honest, forcing me to wrestle with the text like Paul in Ephesians. These resources, paired with prayer (John 16:13), fuel my translations. Explore them below or see them in action in Translate Greek with Me.
My Morphology and Syntax Notebook
The single most important tool I have is one I made myself, and that I rely on every constantly. It’s my notebook of morphology and syntax. I actually have two — a print Moleskin notebook, and a notebook in Apple Notes. This notebook is a synthesis and distillation of everything I know about the Greek language, and is designed to be a quick but comprehensive reference on any language topic. AT Robertson’s grammar is 1454 pages, and my goal is not to replicate that. But the goal is to be my go-to source for morphology and syntax questions.
I originally created this just as a way to make sense of the fire hydrant of information that was coming at me as I learned (and continue to learn) the Greek language. It helped me organize and get the bigger picture. Not a day goes by that I don’t use this tool.
My Logos Library
Logos Bible Software is the most important computer software that I own. Logos is my comprehensive digital library and toolset for studying the Word; researching theology; preparing sermons, Bible studies, and posts; journaling and devotions; and of course, doing advanced original language work, like doing my own lexicography.
Over the years that I’ve owned Logos, I’ve built up a library of just shy of 10,000. It is the hub of my Christian life and ministry. It contains my extensive Bible notes, sermons, passage lists, clippings, writings, lists of answered prayer, you name it. The power of Logos comes from its ability to pull information from my library in seconds. Unlike my print library, I can ask my library questions about anything and get answers in seconds.
By way of example, I have an extensive Greek language library. Excluding Greek language Bibles, manuscripts, fragments, and the like, I have 164 resources: among them 125 grammars, including 42 advanced grammars and 34 lexicons. When am I going to have time to read through 125 grammars? Probably not ever, especially since I live in Smyth and Wallace anyway. But that is not how you use them. Logos’s power comes from it’s ability to pull information you need from your library. I can search every one of my grammars and commentaries for a discussion of whether there is a genitive absolute in III John 3 and have the answer in moments. With that power, I can effectively use al of those grammars, commentaries, and other resources, even if I haven’t read every word of them.
My Hardcopy Greek Reference Library
All these digital tools are fun, but I still love print books above all. I have a highly curated Greek reference library. I have a number of additional books that I’ll be adding to this list, so check again every now an then.
- Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature
- Smyth, A Greek Grammar for Colleges
- Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics
- Robertson, A.T., A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research
- Guthrie, Biblical Greek Exegesis: A Graded Approach
- Decker, Reading Koine Greek
- Mounce, Basics of Biblical Greek
- Trenchard, Complete Vocabulary of the New Testament