Q55 : Hebrew and Greek Bible Study

• Bible Software
• Bible Versions

• Greek
• Hebrew

There are numerous texts available for original language Bible study. I'll touch on just a few of them that I have personal experience with:

• For a complete Bible in nothing but Hebrew and Greek in a relatively compact single volume, including the full critical apparatus (comparing variations in different manuscripts), you'll be hard pressed to beat Biblia Sacra Hebraica et Graeca (ISBN 3-438-05250-4)^a.
• For the same text, but in much larger type (very helpful in Hebrew) and in separate hardback volumes, consider the following: Novum Testamentum Graece (ISBN 3-438-05103-6)^b and Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (ISBN 3-438-05218-0)^c.
• For a similar text, but smaller, without critical apparatus, and the NT based on the Greek of the Textus Receptus (the text behind the KJV, but not the NASB, NIV and others) and for much cheaper, consider The Holy Scriptures in the Original Languages: http://www.tbs-sales.org/site/sales/category.asp?id=22&back=Non%2DEnglish+Publications&backlink=category.asp?id2=3
• For a soft leatherbound Greek NT using a text similar to critical text (used by NASB, NIV), but without critical apparatus and with less frequently found terms defined in English as footnotes on each page, consider A Reader's Greek New Testament (ISBN 0-310-24888-4)^d.
• For a Greek NT with complete critical apparatus including a fairly complete Greek dictionary, consider The Greek New Testament with Dictionary (ISBN 0-000-19049-7)^e.
• For a hardback interlinear Hebrew/Greek/English text covering the entire OT and NT including Strong's numbers for every word, consider The Interlinear Bible (ISBN 0-913573-25-6)^f by Jay P. Green.

If you are interested in computer-based Bible study in the original languages, there are other programs you can consider with a wide variety of capabilities and costs. There are some things you can do with computer-based texts which are real time-savers and allow types of searches that would be impossible in a standard text. We summarize some of these tools on our website^g.

• The program I use the most for original language work is Logos (also called Libronix) which is available at www.logos.com.
• Another program which I use extensively is called Sword Searcher^h. It has excellent support for Strong's number-based study of Hebrew and Greek, but it is lacking in the area of full original language study.
• For portable access to the original languages, it is hard to beat having the full Hebrew and Greek texts -- along with parsing information and dictionaries, not to mention English translations -- all in the palm of your hand from www.olivetree.com.

If you are just getting your feet wet with Hebrew and Greek, you'll want an introductory grammar for each language. Two texts which are excellent and readily available include:

• Basics of Biblical Greek (ISBN 0-310-23211-2)ⁱ by Mounce.
• Basics of Biblical Hebrew (ISBN 0-310-23760-2)^j by Pratico and Van Pelt.