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Susan
Susan
2:19 AM
@ScottS Hm, since the question has 5 upvotes and both your answer and mine are currently netting 0 (albeit differently achieved) ....I think some other people need to offer their ideas. :-)
 
 
7 hours later…
Jack Douglas
Jack Douglas
8:57 AM
1
A: Should we reword the "off-topic" close reasons to reflect more the intent of the site in the wording

SusanI apologize if I’m backpedaling here. I agree with the ideas about site scope offered in ScottS's answer and in our current close reasons. I harbor lingering doubts, though, about whether our panel of close reasons really needs to present a comprehensive thesis on site scope, or even a balanced...

If like me you hadn't noticed the answer above before Susan mentioned it, please take a look ^^^^^. A lot of thought has gone into all the different approaches, but I think the brevity here is a real bonus given the target audience.
 
 
3 hours later…
Librarian
Librarian
12:26 PM
0
Q: Could we revise the help center explanation of what’s on topic?

SusanWe have a section in our help center called What topics can I ask about here? and another called What types kinds of questions should I avoid asking? The latter contains generic SE guidelines that seem to be appropriate. The former is our chance to explain site scope, and I think it could be impr...

discussion scope help-center
 
 
3 hours later…
Susan
Susan
3:32 PM
Thanks! Indeed “[A?] hallelujah lamed-David, son of Jesse” Skips the part about “outside the number...Goliad”. And then it lines up with the Greek, “I was smaller than my brothers...” Hm. Not so helpful for ἰδιόγραφος εἰς Δαυιδ, but thanks for finding that! — Susan ♦ 25 mins ago
And that DSS verse appears to invalidate the whole purported problem with the construct + proper noun (בנ ישי - if we can have the son of Jesse than why not the psalm of David? The referent is clear in both.) Ack. @Davïd - help!
 
 
7 hours later…
Julian Jefko
Julian Jefko
10:35 PM
Which type of Hebrew and Greek should I learn, and where should I start?

I was told to move this question to chat.

Recently, I have been looking into learning Hebrew and Greek, in order to read manuscripts, or copies of manuscripts, of the bible, and also for other religious texts.

For the Old Testament, the source I would like to use is a copy of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia.

For the New Testament, I plan on using a copy of Novum Testamentum Graece (I don't know which edition it is, though.) (if these sources aren't reliable, please tell me which I should use instead.)
 
 
1 hour later…
Susan
Susan
11:39 PM
@JulianJefko Sounds like you need an intro grammar textbook. Two! :-) Have you thought about which language to start with? Although I don’t think there’s any problem learning both at the same time in terms of learning itself, I think it’s probably a better idea to start with one so that you can progress enough to have some access to the biblical texts within a few months. For me, at least, this is the best way to stay motivated.
In terms of “dialect” - the New Testament is written in koine Greek. Because it was all written within a relatively short timeframe, it’s pretty clear that it’s all the same language. The Hebrew bible of course has a very different history, but for the purposes of learning it’s all basically the same language as well, “Biblical Hebrew."
@JulianJefko Re. “Texts....which do not teach the language in the context of the bible” : For Hebrew, probably not. That phase of Hebrew is really only represented in the bible, and you’ll want to learn the pointing system (vowels), which were invented (to my understanding) for the bible. With Greek, of course there are ancient Greek texts, but that’s a bit different from koine, and I wouldn’t really recommend it if what you want to do ultimately is to read the bible.
As for, “planning to use it for everyday life” - these are both dead languages. Modern Hebrew isn’t that far off, but probably not the most efficient way to approach the Hebrew bible.
However, listening to recordings of both (probably not spoken exactly as they were at the time they were written - never a settled issue anyway, and for Hebrew I’m sure there was wide diachronic variation) can be very helpful for accessing that part of the brain that learns by hearing and for familiarizing yourself with the texts.
My recommendations for audio recordings: Hebrew, Greek.
 

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