On the Joy of Reading the Protoevangelion of James in Greek

Two sessions ago I started taking my little Greek reading group through the Protoevangelion of James. So how has it turned out?

It is turning out very well! I think there are several reasons for this:

• It is easy Greek. It makes for a good beginner/early intermediate reading exercise.
• Neither of the students had read it before in English. We had finished working through the first chapter of the gospel of Mark just previous. I think they are enjoying this more because of the fun of the discovery process.
• Seeing them working through idioms in their head that they have no English background for the text has seemed particularly fun for them. For example, Rubel tells Joachim that he can’t offer his gift first because σπέρμα οὐκ ἐποίησας ἐν τῷ Ἰσραήλ. Both figuring out what this meant and the slight shock of it for someone who does not live in a culture that treats barrenness as a curse from God made for a fun ten minute discussion.

In two sessions I think we’ve made it through about four chapters and 100 hot wings.

If you live in the Dallas area and would like to participate, let me know and we can chat about it.