Paul Norman Jackson - Devotions on the Greek New Testament, Volume Two: 52 Reflections to Inspire and Instruct

H aving written one of the devotions for the first volume of this book, Devotions on the Greek New Testament: 52 Reflectionsto Inspire & Intruct, edited by Duvall and Verbrugge, I realized early on the tremendous value of such a practical tool (hereafter DGNT). It quickly became a required textbook for my second-semester course of beginning Greek. Since beginning my teaching career at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee in 1993, I constantly desired more practical tools and methods to help my students embrace why I put them through the rigors of what I have dubbed boot camp Greek. I often wryly told them, What has been done unto me, shall be done equally unto you, along with, Repetition is the price of scholarship! Convincing students who eventually hit what my good friend Bill Mounce calls the fog that you can eventually find a practical reason for being there is a tall order. Before DGNT appeared in 2012, Mounces second edition of Basics of Biblical Greek appeared in 2003 with each chapter beginning with an exegetical insight related to the grammar lesson that followed. This added feature stirred the pot even more for innovative ways to help students understand why they needed to know this dead language. Thankfully, more commentary series are appearing today that not only deal seriously with the biblical Greek text but also feature substantial sections devoted to practical application. Two marvelous examples are Zondervans Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series and Broadman & Holmans Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament series. The latter is a continuation of what Murray J. Harris began with Colossians and Philemon in 1991 (initially published by Eerdmans). A good number of these have already appeared and continue the excellent work initiated by Harris. The volumes include grammatical analyses, sentence diagramming, and suggested sermon outlines. For years Harriss volume was my favorite commentary.

Using DGNT for a few years to help equip my students to write their own short devotion as one of their requirements led me to think about a follow-up volume. I read a number of great reviews of the first one on Amazon.com, but one of them especially jumped out at me: The only weakness I see with this book is that there is not another one for next year! So, after receiving the green light from my friend J. Scott Duvall to piggyback on what he originally initiated with the first volume, I approached Verlyn Verbrugge at an ETS meeting about a second volume. His and Scotts enthusiasm moved me to write a proposal that same day! And now here we are with it in front of you. In between these two works, in 2015, Devotions on the Hebrew Bible: 54 Lessons to Inspire and Instruct appeared (DHB). It is to our dearly missed friend, Verlyn Verbrugge, that DHB and DGNT 2 are both warmly dedicated. One of the brightest highlights of the annual ETS meeting included stopping by the Zondervan booth for a nice chat with Verlyn. He is sorely missed, but his footprint is deep and lasting.

Zondervan wisely thought it important to vary this volume from the first with more international and female scholars. This choice served to give the book a more diverse geographical representation and also provides the church and academia with the keen insights of outstanding scholars we dont hear enough from.