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Yesterday you looked at the most common noun pattern (remember, that’s called a declension). You may recall that there are actually three basic noun declensions in NT Greek. The one from yesterday happens to be the second declension, but most textbooks take it first because it is the most common one.

Today we want to look at the rest of the noun patterns. I call this the Quick Start Guide for nouns (see appendix A). This guide is not intended to be comprehensive; it doesn’t include every possible form of the Greek nouns. It does, however, cover the majority of noun endings.

Don’t worry: you don’t have to memorize the Quick Start Guide! It’s designed to be a reference to hold onto and refer to as needed. (There is one tiny part of it, though, that I think you ought to commit to memory—more about that on day 8.)

Take a little time to familiarize yourself with the Quick Start Guide. You’ll notice that the four main cases are there, listed in four rows: the nominative (row N), genitive (row G), dative, (row D) and accusative (row A). You’ll also notice one singular and one plural column each for masculine (columns 1 and 4), feminine (columns 2 and 5), and neuter (columns 3 and 6).

As you look at the Quick Start Guide, see what patterns you can notice. For example, you might notice that every dative singular word (cells D1, D2, and D3) has an iota at the end—either as the very last letter, or as a subscript under the very last letter. You might also notice that most (but not all) accusative singular words (cells A1, A2, and A3) end in nu.

If your beginning grammar textbook was the one by William D. Mounce, you might be quick to recognize a couple other patterns in the Quick Start Guide. As Mounce helpfully points out, the nominative and accusative of neuter nouns are always the same as one another (i.e., cell N3 = cell A3, and N6 = A6). And the genitives and datives of the masculine and neuter match (i.e., endings in G1 = endings in G3, endings in D1 = endings in D3, endings in G4 = endings in G6, and endings in D4 = endings in D6).

Exercise 6

Continue studying the Quick Start Guide for several minutes. Mark it up however you wish to help you remember the patterns you see. You might use circles and lines to connect matching cells. Another idea would be to use different colored highlighting pens to point out the patterns.

Spend the remainder of your thirty minutes reading the following verses. I’ve given you more verses to read than I think you will be able to complete in thirty minutes. Don’t try to race through them to check it off your list. Go for quality within the time limit, not for quantity.

1. 2 Thess 1:3–12

2. 1 Cor 1:18–25

3. Gal 3:5–9

As you read, use the Quick Start Guide to find the subjects (nominatives), direct objects (accusatives), possessives (genitives), and indirect objects (datives). As time permits, try to translate these verses. Check yourself using one of the more literal translations such as NASB or NRSV.

If you’ve committed to the additional fifteen minutes, perhaps you will want to reread the same passage you read yesterday. This time, though, try to use the Quick Start Guide to identify all the subjects and objects (based on the cases). In general, for your additional fifteen minutes, I recommend that you pick a book of the NT to read and read it all the way from beginning to end. Then pick another book and do the same. That is better than skipping around the NT for at least two reasons. First, it allows you to use context clues to help you understand what you are reading. Second, it gives you a goal (completing the book) that helps you stick to your commitment to read fifteen minutes every day.

This is the last time I’m going to remind you about your commitment to reading fifteen minutes “on your own” each day. Now you really are “on your own” on that!