Five years ago this week, we released a product that has changed how pastors and scholars read and study the New Testament.
The Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament has helped thousands of people get behind the text and study the discourse features and devices that speakers and writers of all languages use to convey meaning.
These are devices we use (and rarely notice) every day in our conversation—and the writers of the New Testament used them, too.
Examples of how it works
In Luke 10:2, Jesus says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” There’s a word there designed to create anticipation, but that’s usually left untranslated. It’s a word absent from most English translations, and even if you know Greek, you’re likely to skip over it. But it’s an important discourse device that effectively makes it “although the harvest is plentiful . . .”
All over the Gospels, Jesus says things like “truly, truly” or “truly I say to you.” These words don’t mean that what Jesus is saying is more or less true than words that aren’t prefaced by this phrase. Instead, “truly, truly” is primarily meant to get the audience’s attention and highlight the thing that comes next. It’s a discourse device you’ve probably read a hundred times but haven’t noticed. In the Lexham Greek Discourse New Testament, it will be plainly marked for you.
In Romans 3:27–31, Paul writes, “Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by a law the law of faith. . . . Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also. . . .” Paul continues in this same question-and-answer format not because he’s really asking his readers for answers, but because he wants them to slow down. This is another discourse device Paul uses to help you work through a complex statement.
With the Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament, you’ll be able to plainly see these kinds of devices across the entire text of the New Testament. The text is annotated with visual representations of numerous communicative devices, and divided by clauses—revealing patterns and nuances in the New Testament you wouldn’t normally see.
Not only will this enhance your study of the text, but it will help you dig deep into the meaning and discern the structures and layers behind the words you’re reading—and see all the things you’ve been missing.
How the Lexham Discourse Greek NT has impacted the field
Dr. William Varner has noted that “Steven Runge has made a valuable contribution to the revolution [in discourse linguistics] by his insightful analysis of each New Testament book in his Discourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament.”
In the five years since the Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament was released, Steve’s work has had a big impact in the field of New Testament Studies.
Steve has been invited to lecture around the world, including at Dallas Theological Seminary, Oxford University, Wales Evangelical School of Theology in the UK, Knox Theological Seminary, University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, Southern Baptist Seminary, and Trinity Western University. He’s also given papers at conferences, including SBL, ETS, and most recently, the International SBL meeting at St. Andrews University in Scotland.
Two completed doctoral dissertations have engaged Steve’s work—one at the University of Aberdeen and the other at Duke University. Many more dissertations and theses are in progress elsewhere, including Cambridge University, University of Wales, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Trinity Western University, Macquarie University in Sydney, Durham University, and probably others that we’re not yet aware of.
Multiple reviews and evaluations of Steve’s work have appeared in scholarly literature, including the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, the Midwestern Journal of Theology, Themelios, and other publications. The editor of the Baylor Handbook on the Greek New Testament has strongly encouraged contributors to engage Steve’s work in any discussions related to linguistics.
In the past five years, the Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament has spawned a number of related resources, including a full discourse grammar, a commentary series, a video course, and the Lexham Discourse Hebrew Bible.
Celebrate by saving 25%
Five years ago, Steve was one of the only people in the world doing this kind of work. Today, there’s an international network of New Testament scholars working in this area, centered on a team here at Logos that Steve leads.
To celebrate the five-year anniversary of the release of the Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament, we’re putting the entire suite of New Testament discourse resources on sale. It’s normally $199.95, but you can get it for $149.95 this week only.
Use coupon code FIVEYEARS to get your special price. Don’t wait! This deal expires Monday, July 29.