Koine Greek

Koine Greek A copy of the Codex Alexandrinus opened to the Gospel of Luke.
RELATED TOPICS	Dictionary Greek Lessons Alphabet Nouns, Definite Article, Prepositions Adjectives, Comparison Verbs Participles Adverbs Miscellaneous topics Crasis Questions
SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OPINIONS
CONTENTS

α | β | γ | δ | ε

ζ | η | θ | ι | κ

λ | μ | ν | ξ | ο

π | ρ | σ - ς | τ | υ

φ | χ | ψ | ω

Koine is the Greek word for "common." Koine Greek (also called New Testament Greek) was the form of the Greek language used from around 300 BC to AD 300. The books of the New Testament were originally written in Koine Greek. Koine Greek was the lingua franca (or the commonly used language of communication) in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern for hundreds of years following the conquests of Alexander the Great, including during the time of the early church.

For some time the Greek language of the New Testament confused many scholars. It was sufficiently different from Classical Greek that some hypothesized that it was a combination of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. Others attempted to explain it as a "Holy Ghost language," assuming that perhaps God created a special language just for the Bible. But studies of Greek papyri found in Egypt over the past 120 years have shown that the Greek of the New Testament manuscripts was the "common" (koine) language of the everyday people - the same as that used in the writing of wills and private letters.

Koine Greek had spread throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East as a result of the conquests of the Greek armies of Alexander the Great. It served as a second language for many people and had become the language of communication throughout much of the Roman Empire and beyond by the time of Jesus. It retained its role as the lingua franca until the Middle Ages.

Bible

The Old Testament was translated into Koine Greek between the third and first centuries before Christ. This translation is known as the Septuagint, or simply, the "LXX". The New Testament books were originally written in Koine Greek. Below is part of a passage from the New Testament - John 1:1

• Εν αρχη ην ο λογος και ο λογος ην προς τον Θεον και Θεος ην ο λογος.
• Translation: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Alphabet

Letter name	Lower Case	Upper Case	Transliteration in WikiChristian	Pronunciation
alpha	α	Α	a	father
beta	β	Β	b	beta
gamma	γ	Γ	g	gamma
delta	δ	Δ	d	delta
epsilon	ε	Ε	e	epsilon
zêta	ζ	Ζ	z if first letter, otherwise dz	zêta or beds
êta	η	Η	e	obey
thêta	θ	Θ	th	thêta
iota	ι	Ι	i	spaghetti
kappa	κ	Κ	k	kappa
lambda	λ	Λ	l	lambda
mu	μ	Μ	m	mu
nu	ν	Ν	n	nu
xi	ξ	Ξ	x	axiom
omicron	ο	Ο	o	pond
pi	π	Π	p	pi
rho	ρ	Ρ	r	rho
sigma	σ / ς	Σ	s	sigma
tau	τ	Τ	t	tau
upsilon	υ	Υ	u	oops
phi	φ	Φ	ph	father
chi	χ	Χ	ch	Bach
psi	ψ	Ψ	ps	oops
omega	ω	Ω	o	obey

Diphthongs and ι-subscripts

Diphthong	Pronunciation
ΑΙ	'ai' as in aisle
ΕΙ	'ei' as in freight (identical to 'Η')
ΟΙ	'oi' as in oil
ΑΥ	'ow' as in sow
ΟΥ	'oo' as in fool
ΥΙ	'ooe' as in gooey
ΕΥ	*

* 'ευ' is both hard and controversial. There is some evidence to suggest that is was pronounced 'ew' (as in "Ew, that's gross!") or simply 'yu'. What has been taught for ages, however, is 'eh-oo', as sound not present in English.

There are also version of several vowels with a small iota underneath (or beside in the case of capitols): ᾼ ᾳ, ῌ ῃ, ῼ ῳ. It is believed that these represent ancient diphthongs, but the pronunciation is not altered in the time of any Greek writing we can know.

Accents and Breathing

There are three possible accents that can be put on Greek vowels: the acute ´, the grave (pronounces 'grahv') ` and the circumflex. The circumflex should like an upside crescent over the vowel, but some fonts use the caron (^) or even the tilde (~). It is thought the these different symbols represented rising and falling pitch, like modern Chinese, but by the time of our literature, they only indicate accent or stress.

• ἀρχῇ - arxē
• λόγος - logos

Over the initial syllable of word that begins with a vowel, there will always be either a rough (‘) or a smooth (’) breathing sign. Rough means a 'h' sound and smooth means a lack of extra sound. A 'Ρ' (Rho), in the initial position, also taking a breathing sign, typically the rough. How precisely this altered pronunciation is not known.

Links

• Greek New Testament - Parsing of each word
• Textkit - Learn Greek and Latin
• Theopedia - Greek
• Wikipedia - Koine Greek
• NT Gateway
• Online Interlineal Greek-English Bible New Testament
• Scripturetext.com - Scripture versions and word-for-word Greek translation at Biblos.com
• Zhubert.com - Parsing of Greek New Testament

---

Return to Christianity -> Bible