Starting with NT Greek

(Nashville, TN: B&H, 2020) The Alphabet

Benjamin L. Merkle Chapter 1

Robert L. Plummer

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ
The Alphabet λόγος The Alphabet λόγος

Lower Upper Lower Upper

Case Case Name Pronunciation Case Case Name Pronunciation
α Α Alpha “ah” as in father ε Ε Epsilon “eh” as in echo
β Β Beta “b” as in ball ζ Ζ Zeta “dz” as in kudzu
γ Γ Gamma “g” as in gift η Η Eta “ay” as in ate
δ ∆ Delta “d” as in dog θ Θ Theta “th” as in thin

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ
The Alphabet λόγος The Alphabet λόγος

Lower Upper Lower Upper

Case Case Name Pronunciation Case Case Name Pronunciation
ι Ι Iota “ee” as in ski ν Ν Nu “n” as in nail
κ Κ Kappa “k” as in key ξ Ξ Xi “ks” as in fox
λ Λ Lambda “l” as in lock ο Ο Omicron “aw” as in often
µ Μ Mu “m” as in mom π Π Pi “p” as in pond

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 Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ
The Alphabet λόγος The Alphabet λόγος

Lower Upper Lower Upper

Case Case Name Pronunciation Case Case Name Pronunciation
ρ Ρ Rho “r” as in rhyme φ Φ Phi “ph” as in phone
σ/ς * Σ Sigma “s” as in sand χ Χ Chi “ch” as in ache
τ Τ Tau “t” as in tap ψ Ψ Psi “ps” as in oops
υ Υ Upsilon “oo” as in boot ω Ω Omega “ōh” as in obey
σ is used at the beginning and middle of Greek words (σ
*σ σύv,
µέσσον); the ς is used only at the end of the words (θεόςς).

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ
Pronunciation λόγος Pronunciation λόγος

Lower
Pay Attention
Case Pronunciation

γγ “ng” as in ring Some letters are easy to confuse with others:

γκ “ngk” as in drink γ→ν ο→σ

γχ “ngch” as in drink ζ→ξ π→τ
ἄγγελος an-ge-los θ→φ φ→ ψ
ν→υ

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ
Pronunciation λόγος Vowels λόγος

Pay Attention Short Long Short/Long

Some Greek letters resemble letters in the
English alphabet: ε
η  α
η→n υ→u ο
ω ι
ν→v χ→x υ
ρ→p ω→w

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 Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ
Vowels λόγος Diphthongs λόγος

Iota Subscript Definition

When following a long vowel, an iota is written
underneath and is not pronounced.
Two vowels
ᾳ “ah” καρδίᾳ that are pronounced as
ῃ “ay” ἀγάπῃ one sound.
ῳ “oh” λόγῳ

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ
Diphthongs λόγος Diphthongs λόγος

Lower
Diaeresis
Case Pronunciation
αι “eye” as in aisle Placed over the second vowel of a diphthong signifying
αυ “ow” as in kraut that the two vowels are pronounced separately.
ει “ay” as in freight
ευ “yew” as in feud αϊ “ah-ee” Κάϊν = Kah-een
οι “oi” as in oil ωϋ “ō-oo” Μωϋσῆς = Mō-oo-seys
ου “oo” as in soup
υι “we” as in suite ιη “ee-ay→yea” Ἰησοῦς = Yea-soós

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ
Breathing Marks λόγος Breathing Marks λόγος

Greek words that start with a vowel always ἁµαρτία hah-mar-teé-ah sin
have a “breathing mark” indicating whether
ἑπτά hep-táh seven
an “h” is added to the vowel or not.
ἡµέρα hey-mér-ah day
Smooth breathing mark: ἀ (“ah”) ὁδός hah-dós way/road
Rough breathing mark: ἁ (“hah”) ὕδωρ hoó-dōr water
Exception: Rho (ῥῥ) is the only consonant that regularly takes a ὡσαννά hō-san-náh hosanna
(rough) breathing mark. Also, if a word begins with a diphthong,
αἷµα).
αἷµα
the breathing mark appears over the second letter (αἷµα ῥῆµα ráh-mah word

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 Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ
Accent Marks λόγος Accent Marks λόγος

Syllables
ά acute
Acute (ά) – last 3 syllables
ὰ grave* Circumflex (ᾶ) – last 2 syllables (long)
ᾶ circumflex Grave (ὰ) – last syllable only
antepenult penult ultima
* Pronounced “grauve” like the pale purple color “mauve.”
ἄν-
ἄν- θρω-
θρω- πος

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ
Accent Marks λόγος Punctuation Marks λόγος

Syllables
Early New Testament manuscripts were
written in all capital letters, with no spaces
Acute – last 3 syllables between words and no punctuation!
Circumflex – last 2 syllables (long)
Grave – last syllable only ΕΝΑΡΧΗΗΝΟΛΟΓΟΣΚΑΙΟΛΟΓΟΣΗΝ
ΠΡΟΣΤΟΝΘΕΟΝΚΑΙΘΕΟΣΗΝΟΛΟΓΟΣ
In general, if the ultima becomes long, the accent cannot be on the
antepenult (ἄνθρωπος  ἀνθρώπων)

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ
Punctuation Marks λόγος Punctuation Marks λόγος

ΕΝΑΡΧΗΗΝΟΛΟΓΟΣΚΑΙΟΛΟΓΟΣΗΝ
This is a page from ΠΡΟΣΤΟΝΘΕΟΝΚΑΙΘΕΟΣΗΝΟΛΟΓΟΣ
the Chester Beatty
papyri (p46). Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς
You are looking at
the first page of
τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.
Hebrews!
Modern Greek NTs do not capitalize the first word of each sentence. Capitalization
only occurs (1) in the title of NT books (every letter capitalized), (2) proper names,
(3) direct quotations, and (4) words that begin a new paragraph.

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 Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ
Punctuation Marks λόγος Vocabulary λόγος

Modern Punctuation Marks ἀγάπη,

ἀγάπη ἡ, love
. α. period (.) γῆ,
γῆ ἡ, earth, land, ground (geology)
ζωή,
ζωή ἡ, life (zoo, zoology)
, α, comma (,)
φωνή,
φωνή ἡ, voice, sound (phonetics,
. α. semicolon (;) phonograph, phone)
; α; question mark (?) ἀλήθεια,
ἀλήθεια ἡ, truth

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ
Vocabulary λόγος Vocabulary λόγος

ἁµαρτία,
ἁµαρτία ἡ, sin (hamartiology) καρδία,
καρδία ἡ, heart (cardiologist)
βασιλεία,
βασιλεία ἡ, kingdom, reign (basilica) δέ,
δέ and, but, now
δόξα,
δόξα ἡ, glory, majesty (doxology) καί,
καί and, even, also
ἐκκλησία,
ἐκκλησία ἡ, congregation, assembly, µέν,
µέν on the one hand, indeed
church (ecclesiastical) ὁ, ἡ, τό,
τό the
ἡµέρα,
ἡµέρα ἡ, day (ephemeral, “for a day”)