LESSON 1

GREEK ALPHABET

Objectives:
By the end of the discussion, the students shall have:

1. Expressed the brief history of the Greek language.

2. Explained the importance of the Greek language.
3. Listed the Greek letters.
4. Transliterated Greek letters to English.
5. Identified the Greek vowels, consonants, and diphthongs.
6. Identified the different accents and breathing marks in the Greek language.
7. Practiced dividing Greek words into syllables.

Koine Greek and Its Importance

New Testament Greek belongs to the large language family known as the Indo–European
languages—whose history can be followed from the 14th century BC to the present day and
includes such languages as Latin and all the Latin derivatives, plus German and English. Greek
documents cover 34 centuries, a longer period than that of any other Indo–European language.

The terms “classical,” “koine,” and “modern” are often confused. “Classical,” in its
broadest sense, covers both the ancient period (pre–Homer and Homer), the time of
Plato and Aristotle, the Hellenistic and Roman period, the Byzantine period, and
everything else up to the modern period that began in the 15th century. In some circles,
however, “classical” refers exclusively to Homer and the great philosophers who
followed his time (the distinctions being between the Attic and the Doric, with the Koine
being a developed and simplified form of the Attic).

New Testament Greek, known as Koine Greek, is the Greek that was used from the time
of Alexander the Great (4th century BC) through the end of the great Roman Empire (5th
century AD)—a period of Greek that is also known as the Greek of the Hellenistic and
Roman periods.

Western Rome came to an end in 476 AD, and that date is considered to be the beginning
of Byzantine Greek. Some scholars see the end of the “Koine” period in 529 when
Justinian closed the Athenian schools of philosophy. From that time on, the Koine was
used mostly by the church and thus became identified as “Byzantine Greek.” Apart from
the ecclesiastical influence that dominated the Koine Greek in this period (and even
earlier when Constantine made Christianity the state religion), the Koine Greek existed
in a broader sense until the 15th century.

It is, therefore, the Greek of the Old Testament translation from Hebrew (Septuagint,
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GREEK ALPHABET

3rd century BC), of Philo (an Alexandrian Jewish apologist contemporary with Jesus),
Josephus, the New Testament, the Apostolic Fathers, and the Greek-speaking Anti–Nicene
Church Fathers.

The Greek Alphabet

The Greek alphabet is the same alphabet used today in Greece. As you begin learning
The Greek alphabet, keep the following point in mind: the alphabet is not difficult—it is very
similar to the English alphabet.

Name Form Sound

Small Caps

alpha α Α a father
beta β Β b-boy
gamma γ Γ g game
delta δ Δ d dog
epsilon ε Ε e etch
zeta ζ Ζ z daze
eta η Η e obey
theta θ Θ th theology
iota ι Ι i immediate
kappa κ Κ k keep
lambda λ Λ l lamb
mu μ Μ m mother
nu ν Ν n now
xi ξ Ξ x lax
omicron ο Ο o omelet
pi π Π p papa
rho ρ Ρ r rose
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GREEK ALPHABET

sigma σ, ς Σ s same
tau τ Τ t take
upsilon υ Υ u tulip
phi φ Φ ph phone
chi χ Χ ch crisis
psi ψ Ψ ps tops
omega ω Ω o told

This is the conventional order. Capital letters need not be learned at this time; they are
picked up quite naturally because many of the capitals are more like the English letter than
the cursive form and the remaining letters are easy to pick up by simply sounding out the
remaining letters in the word.

The Vowels
There are seven Greek vowels: α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, and ω. Of these, ε and ο are always short in
pronunciation; η and ω are always long; and α, ι, and υ may be either long or short.
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The Consonants
There are seventeen consonants in New Testament Greek. They are grouped into three classes:

1. Liquids λ, μ, ν, and ρ
a. These are called liquids because of the smooth, easy flow of breath used in their
pronunciation.

2. Mutes β, γ, δ, θ, κ, π, τ, φ, χ
a. These consonants are pronounced by momentarily closing portions of the oral
passage, then suddenly releasing the sound. As the names suggest, labials are
sounded with the lips, dentals with the teeth (and tongue), and palatals with the
back of the throat.

i. Labials π β φ

ii. Dentals τ δ θ

iii. Palatals (Gutturals) κ γ χ

3. Sibilants σ, ζ, ξ, and ψ
a. These consonants all have an “s” sound. Three of these (ζ, ξ, and ψ) are called
compound consonants or digraphs because they resulted from the combination of
a mute consonant with σ.

The Diphthong
Important information about the diphthong:
1. A diphthong is defined as two vowels next to each other that are treated as one.
• An example from English may be seen in the word “group. “There are two vowels
side by side in this word: the “o” and the “u.” But we treat them as one (a
diphthong), giving them the sound of the “oo” rather than “oh–oo.”

2. In the majority of words in the Greek NT, two vowels side by side are diphthongs.

3. The most frequently used diphthongs in the New Testament, with their pronunciation,
are:
αι pronounced as “ai” in the aisle.
αυ pronounced as “ou” in out.
ει pronounced as the “ei” in eight.
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GREEK ALPHABET

ευ pronounced as “eu” in the feud.

οι pronounced as “oi” in oil.
ου pronounced as “ou” in the group.
υι pronounced as “we.”

The following verse from the New Testament (Matthew 11:2) is used to demonstrate the
diphthong:

Ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης ἀκούσας ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Χριστοῦ πέμψας διὰ τῶν

μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ

In this verse, we may observe the following:

1. There is a diphthong in the word ἀκούσας.

2. Two examples of two vowels side by side that are not a diphthong would be the words
Ἰωάννης and διὰ. [Ἰωάννης has three vowels at the beginning of the word, and each of
them is pronounced separately, with the third vowel joining with the following
consonant, the first of two consonants: ν.]

3. Another form of the diphthong is the so-called “iota subscript.”

• In many instances the final iota of a word is written as a subscripted letter, that is,
below the preceding vowel.

• In such cases the following diphthongs, αι, ηι, and ωι, actually appear in NT
Greek as follows: ᾳ ῃ ῳ respectively. These three instances are always found in
predictable places for words that are declined, as discussed below.

• In these cases, the “iota” below the vowel is ignored so far as pronunciation is
concerned. It is important, however, for translation because the subscripted “iota”
gives meaning to the word.

• An example of the “iota–subscript” diphthong is also found in the same verse:

δεσμωτηρίῳ (the final two letters).

The Accent Mark and Syllable

Some preliminary observations.
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• Just as in all languages, words have one or more syllables, and in words, with more than
one syllable we accent one of the syllables.

• For example, in English the word “book” is a one–syllable word and there is no need to
show an accent.

• However, in the word “concern” we have two syllables (con and cern) in which we place
the accent or emphasis on the second syllable.

• We learn where the accent goes without any indication in the writing of the word.

In Greek, however, the syllable to be accented is not left to guesswork; we are told where
the accent is with an actual mark that appears over the accented syllable, and although that
accent mark appears in three forms, the meaning is the same.

Accent Marks
The three forms of the Greek accent are shown in the verse previously cited from Matthew 11:2:
1. acute: third word in the sentence (Ιωάννης);
2. grave: second word in the verse: (δὲ); and
3. circumflex: tenth and eleventh words in the verse: (τοῦ Χριστοῦ).

Many beginning grammars, particularly the older ones, give a detailed explanation for the rules
of accents; however, this information is unimportant when it comes to understanding the
translation of the NT Greek.

Here are some observations about accents:

• The rules of accenting are important for linguists, but not for the practical application of
the text.

• Accents would be important if one needed to write and converse in the language.

• For those wishing to read the Greek, the location of the accents is already done, and we
do not wish to contest their location!

• The practical value is easy: when pronouncing a Greek word, simply accent the syllable
that has one of the three accent marks already provided and joyfully bypass all the
detailed rules that govern accenting.
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Syllables
ONE, and only one, very basic rule: Divide a word’s syllables immediately following a vowel
unless there are two consonants following, in which case the first of the two consonants is added
to the preceding vowel.

Examples from the verse above where the accented syllable is in caps:

• between a vowel and a consonant: ἀ κού σας; (sounds like ah KOU sas)

• when two consonants exist side by side and the first one is connected to the preceding
vowel: πέμ ψας. (Sounds like: PEM psas).

• The long word in the verse above would be divided, according to our two guidelines, as
follows: δεσ μω τη ρί ῳ = des moe tay REE oh—in which the letters in caps represent
the accented syllable.

Application
Apply the guidelines on syllable divisions and accents and pronounce the following three Greek
words. The accented syllable is in caps or underlined.
νόμος law (NA–mas: (nomenclature and Deuteronomy, second book of the law)

Χριστός Christ (Chris–TOS)

ἀπόστολος apostle (a–POS–to–los)

• For the first word, νομος, a division between a vowel and a consonant applies = (νομος),
as indicated in the transliteration.

• For the next word, Χριστός, the two consonants (σ τ) call for a split. The first is attached
to the preceding vowel, and the final syllable begins with the second consonant τ =
(Χριστός).

The Breathing Mark

Greek words that begin with a vowel or diphthong (two vowels treated as one sound) always
have a breathing mark. The breathing mark goes over any word beginning with a vowel and over
the second letter of a diphthong.
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Here is important information about the breathing mark:

• The mark is either smooth or rough. Only the rough breathing mark is important, for it is
our letter “h.”

• These two marks can be seen in our Matthew verse.

• When a word begins with a vowel or diphthong, the smooth breathing mark is indicated
by a single close–quote sign (’) over the initial vowel or second letter of a diphthong.
Examples: the mark over the first letter in: ἀκούσας ἐν.

• The rough breathing mark is indicated by a single open–quote sign (‘) over the initial
vowel/diphthong or ρ. The first word in the verse is an example: Ὁ.

• The meaning of these marks is:

o Smooth breathing marks can be ignored.

o Rough breathing marks represent the English “h” and are, therefore, very
important.

o Thus, the first word in Matthew 11:2 is pronounced: “HA.”

Ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης ἀκούσας ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Χριστοῦ πέμψας διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν
αὐτοῦ.