MNTG Textbook Ch01 2019

Mastering New Testament
Greek Textbook
Chapter 1: Alphabet
Audio Book
Ted Hildebrandt
© 2019
Introduction 8
CHAPTER 1
The Alphabet
24 Letters, the Gateway into the Language
Small/Capital
α/Α Alpha sounds like “a” in father.
β/Β Beta sounds like “b” in Bible.
γ/Γ Gamma sounds like “g” in gone.
δ/Δ Delta sounds like “d” in dog.
ε/Ε Epsilon sounds like “e” in met.
ζ/Ζ Zeta sounds like “z” in daze when it begins a word, “dz” when it’s
in the middle of a word.
η/Η Eta sounds like “e” in obey.
θ/Θ Theta sounds like “th” in think.
ι/Ι Iota sounds like the “i” in machine.
Some distinguish Iota short sounds like the “i” in sit. Modern Greek
consistently uses the long “i” as in machine. We will follow that
pronunciation. In initial positions, it is often found in Hebrew
personal names, where it has a consonant “y” sound: Ἰησοῦς
(Jesus/Yesus).
κ/Κ Kappa sounds like “k” in kitchen.
λ/Λ Lambda sounds like “l” in law.
μ/Μ Mu sounds like “m” in mother.
ν/Ν Nu sounds like “n” in new.
ξ/Ξ Xsi sounds like “x” in axe.
ο/Ο Omicron sounds like “o” obey. Some pronounce omicron as the
“o” in not or “o” in omelette. We will pronounce it as modern
Greek as a long “o” as in obey. Others like Hansen and Quinn
(Greek: An Intensive Course) use the “ou” sound in thought.
π/Π Pi sounds like “p” in peach.
ρ/Ρ Rho sounds like “r” in rod.
σ/Σ Sigma sounds like “s” in set.
Sigma looks like ς when it comes at the end of a word (final
sigma)—σοφός (wise).
τ/Τ Tau sounds like “t” in talk.
υ/Υ Upsilon sounds like “oo” in hoops. Modern Greek uses an “i”as in
machine.
φ/Φ Phi sounds like “ph” in phone.
χ/Χ Chi sounds like “ch” in chemical.
ψ/Ψ Psi sounds like “ps” in lips.
ω/Ω Omega sounds like “o” in tone.
8
CHAPTER 1: The Alphabet
We will focus on the lower-case letters, miniscules, although the early uncial (uppercase)
manuscripts were written without punctuation or spaces between the words in all uppercase
letters, majuscules (major writings). Be able to recognize the upper-case letters. Capital
letters are used in proper names, to begin direct quotations, and at the beginning of
paragraphs. You may want to use the Mastering New Testament Greek disk to work on the
pronunciation of these letters and to drill yourself.
Easy English look alikes: α, β, ε, ι, κ, ο, ς, τ, υ
Double consonants: θ (th), ξ (xs), φ (ph), χ (ch), ψ (ps)
Easy to confuse letters:
η—eta (with n)
ν—nu (with v)
ρ—rho (with p)
χ—chi (with x)
ω—omega (with w)
Here are some English-like examples to use for sounding things out. Pronounce the
following, accenting the capitalized syllables:
ανθρωπος—pronounced “AN-thro-pos” (anthropology)

θεος—pronounced “the-OS” (theology)
προφητης—pronounced “pro-FA-tas” (two long a’s) (prophets)
Χριστος—pronounced “Kri-STOS” (Christ)
καρδια—pronounced “kar-DE-a” (i = ee) (heart; cf. cardiac)
αμην—pronounced “a-MEIN” (ei = long a sound) (amen)
Vowels: α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω
Short Long
ε η
ο ω
Can be either long or short: α, ι, υ
The iota will be pronounced three different ways:
1. Iota short sounds like “i” in “sit”—although we will follow modern Greek and
pronounce it as the “i” in “machine”
2. Iota long sounds like the “i” in “machine” (= modern Greek)
3. When it is initial in a Hebrew name, it sounds like a “y”— Ἰησοῦς (Jesus/Yesus)
9
Nasal gamma: The “g” sound of a gamma changes to a “n” sound when put before: γ,
κ, χ, ξ. ἄγγελος is pronounced: “angelos.” This is called a “nasal gamma.”
Final sigma: Sigma is always written σ unless it comes at the end of a word, when it is
written ς. This form is called a final sigma. It is pronounced the same. Thus σοφός
(wise) shows the two forms of the sigma (note the final sigma form).
Eight diphthongs: 2 vowels with 1 sound. Diphthongs are combination vowels. Two
vowels are written but result in only one sound. These are frequent in Greek, and
so be aware of them. The final letter of a diphthong will always be an ι or an υ
(closed vowel). The diphtongs in Modern Greek are the place of greatest phonetic
divergence.
αι as in aisle (αἷμα, blood)

ει as in eight (εἰμί, I am)
οι as in oil (οἶκος, house)
υι as in suite (υἱός, son)
αυ as in sauerkaut (αὐτός, he)
ευ, ηυ as in feud (πιστεύω, I believe)
ου as in boutique (Ἰησοῦς, Jesus)
All are considered long except αι, and οι when at the end of a word, where they are
short.
Iota subscripts (Improper diphthongs): There are 3 letter combinations that are formed
by taking the vowels α, η, and ω and subscripting an iota under them. It doesn’t
affect pronunciation but may be significant in specifying grammatical features: ᾳ,
ῃ, ῳ
Diaeresis ( Ἠσαϊας–Isaiah: Ἠ-σα-ι-ας)—cancels the diphthong effect (indicates the

two vowels must be kept separate). The diaeresis shows that a vowel must be
pronounced as a separate syllable. It will be found often on Old Testament names
(Μωϋσῆς = Moses).
Ἠσαΐας Ἠ-σα-ΐ-ας Isaiah (Jn. 1:23)

Μωϋσῆς Μω-ϋ-σῆς Moses (Jn. 1:45)
Ἀχαΐα Ἀ-χα-ΐ-α Achaia (Acts 18:12)
A phonetic chart is also a helpful way of grouping the letters:
Labials (lips) π β φ
Dentals (teeth) τ δ θ
Velars (palate) κ γ χ
10
Phonetic sigma addition:
Labial + σ = ψ Velar + σ = ξ Dental + σ = σ

(π + σ = ψ) (κ + σ = ξ) (τ + σ = σ)
11
Vocabulary
At this point don’t worry about the accent marks over vowels except to stress that syllable
(chapter 2 is on accents). The number following the word is the number of times the word is
used in the New Testament. The word after the dash gives an English parallel.
ἄγγελος angel (175)—angel

ἀμήν truly, verily (129)—amen
ἄνθρωπος man, human (550)—anthropology
ἐγώ I (1,175)—ego
θεός God (1,317)—theology
καί and, even, also (9,153)
καρδία heart (156)—cardiac
λέγω I say (2,354)
προφήτης prophet (144)—prophet
Χριστός Christ, Messiah, anointed one (529)—Christ
Things to Know and Do
1. Be able to chant through the alphabet, saying the name of each letter in order. Be
able to do the Alpha-robics moves. See if you can say the Greek alphabet as fast as
you can say the English alphabet. Can you see where the name “alphabet” comes
from? Know what a final sigma looks like. What are diphthongs, and what sound
does each make? Know which vowels are long and short and which can be either.
What are the three iota subscripts? What role does the diaeresis play? Know the
vocabulary items (recognize and write them).
2. Work on the drills and exercises in Mastering New Testament Greek, Interactive
chapter 1.
3. Do the worksheets from the workbook.
12

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Mastering New Testament

Easy English look alikes: α, β, ε, ι, κ, ο, ς, τ, υ

Double consonants: θ (th), ξ (xs), φ (ph), χ (ch), ψ (ps)

Easy to confuse letters:

ανθρωπος—pronounced “AN-thro-pos” (anthropology)

Can be either long or short: α, ι, υ

The iota will be pronounced three different ways:

2. Iota long sounds like the “i” in “machine” (= modern Greek)

3. When it is initial in a Hebrew name, it sounds like a “y”— Ἰησοῦς (Jesus/Yesus)

αι as in aisle (αἷμα, blood)

Diaeresis ( Ἠσαϊας–Isaiah: Ἠ-σα-ι-ας)—cancels the diphthong effect (indicates the

Ἠσαΐας Ἠ-σα-ΐ-ας Isaiah (Jn. 1:23)

A phonetic chart is also a helpful way of grouping the letters:

Phonetic sigma addition:

Labial + σ = ψ Velar + σ = ξ Dental + σ = σ

ἄγγελος angel (175)—angel

Things to Know and Do

3. Do the worksheets from the workbook.

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