Biblical Greek Year 1 Lesson 1
Biblical Greek is foundational for understanding the New Testament in its original language, and its study begins with learning the alphabet and its phonetic structure. The Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters, each representing a unique sound. Greek vowels are essential to this system, consisting of seven letters: α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, and ω. These vowels can form diphthongs—combinations of two vowels producing a single sound—such as αι (pronounced like “ai” in aisle) and ει (like “ei” in vein). An essential aspect of Greek pronunciation is the breathing marks placed over vowels at the beginning of a word. These include the rough breathing (῾), which adds an “h” sound, and the smooth breathing (᾽), which indicates the absence of this sound. A mastery of these basics prepares the student for more complex grammatical and syntactical studies in Biblical Greek, allowing for a more accurate reading and interpretation of the New Testament texts.
Class Notes
Greek Alphabet
| Form of the Capital | Name | Form of the Lower case | Sound |
| Α | Alpha | α | a in father |
| Β | Beta | β | b in boy |
| Γ | Gamma | γ | g in go |
| Δ | Delta | δ | d in day |
| Ε | Epsilon | ε | e (short) in met |
| Ζ | Zeta | ζ | z in daze |
| Η | Eta | η | e in fete
a in mate |
| Θ | Theta | θ | th in thin |
| Ι | Iota | ι | i in police
i in fit |
| Κ | Kappa | κ | k in keep |
| Λ | Lambda | λ | l in led |
| Μ | Mu | μ | m in man |
| Ν | Nu | ν | n in net |
| Ξ | Xi | ξ | x in lax |
| Ο | Omicron | ο | o (short) in omit |
| Π | Pi | π | p in peg |
| Ρ |