A Short Guide to the Pronunciation of New Testament Greek

Book excerpt: What did the apostles’ Greek sound like? How should New Testament Greek be pronounced in our classrooms? Often students are taught Erasmian pronunciation, which does not even reproduce Erasmus’s own pronunciation faithfully, let alone that of the New Testament authors. But if we want to process the language of the New Testament the same way its original authors and readers did, we should use their pronunciation. In his new book, Benjamin Kantor breaks a path toward an authentic pronunciation of Koine Greek at the time of the New Testament, seeking to improve students’ reading proficiency. A Short Guide to the Pronunciation of New Testament Greek distills Kantor’s new monograph, The Pronunciation of New Testament Greek, with an eye toward practical instruction. The first comprehensive phonological and orthographic study of Judeo-Palestinian Koine Greek, The Pronunciation of New Testament Greek surveys thousands of inscriptions and papyri to determine historical pronunciation. A Short Guide gives students an overview of the basics of phonology before explaining the pronunciation of each Greek letter and phoneme individually. Perfect for classroom use, this guide explains Kantor’s cutting-edge research accessibly and includes sample texts for reading practice.