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&rs
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.
“Kantor’s work gives us an excellent starting point in studying the emerging topic of Koine Greek pronunciation without overwhelming the novice (or even many Greek teachers). I may have to repent of my lifelong use of Erasmian pronunciation.”
—William D. Mounce, author of Basics of Biblical Greek
“Anyone serious about Koine Greek should be serious about its pronunciation. And anyone serious about the pronunciation of Koine Greek should study this book. This will be the standard introduction to the subject for decades to come.”
—Constantine R. Campbell, Sydney College of Divinity
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Benjamin Kantor is preceptor in Classical Hebrew at Harvard University. He was previously a research associate in Biblical Hebrew at the University of Cambridge. He earned his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin.
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Table of Contents
List of Symbols and Abbreviations
So You Want to Read (Pronounce) Biblical Greek
1. How Has Greek Been Pronounced in the Classroom since Erasmus?
2. How Do We Know How Koine Greek Was Pronounced?
3. Do I Need to Be a Linguist?
4. How Was Koine Greek Pronounced Historically?
5. How Should Greek Be Pronounced in the Classroom Tomorrow?
Appendix: Practice Reading (Transcribed Texts)
Selected Bibliography
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