Greek Language
- LAST REVIEWED: 26 January 2023
- LAST MODIFIED: 27 March 2014
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0023
- LAST REVIEWED: 26 January 2023
- LAST MODIFIED: 27 March 2014
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0023
Introduction
The New Testament, apart from a few words in Aramaic and Hebrew, is written in a form of the Greek language used throughout the Roman Mediterranean world of the 1st century. The Septuagint, the name given to the Greek version of the Old Testament (most of which is a translation from the Hebrew Bible, though not all), is also written in this form of Greek. This Greek is derived from a form of Attic Greek that became widely used for administrative and other purposes and was spread throughout the Mediterranean world by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE and afterwards. This Greek is typified by instances of phonological, morphological, and syntactical regularization, as its use became greatly extended in scope, either by those for whom Greek was not their first language or in environments where a trade or other common language was needed. Some of the most noticeable changes from earlier Greek are the elimination of dialects (though some regional variety is still present), reduction in particles and conjunctions, use of periphrasis for morphologically bulky synthetic forms (e.g., in the perfect tense-form), and reduction in scope of cases and extended use of prepositions, among many others. Because of its widespread use, even by those for whom it was not a first language, this Greek is called Koine, or common Greek. There is a long history of study of the Greek language of the Bible, beginning with the ancient Greeks themselves, and continuing especially from the time of the Renaissance and Reformation to the present. As a result, it would be virtually impossible to include all pertinent works on the Greek language of the Bible, and even of the New Testament. It certainly cannot be done in a few hundred annotated references. As a result, this article focuses upon major reference works regarding Greek, and significant works that have been written within the last forty or so years that reflect recent developments in Greek language and linguistics. Generally, only articles that make a unique or historically important contribution to the study of the Greek language or that are recent are cited. The topic of translation is not discussed in any significant way.
General Overviews
There have been many different kinds of introductions to the basic issues in study of the Greek of the New Testament. The approaches used are often quite different, with some emphasizing linguistics and others more traditional philological concerns.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Nabataea and the Nabat...
- Aaron
- Acts of Peter
- Acts of the Apostles
- Adam and Eve
- Aelia Capitolina
- Afterlife and Immortality
- Agriculture
- Alexander the Great
- Alexandria
- Altered States of Consciousness in the Bible
- Ancient Christianity, Churches in
- Ancient Israel, Schools in
- Ancient Medicine
- Ancient Mesopotamia, Schools in
- Ancient Near Eastern Law
- Angels
- Anti-Semitism and the New Testament
- Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
- Apocryphal Acts
- Apostolic Fathers
- Aram
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Ammon and the Ammonite...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Aram and the Arameans
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Judah and the Judeans ...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Moab and the Moabites
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Phoenicia and the Phoe...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of the Kingdom of Israel ...
- Archaeology, Greco-Roman
- Art, Early Christian
- Asceticism
- Astrology and Astronomy
- Athaliah
- Atonement
- Augustus
- Babylon
- Baptism
- Barnabas, Epistle of
- Benefaction/Patronage
- Bible and Visual Art
- Biblical Criticism
- Biblical Studies, Cognitive Science Approaches in
- Caesarea Maritima
- Canaanites
- Canon, Biblical
- Ceramics
- Cherubim
- Child Metaphors in the New Testament
- Children in the Hebrew Bible
- Children in the New Testament World
- Christian Apocrypha
- Christology
- Chronicles, First and Second
- Cities of Refuge
- Clement, First
- Clement of Alexandria
- Clement, Second
- Clothing
- Colossians
- Conversation Analysis
- Conversion
- Corinthians, Second
- Cosmology, Near East
- Covenant
- Covenant, Ark of the
- Crucifixion
- Cyrus
- Daniel
- Daniel, Additions to
- David
- Death and Burial
- Deborah
- Demons
- Deuteronomistic History
- Deuteronomy
- Diaspora in the New Testament
- Didache
- Digital Humanities and the Bible
- Divination and Omens
- Domestic Architecture, Ancient Israel
- Early Christianity
- Ecclesiastes/Qohelet
- Economics and Biblical Studies
- Edom
- Education, Greco-Roman
- Education in the Hebrew Bible
- Egyptian Book of the Dead
- Election in the Bible
- Elijah
- Elisha
- Enoch
- Ephesians
- Epistles, Catholic
- Epistolography (Ancient Letters)
- Esther and Additions to Esther
- Ethics
- Evil Eye
- Exodus, Book of
- Exorcism
- Ezekiel
- Ezra-Nehemiah
- Faith in the New Testament
- Feminist Scholarship on the Old Testament
- Flora and Fauna of the Hebrew Bible
- Food and Food Production
- Friendship, Kinship and Enmity
- Funerary Rites and Practices, Greco-Roman
- Galatians
- Galilee
- Genesis, Book of
- Gentiles
- Gnosticism
- God, Ancient Israel
- God, Greco-Roman
- God, Son of
- Gospels
- Gospels, Apocryphal
- Great, Herod the
- Greco-Roman World, Associations in the
- Greek Language
- Hagar
- Heaven
- Hebrew Bible, Biblical Law in the
- Hebrew Language
- Hebrews
- Hell
- Hellenistic and Roman Egypt
- Hermas, Shepherd of
- Historiography, Greco-Roman
- History of Ancient Israelite Religion
- Hittites
- Holy Spirit
- Honor and Shame
- Hosea, Book of
- Idol/Idolatry (HB/OT)
- Idol/Idolatry (New Testament)
- Imperial Cult and Early Christianity
- Infancy Gospel of Thomas
- Interpretation and Hermeneutics
- Intertextuality in the New Testament
- Isaiah
- Israel, History of
- James
- Jeremiah
- Jeroboam
- Jerusalem
- Jesus of Nazareth
- Jewish Christianity
- Jewish Festivals
- Jezebel
- Job
- Joel, Book of
- John, Gospel of
- John the Baptist
- Joshua
- Jubilees, Book of
- Judaism, Hellenistic
- Judaism, Rabbinic
- Judaism, Second Temple
- Judas, Gospel of
- Jude, Epistle of
- Judges, Book of
- Judith, Book of
- Kings, First and Second
- Kingship
- Lamentations
- Letters, Johannine
- Letters, Pauline
- Levi/Levittes
- Levirate Obligation in the Hebrew Bible
- Levitical Cities
- Leviticus
- LGBTIQ Hermeneutics
- Literacy, New Testament
- Literature, Apocalyptic
- Lord’s Prayer
- Luke, Gospel of
- Maccabean Revolt
- Maccabees, First–Fourth
- Man, Son of
- Manasseh, King of Judah
- Manasseh, Tribe/Territory
- Mark, Gospel of
- Martyrdom
- Mary
- Matthew, Gospel of
- Medieval Biblical Interpretation (Jewish)
- Mesopotamian Mythology and Genesis 1-11
- Messianism
- Midian
- Midrash and Aggadah
- Minoritized Criticism of the New Testament
- Miracle Stories
- Modern Bible Translations
- Moses
- Music
- Mysticism in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity
- Myth in the Hebrew Bible
- Nahum, Book of
- Names of God in the Hebrew Bible
- New Testament and Early Christianity, Women, Gender, and S...
- New Testament, Feminist Scholarship on the
- New Testament, Men and Masculinity in the
- New Testament, Rhetoric of the
- New Testament, Social Sciences and the
- New Testament Studies, Emerging Approaches in
- New Testament, Textual Criticism of the
- New Testament Views of Torah
- Numbers, Book of
- Nuzi (Nuzi Tablets)
- Old Testament, Biblical Theology in the
- Old Testament, Social Sciences and the
- Orality and Literacy
- Parables
- Paraenesis
- Passion Narratives
- Pastorals
- Paul
- Pauline Chronology
- Paul's Opponents
- Pentateuch
- Performance Criticism
- Period, The "Persian"
- Peter
- Philemon
- Philippians
- Philistines
- Philo of Alexandria
- Piety/Godliness in Early Christianity and the Roman World
- Poetry, Hebrew
- Pontius Pilate
- Priestly/Holiness Codes
- Priest/Priesthood
- Prophets
- Proverbs
- Psalms
- Pseudepigraphy, Early Christian
- Pseudo-Clementines
- Q
- Qumran/Dead Sea Scrolls
- Race, Ethnicity and the Gospels
- Revelation (Apocalypse)
- Romans
- Ruth
- Sacrifice
- Samaria/Samaritans
- Samuel, First and Second
- Satan
- Scriptures
- Second Baruch
- Sects, Jewish
- Septuagint
- Sermon on the Mount
- Sexual Violence and the Hebrew Bible
- Sin (Hebrew Bible/Old Testament)
- Sirach
- Slavery
- Sojourner
- Solomon
- Solomon, Wisdom of
- Song of Songs
- Succession Narrative
- Synagogue
- Synoptic Problem
- Tales, Court
- Talmud
- Targum
- Temples and Sanctuaries
- Temples, Near Eastern
- Ten Commandments
- The Bible and the American Civil War
- The Bible in China
- the Hebrew Bible, Ancient Egypt and
- The New Testament and Creation Care
- Thessalonians
- Thomas, Gospel of
- Tobit
- Trauma and the Bible, Hermeneutics of
- Twelve Prophets, Book of the
- Ugarit
- Virtues and Vices: New Testament Ethical Exhortation in I...
- War, New Testament
- Wisdom
- Wisdom—Greek and Latin
- Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testa...
- Worship in the New Testament and Earliest Christianity
- Worship, Old Testament
- Zadok
- Zechariah
- Zoology (Animals in the New Testament)