Second, while Koine is best known for serving as the original language of the New Testament and the Septuagint, it boasts an enormous corpus of ancient writings - including the Stoic philosophy of Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, the histories of Plutarch and Polybius, Apollonius Rhodius’ epic Argonautica, as well as obscure archeological pieces like grocery lists, wills, legal documents, and personal letters (some of which have never been published!). (Despite its broad use across the Mediterranean, Koine is remarkably uniform - which means just a little learning can be relevant to multiple regions.) Here’s why:įirst, whether you’re interested in history, philosophy, literature, economics, or anything at all situated in the ancient period, you won’t be able to avoid Koine Greek for very long. We think every student interested in Ancient Greek should learn Koine. Even if you’re not a scholar, learning Koine Greek can greatly enrich your personal Bible reading.īut what if you aren’t interested in the Bible or Christianity? Why learn Koine Greek? What’s in it for you? This, by extension, has important applications for theology, biblical history, and pastoral work. It will allow them to engage and interpret the New Testament on its own terms. Obviously, students of the Bible have much to gain from learning Koine Greek. Just as importantly, Koine was also the language used to pen the original Greek New Testament.īeginning in the 4th century, Koine Greek expanded to dominate the Mediterranean world, due in large part to Alexander the Great’s military campaigns, which delivered the language and learning of the Greeks to every new land he conquered.įrom the 1st century until the mid-6th century AD, Koine Greek served as the lingua franca (or “common tongue”) of the Roman Empire - even though Latin was the official language of the empire! Speakers could be found from Rome eastward around the Mediterranean through Greece and Asia Minor and down into Egypt. This Greek Old Testament is traditionally called the Septuagint (3rd century BC). This is because the first translation ever made of the Hebrew Scriptures was from Hebrew into Koine Greek. The most common title for Koine Greek is Biblical Greek. In fact, it reached its height in the 2nd century AD - long after the Hellenistic Period had ended! This is a poor title, though, since the Hellenistic Period is said to have ended around 31 BC, but Koine Greek would continue to be spoken long afterward. It is also known as Hellenistic Greek, since it was the dominant language spoken during the Hellenistic Period, which began with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. This means it developed from contact between multiple dialects of Greek over a large region, not just Attic. More accurately, Koine is a form of Greek, not a dialect. It is sometimes called Common Attic since it borrows heavily from the Attic (Classical) dialect. Hence it is called koine, which in Greek means “common.” Koine was the most widely spoken form of Greek of late antiquity.
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