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Greek Pronunciation Guide:
Iota Subscript and Diaeresis Marks
Iota Subscript and Improper Diphthongs:
In our last lesson, we introduced the seven major diphthongs found in Biblical Greek. In this lesson, we are going to introduce the improper diphthong, which is formed by one of the vowels alpha, eta, or omega ( a, h, w and followed by an iota subscript. The iota subscript is a very small iota, and placed below the first vowel of the improper diphthong (hence a subscript). It is illustrated below:
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First Vowel Name
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Without Iota Subscript
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With Iota Subscript
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Alpha
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a
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a/
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Eta
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h
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h/
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Omega
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w
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w/
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Note that the iota subscript can be difficult to spot when reading, but is important. It has no affect on pronunciation, but is definately part of the word, and affects the translation. Below, we give a few examples of Greek words with improper diphthongs:
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Diphthong
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Greek
Word
Example
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Definition of
Greek Word
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Frequency of
Occurrence
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G/K #: Strong's #
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h/
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apoqnh/skw
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to die, of trees which dry up, of seeds which rot when planted, of eternal death, to be subject to eternal misery in hell
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111
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633: 599
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w/
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zw/opoievw
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to produce alive, begat or bear living young...
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11
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2443: 2227
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a/
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wra/
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hour, time, season ...
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106
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6052: 5610
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Comments:
Note that apoqnh/skw is the lexical form of the verb. As discussed in the last lesson, a particular lexical form can have many other forms (tenses, moods, etc), called inflections. According to Trenchard, the word apoqnh/skw in all its inflections occurs 111 times in the UBS4 version of the Greek text. The actual inflected form apoqnh/skw occurs in only place, in 1 Corinthians 15:31. Now take a look at this verse from the BibleStudyTools.com website:
1 Corinthians 15:31
I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
kaqj hJmevran ajpoqnhv/skw, nh; th;n uJmetevran kauvchsin,
?ajdelfoiv,? hJ;n cw ejn Xristw'/ #Ihsou' tw'/ kurivw/ hJmw'n.
Here is the link to the interlinear translation at Bible Study Tools:
Link to 1 Cor 15:31 at BibleStudyTools.com
Now look at the actual lexicon entry for Strongs number 599:
Lexicon Entry for Strongs #599
Notice anything? The lexical form used in 1 Cor 15:31 is not listed in the lexicon with the iota subscript, although it is used correctly with the verse! This is something to watch for. Frequently, the iota subscript will be left out in lexicons and verse texts. It is very common to leave out special marks like accents, breathings, and even iota subscripts in Greek texts. It is also important to draw a distinction here - that the iota subscript is part of the spelling, while accents and breathing marks are not.
Diaeresis:
Recall that a diphthong is made of two separate vowels that have a single vowel sound. Occasionally, two vowels that would normally be a diphthong form two separate vowel sounds. To indicate that the vowels are pronounced separately, and do not form a diphthong, a special mark called a diaeresis is placed over the second of the two vowels. Next week, we will discuss how words are broken into syllables. Whereas a diphthong has a single sound, the vowel pair with diaeresis forms two sounds, and the vowels are divided into separate syllables. In the example below, the vowel pair ai which is normally a diphthong has a diaeresis mark over the second vowel, hence the vowel pair has the sound of the two separate vowels. Also note that their is an acute accent mark with the diaeresis mark (it is between the two dots that make up the diaeresis). This can make spotting the mark more difficult:
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Vowel Pair
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Greek
Word
Example
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Definition of
Greek Word
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Frequency of
Occurrence
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GK:Strong's
Numbers
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ai>
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ÅHsai?aß
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Isaiah - bug
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22
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2480: 2268
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In our next lesson, we will cover syllabification. After the next lesson we will begin the real work, building a vocabulary, and learning grammar!
God bless you,
Job.
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