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| BIBLE BACKGROUND Origins, history, language Bible languages
But few Christians take the trouble to read their scriptures in the original languages. They have ceased to be compulsory even within Christian Theology modules in university degree courses. In sharp contrast, Judaism and Islam teach believers to read in the original language of the text. The Greek of the New Testament is not ‘posh’, classical Greek but ‘koine’ (pronounced ‘coin-ee’) Greek, the sort used in the market place and in everyday conversation. The writing of some New Testament writers, such as Luke, is more classical than others, such as the Book of Revelation. None of it is like modern Greek, any more than Chaucer’s English is like modern English. However, New Testament Greek is quite easy to upgrade
to modern as the main differences lie in vocabulary (there are no words
in New Testament Greek to ask where to buy a floppy disc!) and in pronunciation.
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