Koine Foundations

Here begins the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Mark 1:1)

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Word Focus
Good News
εὐαγγέλιον
euangelion
<Hear It>

Mark is a storyteller. His story in the New Testament about what Jesus did and said is simple, but vivid. It begins by stating that his account presents the Good News (εὐαγγέλιον / euangelion) about Jesus Christ.

The Greek word εὐαγγέλιον is usually translated into English as “Good News” or “Gospel,” which also means “good news.” The word “Gospel” comes from the Old English word gōdspel (gōd: “good” + spel: “news, story”).

In Classical Greek εὐαγγέλιον referred to a message of victory carried from the battlefield. However, by the time of the New Testament it had a more general meaning of “good news” or “joyful news.”

So, the purpose of Mark’s story is to tell us the good news. What is the good news? The Good News is the complete account of the arrival, life, death and resurrection of the Savior, Jesus Christ. It is a message of hope and victory over our misery and sin.

Click here for a fuller explanation of the Good News.

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Word Focus Lexicon

Lexical Form: τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, εὐαγγελίου <Hear It>
Gloss: good news, gospel
Part of Speech: Second Declension Neuter Noun
New Testament Frequency: 76
Strong’s Number: G2098 (Link to Blue Letter Bible Lexicon)

Pronunciation Note: The Upsilon (υ <Hear It>) in εὐαγγέλιον is pronounced like the v in vet and not the u in flu. In the Koine Greek era the Upsilon shifted to a consonantal \v\ sound in the vowel combinations αυ <Hear It>, ευ <Hear It>, and ηυ <Hear It>.

Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.