Koine Foundations

And Jesus was saying, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Please remove this cup from me. But don’t act based on what I want, but on what you want.” (Mark 14:36)

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Transliteration is the process of converting a word from the alphabet letters of one language to similar-sounding alphabet letters of another language. This is used when two languages do not use the same alphabet, such as Greek and English. Transliteration provides a rough idea of how to pronounce a word for someone who is not familiar with the foreign language, because the word is spelled using a familiar alphabet. For example, you are probably familiar with the Greek word for love. In Greek letters it is spelled ἀγάπη <Hear It>. Transliterated into English letters, it is spelled agapē.

Transliteration is not the same thing as translation. Transliteration shows how the word is pronounced. Translation gives the meaning of the word. For example:

Greek Word: ἀγάπη
Transliteration into English letters: agapē
Translation: love

Click here for a previous post about the word ἀγάπη / agapē.

In relation to Greek, transliteration provides a rough idea of how to pronounce a word, because Greek has sounds that do not have an exact match in English. The gamma (γ / g) in the word agapē is an example. Gamma has a guttural sound in Greek that English does not have. The English letter g is an approximate sound for the gramma.

It is helpful to be familiar with transliteration because New Testament study tools like commentaries, and interlinear Bibles often use transliteration for Greek words. This is done to help students who are unfamiliar with Greek.

Click here to open a PDF document that shows the transliteration of Greek letters to English letters.

Interestingly, there are examples of transliteration in the New Testament from other languages. Remember that Rome ruled the Mediterranean world at the time of Jesus and the official language was Latin. Greek was the commercial, literary and cultural language of the empire. In Palestine there were a large number of Romans and Greeks, so the local Jewish population that spoke Aramaic also understood Greek and some Latin. Scholars believe that Jesus probably spoke and taught primarily in Aramaic. You see some glimpses of this mixture of languages in the New Testament. Click here for a previous post about the three languages written on the placard posted on the cross when Jesus was crucified.

The verse at the top of this post has an example of an Aramaic word transliterated into Greek in the New Testament: ἀββᾶ / abba [Hear It].

And Jesus was saying, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Please remove this cup from me. But don’t act based on what I want, but on what you want.” (Mark 14:36)

This verse records part of Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before He was crucified. He is experiencing great anguish and prays to be delivered from the suffering of crucifixion, while also accepting God’s will. The word “cup” is a symbolic way of referring to His suffering and death, and also to God the Father’s wrath and judgment. Jesus’ appeal assumes that all things are possible for God, but that all things must be done according to God’s will – somethings we should keep in mind when we pray.

Jesus addresses God as “abba”, which is a transliteration of the Aramaic word for “father” into Greek. The word exhibits a respectful intimacy on the part of Jesus. The Greek word is then transliterated into English letters in our modern translations. So the chain of transliteration is:

Aramaic word that Jesus spoke: אבא
Transliteration from Aramaic to Greek letters: ἀββᾶ
Transliteration from Greek to English letters: abba
Translation: father

Another example is found in Mark 5:41 where Mark records the account of Jesus’ raising a dead girl back to life. Not only does Mark give the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic words spoken by Jesus, but he also gives a translation:

Then taking the girl’s hand, Jesus said to her, “Talitha koum.” [transliteration]
This means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” [translation]

The chain of transliteration is:

Aramaic phrase that Jesus spoke: טליתא קומי
Transliteration from Aramaic to Greek letters: ταλιθά κουμ
Transliteration from Greek to English letters: talitha koum

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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.