Q401 : How to Pronounce Biblical Names?
Is there a source for rules of pronunciation of Biblical names? I don't want the modern day English pronunciation. I want to know how it's pronounced in that native tongue. For example, what are the rules for Balaam and Namaan. There must be a reason there are two As in the second syllable, and how is it pronounced? |
A401 : by Steve Lewis 
One of the interesting things you find if you attend Bible college or seminary is that different instructors or different institutions may have different ways of pronouncing the words in the original languages. That may seem odd, but the fact is that no one knows exactly how the original words were pronounced by ancient speakers of Hebrew or Greek. We have their written words, but we have no record of how those words sounded when they were spoken.
There are several resources in English that are available for pronouncing common biblical names. Not all of them may agree on every term, but they provide help pronouncing words that may not correspond to our typical English pronunciation.
The goal for using these standard pronunciations is to be understood clearly when you are speaking with others in English today. It may not be helpful to pronounce Balaam as “bah-ah-LAM” when everyone you are speaking with is used to hearing “BAY-lum.” Most English speakers know what you mean when you say “BAY-lum” – but it can be confusing to your listeners if you pronounce a word differently, despite the fact that the “weird” pronunciation may be closer to what was spoken in ancient times. You are speaking with today’s modern English listener, not someone from four thousand years in the past. If clear communication is your goal, then you should pronounce words in a way that is familiar to your audience today.
|
