Iota (Ι/ι) – New Testament Greek words that start with iota

• Old Testament Hebrew
• New Testament Greek

Quick reference

Greek Name:

ἰῶτα

English Name:

iota

Pronunciation:

ē-ō’-tä

Upper-case Letter:

Ι

Lower-case Letter:

ι

Speech Sound:

vowel (short)

Numerical Value:

10

Pronunciation guide

In Koine Greek, the letter Iota is pronounced similarly to the short “i” in “sit.”

The Iota Subscript—a small iota written under certain vowels—is a remnant of an ancient diphthong and is no longer pronounced in speaking. However, its presence can affect the interpretation of words, especially in biblical texts.

Numerical significance

In the Greek numeral system (isopsephy), Iota holds the numerical value of ten (10). Ten is often viewed as a number of completeness or wholeness, especially in the context of a base-ten counting system.

Cultural and symbolic meaning

The letter Iota comes from the Phoenician letter Yodh, which is believed to have originally represented an arm with a hand. This symbolizes the concept of work or action. It is also viewed as the smallest letter, especially with the Iota Subscript being one of the smallest marks.