Abarim Publications' online Biblical Greek Dictionary
Ω
The proverbially final letter of the Greek alphabet is the Ω or ω (omega), meaning Big-O. There's also a Little-o, or in Greek: omicron, which is: ο. It's suspected that the omega was once spelled as two omicrons side by side. The same thing still occurs today in Dutch: In Dutch the word stop is pronounced somewhat the same as in English but the word boot, which means "boat" is pronounced the same as in English, namely as "boat", with a long O, but spelled with two short o's side by side.
In the Greek New Testament a loose letter ω (omega) can show up with the following functions:
- Indeed simply as the loose letter ω (omega). Jesus famously called himself the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End (Revelation 1:8, 21:6 and 22:13 only), and although that's usually faithfully explained to refer to the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, here at Abarim Publications we doubt that either Jesus or anyone else in that time saw the first letter of the alphabet as the actual beginning or it, and the last letter omega as the actual end of it. Instead, we're more drawn to the many forms of the relative pronoun, which is ο (o-micron) in the nominative neutral single, α (alpha) in the nominative and accusative neutral plural, and ω (o-mega) in the dative neutral singular.
- Hence the loose omega may show up as the dative neutral singular form of the relative pronoun: ω (o), meaning "to which".
- As ω (o, or oi!), which is an expletive or exclamation, usually transliterated as O or Oh! This particle of exclamation occurs 17 times in the New Testament; see full concordance. Its Hebrew equivalent is אח ('ah), which is identical to the word meaning brother, which in turn may explain the curious cry "O brother!".
- The subjunctive form of the first person single of the verb ειμι (eimi), meaning to be. It expresses the wish: "... that I may be ...". This particular form occurs twice in the New Testament, namely in John 9:5 and Philippians 2:28.