Pocket or Purse Greek New Testaments
Information and Sales
Left to right: Ὁ Σωτήρ Brotherhood edition (vest-pocket size), Ζωή Brotherhood edition, Hellenic Bible Society edition, PocketGNT edition

While most people these days use electronic devices to make the Greek New Testament text portable, some prefer a small paper copy. I know of no major publisher who offers a shirt-pocket-sized Greek NT for sale in the Western Hemisphere.

A small, family-run firm in South Dakota began in early 2023 offering hand-bound copies of the 1904 edition of Eberhard Nestle's Greek text, which has been available in accurate electronic form in the public domain for many years. Prices as of March, 2023 range from $30-$65. These testaments are not available through me; you will find them at www.pocketgnts.com. I encourage you to check out what is offered there. As far as I am aware, these are the only shirt-pocket-sized editions of a critical-type text available anywhere in the world.

Several publishers in Greece offer shirt-pocket-sized editions of the Patriarchal Text of 1904, which is a Byzantine Majority-type text. These editions are available for sale at various websites in Greece, with varying degrees of ease in locating and purchasing the desired item. I imagine that others have found, as I have, that using a credit card for international purchases sometimes results in security issues that cause the card issuer to cancel it and replace it with a new card. So, though having to ship the item twice and needing at least a little something to compensate the time I spend in this work keeps me from being able to offer these testaments at prices much if any below what you can get them for directly from Greece, I can provide them with more convenience and security, as well as provide a lot of information here to facilitate choosing. That information includes links to sites in Greece where these testaments are for sale, for the sake of those who want to purchase directly from Greece. This is especially useful for buyers outside the US, for whom shipping rates from the US would raise prices well beyond the cost of buying directly from Greece.

To aid US buyers who would like to purchase such small editions of the Greek NT and who prefer or are at least willing to have a Majority-type text, at price points lower than are possible for the hand-bound editions mentioned above, I am stocking and offering for sale several editions that I have been able to locate and import. 

As you would expect, the editions differ in quite a variety of ways, making it difficult to make a selection without holding copies of them in your own hands for comparison. To facilitate decision-making, I have prepared a 7-page PDF document comparing the available editions. Among other kinds of information it contains is a page that, when printed at 100% scaling, will show a page photo from each edition at its actual size, to aid in determining adequacy of font size. All of these editions are readable for people with average vision, but those with weaker vision may find some of them to be too small. Type sizes vary from approximately 5.8 to 8 points, which is a significant difference.

Possibly too small to read here (depending on your device), but at least to show the value of this file's contents, I supply a page image of the comparison chart included in the document. 
 IMPORTANT NOTES REGARDING SALES FROM THIS WEB PAGE
  • I am currently offering these Testaments at my website only for shipping to US addresses. As mentioned above, buyers outside the US will almost certainly get better prices by purchasing directly from Greece, from the websites provided below or in the PDF document described above. Buyers outside the US who want to buy from me should message me for details, using the Contact Form on my home page.
  • Current shipping costs (via Media Mail) are $4.25 for the first pound (item weights are indicated below), plus an additional $0.70 cents for each additional pound.
  • IMPORTANT: Except for the UK and the EU, which are blocked for all automated sales due to VAT issues, I do not find a way to prevent buyers outside the US from completing a purchase. Any buyer outside the US who completes a purchase of a Greek NT will receive a refund of the purchase price, except that I will retain my transaction cost of 2.9% + 30 cents. So please do not complete purchases to be shipped to non-US addresses!

Available Editions

Ζωή Brotherhood Edition

This edition is published by a monastic order named The Ζωή Brotherhood of Theologians.

  • The slimmest of the editions I have for sale, at just half an inch thick. Height and width are 4.7"x3.6".
  • The tiny font (about 5.8 points) is crisp and clear.
  • Chapter numbers are Greek-letter numerals, so I have provided a label on the front flyleaf listing the Arabic-numeral equivalents. A little practice, of course, brings familiarity with the Greek scheme.
  • As it comes from the publisher, this edition lacks a ribbon bookmark, but I have attached one.
  • Shipping weight is 0.4 pounds.

 A cosmetically different variant of this edition appears to be for sale at https://www.agiosbooks.gr/product/η-καινή-διαθήκη-2/.  I have not ordered from this site and cannot speak about it from experience, nor can I promise absolutely that the edition for sale there is the same as this one.

$17.50 plus actual shipping, to US addresses only

See "Important Notes" above for shipping rates and other shipping situations

Black

Red

Hellenic Bible Society Edition

This attractive edition is very close to the size and proportions of a pocket Gideon New Testament.

  • At 4.6"x3.2"x0.7", this edition is narrower but a bit thicker than the Ζωή Brotherhood edition.
  • The font is generously sized at about 8 points. It is elegant to the point of being perhaps a little "busy" to the eye.
  • The leatherette cover is nicely plush.
  • I have not seen this edition in any color except purple.
  • A ribbon bookmark is included.
  • Notice the somewhat distracting bleed-through in the page photo.
  • Shipping weight is 0.4 pounds.

Available directly from the publisher at https://www.greekbibles.org....

$17.25 plus actual shipping, to US addresses only

See "Important Notes" above for shipping rates and other shipping situations

Ὁ Σωτήρ Brotherhood Edition

This edition is too large for a shirt pocket but nicely fits the inside breast pocket of a men's blazer.

  • Dimensions 5.8"x4.4"x0.8".
  • Font size is about 7.6 points.
  • Vinyl cover
  • Cross references beneath text
  • Some line-drawn illustrations in Greek Orthodox style
  • A ribbon bookmark is included.
  • Chapter numbers are Greek-letter numerals, so I have provided a label inside the front cover listing the Arabic-numeral equivalents. A little practice, of course, brings familiarity with the Greek scheme.
  • Shipping weight is 0.6 pounds.

Available directly from the publisher at https://www.osotir.org....

$20.50 plus actual shipping, to US addresses only

See "Important Notes" above for shipping rates and other shipping situations

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