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Kohrnáyleeohs
Kaisáh-reheeah
Pohtéeohloi

Sounds like Swahili to me.

Nah, not Swahili. Koine Greek. Dr. Wittman is kind of a nut on correct pronunciation of proper nouns--names, places, religious divisions--and he likes to carry it into his writings. Most of these Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek names when Anglicized would sound strange to the ear tuned to studying these languages.

Personally (and I've been a student of his for many years) I've thought that often this is not particularly relevant to the issue or doctrine addressed, just a sort of idiosyncrasy. I've gotten over holding it against him, and have learned a lot of the flavor of the culture in Bible times.

Let me suggest that allowing this to develop into an adversarial block will not help us learn what we can from the details that were carefully and exhaustively researched and freely presented for our benefit.

But to give an example I find interesting, look at the OT name of the great prophet whose moniker the AV spells "Elijah." You and I would customarily pronounce that as "Eh- or Ee-lye-dzhyah." But that would not be the way a German (to whom J sounds like our Y) would say it, but as "Eh-lee-yah." And that IIRC would pretty much be the way a Hebrew-speaker would say it.

Similarly, if you read the Greek text about John the Baptizer, who was taken to be a herald of the Messiah, a first-century-revived Elijah--which is spelled in Greek in the nominative case--Ελιας; and pronounced, (beginning with a glottal stop) "Eh-lee-ah-ss." Not quite Hebrew, especially if the noun is declined into another case, eh?

So what Wittman insists is pretty much the Hellenized pronunciation of proper nouns. Definitely, a preference, not a requirement upon which one ought to insist (unless you want an A in the course, eh?).

However, if I was Κορνηλιος, and I was in Heaven, and an American from the 21st Century came there and net me, I'd expect to be introduced as "Kohr-NAY-lee-ohs," not "Kor-KNEEL-yuhs," wouldn't I? And, to be proper, the American would have to relearn my name and say it right, eh?

So, the underlying thought of this master teacher's use of these pronunciations is a thoughtful hint that if you and I learn them here under his tutelage, we won't have to relearn them in Heaven (making us think our earthly instructor was unlearned also), lest we appear to be rubes needing acculturation to the way things are done there.

Capisce?

You do know, don't you, that the languages of heaven will be Hebrew, Aramaic, and the precise Koine Greek (with a few borrowed words)? that we need to be able to communicate without having to learn a thousand languages, dialects, local nuances, and idioms? and that what we don't advantage ourselves of learning here about Bible doctrines will have to be learned there before we can progress? Hmmm?

Respectfully --