42 Adelbert Denaux Testament, the Septuagint, and further the non-Biblical Greek literature). Hence, stylistics has a comparative dimension. Moreover, stylistics may also make use of statistics. Stylistics is not just a question of linguistics fingerprints but of numbers46. In light of recent developments in computer technology and biblical search software and the increased access to a much larger amount of empirical data resulting from it, the question is raised whether and in what measure quantitative models of analysis are useful, or even necessary to describe Luke’s usage of language. In the past, quite a few scholars were aware of the dangers of quantitative criteria, they nevertheless made use of this method, and rightly so47. There is, indeed, a danger of falling into the habit of what Matthew Brook O’Donnell calls “‘statisticulating’, that is, engaging in the unprincipled and statistically unjustified use of numbers to support a particular point”48. It is possible, however, to develop a linguistically and statistically sound method for stylistic study as is shown, for example, in Anthony Kenny’s A Stylometric Study of the New Testament49. Moreover, “collection and analysis of statistics can only aid in the description of style, but it cannot provide an explanation for its occurrence”50. In our opinion then, statistical methods remain useful in stilistics of literary texts, at the condition they are used in combination with other, more holistic approaches. We allude to the title of M. Brook O’Donnell, “Linguistic Fingerprints or Style 46 by Numbers? The Use of Statistics in the Discussion of Authorship of New Testament Documents”, in S.E. Porter - A. Carson (eds.), Linguistics and the New Testament. Critical Junctures (JSNT.SS 168 = Studies in New Testament Greek 5; Sheffield 1999) 206-62. J.C. Hawkins, Horae Synopticae. Contribution to the Study of the Synoptic 47 Problem (Oxford 1899; Oxford/ New York 21909 [= 1968]); R. Morgenthaler, Statistik des neutestamentlichen Wortschatzes (Zürich-Frankfurt am Main 1958 [= Zürich, 41992]); L. Gaston, Horae Synopticae Electronicae. Word Statistics of the Synoptic Gospels (SBS, 3; Missoula, MT 1973); J.H. Friedrich, “Wortstatistik als Methode am Beispiel der Frage einer Sonderquelle im Matthäusevangelium”, ZNW 76 (1985) 29-42; K. Aland (ed.), Vollständige Konkordanz zum griechischen Neuen Testament. Band II. Spezialübersichten (Berlin-New York 1978); M.-É. Boismard & A. Lamouille, Le Texte Occidental des Actes des Apôtres. Reconstruction et réhabilitation. Tome I. Introduction et textes; Tome II. Apparat critique des caractéristiques stylistiques, index des citations patristiques (Paris 1984 [= 1985]); F. Neirynck, “Le texte des Actes des Apôtres et les caractéristiques stylistiques lucaniennes”, ETL 61 (1985) 304-34 (= Id., Evangelica II [BETL, 99] 1991, 243-278); W. Hendriks, Karakteristiek woordgebruik in de synoptische evangelies (Thesis, K.U. Nijmegen 1986). M. Brook O’Donnell, M., “Linguistic Fingerprints”, 207. 48 A. Kenny, A Stylometric Study of the New Testament (Oxford 1986) 222, “In his 49 discussion of the ‘Lukan Problem’, he looks at around 50 different grammatical items and examines the correlation between the counts for Luke and Acts. He concludes, “Any two texts in Greek will correlate positively with each other at a significantly high level, but it is unusual for correlations to be as high as this” (quoted from M. Brook O’Donnell, “Linguistic Fingerprints”. M. Brook O’Donnell, “Linguistic Fingerprints”, 228-29. 50