Paul's testimony of his post-conversion experience in Galatians—the only place in the New Testament this is found—is the starting point for the rest of his polemic against his opponents who avert the gospel he first taught his readers. What is interesting is that he highlights or emphasizes certain portions of his testimony, using the linguistic method of prominence. As others have written already, prominence in Hellenistic Greek is conveyed in many ways, but one major way is by the writer's choice of verbal aspect. By first identifying a theory of prominence in the Greek of the New Testament, the paper then applies that theory to Gal 1:11–2:10 to discover that Paul emphasizes preaching and gospel related items in his testimony.
The promise of linguistics for biblical studies has not yet been realized. While the bulk of the biblical, scholarly community has remained aloof and unimpressed, others have pursued this field of study, struggling with unfamiliar and often ill-defined terminology, even as they sought to develop an effective and objective methodology. This paper examines the work of one “eclectic” approach, the “Cohesive Shift Analysis” of George H. Guthrie, acknowledging its contribution, yet also suggesting corrective refinements.
The present paper explores Luther’s textual study of the Greek New Testament which is reconstructed from his approach to Galatians 1,6; 2,5 and 1 John 5,7-8 with reference to the eminent scholars of the 16th century (Laurentius Valla, Jacobus Faber Stapulensis and Erasmus) whose commentaries he consulted.
This short study employs the concept of tense-form reduction from the perspective of Hellenistic Greek aspectology to explain the reading epoiesate in Codex Bezae Matthew 21,13//Mark 11,17. The article suggests that the Bezen scribe has chosen (consciously or unconsciously) to reduce the aspectual semantics of the verb poieo from the imperfective Present (Matt) and the stative Perfect (Mark) to the perfective Aorist. The textual effect of this choice is that Jesus’ pronouncement of judgment on those buying and selling in the temple is emphasized less in the text of Bezae, since it stands in the background of Jesus’ speech frame. This finding has significant implications for proposals regarding the anti-Judaic bias of Codex Bezae, particularly as demonstrated by its version of the Markan temple cleansing episode.
In a 1912 note of less than two pages, E. Nestle presented a number of instances where Eriugena mentions several readings of the Greek text of the Gospel of John which did not survive in our manuscripts and which where not mentioned by Souter or Tischendorf. He stressed that such an example ‘shews that even so late an author deserves the attention of an editor of the Greek New Testament’ (596), before asking where these would fit in the manuscript tradition of John. This article will follow Nestle’s suggestion and re-examine the variant readings offered by Eriugena – all explicit quotations – in light of the post-1912 developments in textual scholarship on both the Greek text of John and on Eriugena’s works devoted to the Fourth Gospel.
In this study, a discourse analysis of James is conducted with the goal of better understanding the structure, theme, and cohesion of the letter. By paying careful attention to the details of the text, James’ paragraphs are identified, as are the signals of transition between the various paragraphs. The conclusions reached based on a discourse analysis of James are illuminating. Far from being a randomly arranged work, James repeatedly uses present prohibitory imperatives in the overall organization of the Epistle. These imperatives are important in marking transitions between main sections. Furthermore, a discourse analysis reveals that James is a coherent epistle comprised of 16 paragraphs, with 3,13-18 providing the overarching macrostructure of the letter. Bearing the fruit of righteousness, a theme prominent in 3,13-18, is seen to be the letter’s overarching and unifying thought.
For the most part, it is assumed that in the Koine period the fourth-class condition indicated a future contingency with a possible or, in many cases, only a remote chance of fulfillment (e.g., “if this could happen”). If this meaning is applied to the condition in 1 Pet 3,14, it seems to imply not the reality of suffering, but merely the remote possibility, which is at odds with the popular understanding of the epistle’s social situation. This study is an attempt to examine the meaning of the fourth-class condition in 1 Pet 3,14 and its function(s) within the larger Petrine argument, a task which not only sheds light on the interpretation of 1 Pet 3,13-17, but also provides the unity of the epistle with some much-needed substantiation.
In the text of Acts according to Codex Bezae, a fourth and final part of the book begins at 18.24. It is Paul’s ultimate goal of Rome that separates it from the earlier missionary phases and confers unity on the remainder of the book. In this opening section (Section I), his activity will be centred for three years in Ephesus, the main city of Asia, where he will meet with some success despite hostility from some of the Jews. In his dealings with the Gentiles, opposition will also be encountered because of the threat posed by his teachings to the trade of the city. The Bezan narrator indicates plainly that Paul’s travel to Ephesus should have been the initial stage of his journey to the imperial capital. Additional references in Codex Bezae to the directions given to Paul by the Holy Spirit make clear that his visit had been prepared for by the work of Apollos; however, it was contrary to his own intentions, which were rather to go back to Jerusalem. The struggle against the divine leading is seen as Paul terminates his stay in Asia once he has carefully prepared for his return to Jerusalem.