Book Evaluation Requested

WFWarren at aol.com WFWarren at aol.com
Mon Apr 17 12:01:10 EDT 2000



In a message dated 4/8/00 6:46:38 AM, yhwh3in1 at lightspeed.net writes:

>Alas, I have spent over a decade studying numerous Byzantine (and earlier)
>NT manuscripts. And the "-TG" combination is not rare, but this particular
>word form is rather unusual, (it is not seen on the TLG_e or the PHI 7
>databases). In most of the NT MSS samples they are clearly a "-TG". Swanson
>is absolutely correct in showing them. Why some scribes (MS 1424, 1071
>etcetera) wrote KRABATYON as opposed to the usual KRABATTON is probably due
>to one of several causes:
>
>(1) The scribe's own dialect (his/her pronunciation) guided him. As these
>particular minuscules seem to be of a Provencial nature.
>(2) In the Byzantine era, this may have been an actual correct spelling
>due to their phonetics.
>
>I personally insisted that Reuben show such details. I can share more 
>examples off site.

I would recommend that those interested in this discussion consult the 
article by J. Neville Birdsall, JTS, Oct. 1975, pp. 393-395.  Birdsall specifi
cally treats the TT/TG variants in the minuscules, noting that Gardethausen 
has explained the origen of this form of double tau: "auch das T hat ausser 
der eigentlichen Minuskelform noch eine unciale und eine cursive .  .  . Das 
cursive gespaltene T daas leicht mit einem G vervechselt werden kann hat sich 
allerdings nicht bei dem einfachen Buchstaben, wohl aber beim TT behauptet, 
nicht nur waehrend der alten, sondern auch waehrend der ganzen Zeit der 
mittleren Minuskel; es kommt zum Beispiel vor in Handschriften des Jahres 895 
und scheint so bekannt und gebraeuchlich gewesen zu sein dass im Jahre 914 
man selbst vor weiteren Ligaturen, wie mit dem cursiven E nicht 
zurueckscheute; es scheint also dass man Missverstendnisse die spaeter nicht 
ausblieben damals nicht zu fuerchten brauchte." (as cited in Birdsall, p. 393)

Birdsall concludes that all apparent TG instances are actually ligatures for 
TT.  My own study has convince me of this, although as Gary Dykes notes, the 
ligatures (and at least one scribal error in interpreting the ligature) may 
be helpful in tracing some scribal backgrounds for the documents in which 
they occur.  Due to an upcoming article on this subject, I'll not venture 
more at this point.

paz,

Bill Warren
Director of the Center for New Testament Textual Studies
Landrum P. Leavell, II, Professor of New Testament and Greek
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary



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