Some Porter comments

Mark Wilson emory2oo2 at hotmail.com
Tue Oct 10 19:33:16 EDT 2000



A few quotes from:

Stanley E. Porter, Verbal Aspect, 1993, pg. 22


"The problem appears to stem from the Stoics' over-dependence upon 
temporally-based definitional categories even for kind of action...

The Greeks cannot be faulted only for an insufficient metalanguage; the 
definitions and understandings themselves are not comprehensive or fully 
satisfactory....

Certainly their abilities to use the language far exceeded those of modern 
scholars, yet their efforts at describing their own language were, 
unfortunately, rudimentary and even in places misleading."
----



If Dr. Porter's assessments are even close to accurate, how does that help 
us understand the general grammatical expertise that the writers and 
readers/hearers of the New Testament probably had attained?

Is he saying the even the hellenistic grammarians were unable to articulate 
their own understanding of Greek? If so, what chance do we stand 2000 years 
removed?

I am not at all familiar with the writings of Josephus, but I understand 
that he was a "well-educated" Jewish historian (whose writings we have in 
Greek only ?? ). To those who have read his writings, are his writings 
noticeably different (grammatically superior) from those of the "Galilean 
fishermen" of the NT? (Similar to the difference in the writings today of 
the average fisherman or truck driver from that of, say, William F. Buckley 
Jr.?)

How many believers of the first century even had the capacity to hack their 
way through Hebrews 6?

Sorry for rambling! I guess I see the NT in a different light, since even 
the contemporary hellenistic grammarians were "confused."

Thank you,

Mark Wilson



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