[B-Greek] Romans 16:7
Harold R. Holmyard III
hholmyard at ont.com
Tue Dec 21 11:30:35 EST 2004
Dear Jim,
>>1. When accents were added to the Greek text in the ninth century the
>>circumflex was placed over the ultima indicating that our ninth century
>>brothers and sisters understood this to be a man's name.
>>
>>HH: One of these two men are wrong if Crossan makes a sweeping
>>claim, which is what his words appear to do.
>
>When one does textual criticism one has to weigh evidence. What
>benefit is there to scribes, or interpreters, to change a masculine
>name to a feminine? None, in this instance. But what benefit is
>there in changing a woman's name to a man's (interpretatively
>speaking)? Much, if one is inclined to believe that women were
>never apostles or preachers or other leaders in the early church.
>Look, for example, at what has happened to poor old Phoebe the
>deacon.
HH: The assumption you're making is that there has been a name
change. But this issue is not about a name change, is it, but about
whether IOUNIAN is a masculine or feminine name. There is a name
change variant in Rom 16:7, that of IOULIAN, a feminine name, but are
you referring to it? The addition of circumflex accent to IOUNIAN may
indicate what had previously been understood; it is not necessarily a
change at all. The name IOUNIAN can be a feminine or a masculine
name, depending on the accenting.
Yours,
Harold Holmyard
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