[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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