[B-Greek] Witness and Eyewitness

jmtait jmtait at wirhoose.co.uk
Thu Mar 10 08:19:27 EST 2005


Comparing two writers from different viewpoints (Norman Perrin, and an 
unsigned article in a theological dictionary) I see that both seem to 
regard  AUTOPTAI in Lk 1:2 and the various words related to MARTUS as 
having essentially the same meaning. Discussing AUTOPTAI, Perrin 
(Rediscovering the Teaching of Jesus) regards Ananias's words to Paul in 
Acts 22:14 'For you will be a witness (MARTUS) for him to all men of what 
you have seen and heard' - which, as Perrin points out, refers to witness 
to the _risen_ Christ - as a justification of his statement: 'Luke 
considers Paul an eyewitness! ' On the other hand, the author of the 
article on Martyria in the NIV Theological Dictionary of New Testament 
Words (whom I can't find a way to identify, which I find annoying) finds in 
the use of the word MARTURIA justification that 'the apostles...are 
eyewitnesses to vouch for the facts of Jesus' life, death and resurrection.'

As, therefore, writers from widely differing viewpoints seem to conflate 
these two words with different conclusions (Perrin explicitely and the 
dictionary by implication) I hope that, in inquiring about it, I'm not 
treading on ground too theological. I would have thought that, if Luke uses 
the word AUTOPTES, which is a hapax legomenon in the NT, rather than MARTUS 
which is characteristic of his vocabulary in Acts, it looks as though he 
has deliberately chosen it.

John M. Tait. 


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