[B-Greek] BIBLION, Rev 1.11, and EIS BIBLION (singular)...hEPTA...

George F Somsel gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Sat Jul 25 11:29:55 EDT 2009


Barry has touched on your second question, and I'll not add to that.  
Regarding the first:  The Church quite early adopted the codex and it is quite attractive to consider the word βιβλίον BIBLION in Revelation as referencing a codex since it is as the seals are opened seriatum that the events written therein occur.  On the other hand, there is compelling evidence that the Book of Destiny which is displayed by "he who sits upon the throne" and opened by the Lamb that was slain yet lives must be considered to be a scroll since it appears to be an opisthograph, a document written on both sides.  If a codex were an opisthograph, that would not be a cause for remark since the pages were routinely written on both sides.  That a scoll, however, should be written front and back is a call for comment.  Perhaps what we have here is a situation where "John" is thinking of a scroll and writing about a scroll; but, being familiar with the codex form, he also uses imagery appropriate only to the codex, viz. that it can
 be sealed in various portions rather than as a whole.
 george
gfsomsel 


… search for truth, hear truth, 
learn truth, love truth, speak the truth, hold the truth, 
defend the truth till death.


- Jan Hus
_________ 



----- Original Message ----
From: Mitch Larramore <mitchlarramore at yahoo.com>
To: B- Greek <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2009 5:33:13 AM
Subject: [B-Greek] BIBLION, Rev 1.11, and EIS BIBLION (singular)...hEPTA...

In Rev 1.11 John is told to write what he sees in a BIBLION, and in Luke 4, the BIBLION was to be unrolled. Should we understand any use of BIBLION to mean "scroll"? And if so, what would be the Greek word for "codex"? Is BIBLION a reference to the 'material' out of which a "book" is made? BIBLION is also used of 'papyrus.' And BUBLOS is used of the pith from an Egyptian plant. 

Second question on Rev 1.11

hO BLEPEIS GRAYON EIS BIBLION KAI PEMYON TAIS hEPTA EKKLHSIAIS, EIS EFESON KAI EIS SMURNAN...

How can John write a scroll (singular) and send [it] to 7 churches? Seems to me he needs to write 7 scrolls. Or, are we to use common sense and assume he would have enough copies made to follow this instruction?

Mitch Larramore
Augusta, GA


      
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