Markan conversation and spelling

From: Bart Ehrman (behrman@email.unc.edu)
Date: Wed Dec 06 1995 - 06:18:35 EST


    The postings on Markan style have been quite stimulating. I have
two, genuine, questions.

(1) Rodney Decker wrote:
 
> The Greek of the NT has been described as conversational Greek
>(in contrast to literary and vernacular Greek).

   THis is a judgment with which others have concurred. My question:
How do we know, really, what conversational Greek was like?

(2) Edgar M. Krentz wrote:

> In comparison to the non-literary papyri Mark stands out as one who [at
> least in the text we have] spells correctly [little evidence of
> itacism].

    Again, is there any way to know, really, whether Mark could spell?

Thanks, again, to both contributors. These postings have been quite
useful.

-- Bart D. Ehrman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill



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