[bible passage=”Romans 16:1″]
Greetings to all:
I’ve been wandering recently, about the use of the word “deacon” (noun masc. sing.) in Romans 16:1-2 in reference to Phoebe who was a woman. How common of usage that was in the Biblical Greek language? Does it stand out as wrong or was it commonly applied that way?
Dony K. Donev
Certain nouns in Greek are “epicene” (or “common”) in that their form is the same for both masculine and feminine but their gender depends on whom the noun is referring to. DIAKONOS (aide) is one of them. PARQENOS (virgin) is another.
Stephen — Stephen C. Carlson
What about:
Didaskalos
Διδασκαλος
Can we have “η διδασκαλος”?
? And for that matter, would a bad teacher be a διδασκακος?
Rob
—–Original Message—– href=”mailto:b-greek-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org”>b-greek-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:b-greek-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Mark Lightman Sent: Monday, December 13, 2010 5:53 PM
θεος (QEOS) is another one. Even ανθρωπος (ANQRWPOS.)
(Hi, Stephen)
Mark L
FWSFOROS MARKOS
________________________________ Sent: Mon, December 13, 2010 5:46:44 PM
Certain nouns in Greek are “epicene” (or “common”) in that their form is the same for both masculine and feminine but their gender depends on whom the noun is referring to. DIAKONOS (aide) is one of them. PARQENOS (virgin) is another.
Stephen — Stephen C. Carlson Graduate Program in Religion Duke University — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
Mark, Θεὸς/θεὰ in everything else you are right
href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
Actually, LSJ gives numerous references where θεός (QEOS) is used with the fem. article, often to refer to Athena:
θεός fem., *goddess*, μήτε θήλεια θεός, μήτε τις ἄρσην Il.8.7, cf. Hdt.2.35, al.; τοῖς θεοῖς εὔχομαι πᾶσι καὶ πάσαις D.18.1, cf. 141, Orac.ib.21.52; esp. at Athens, of Athena, Decr. ap. And.1.77, Pl.Ti.21a, etc.; ἁ Διὸς θεός, Ζηνὸς ἡ θ., S.Aj.401 (lyr.), 952 (ἡ Διὸς θεά ib.450); of other goddesses, ποντία θεός Pi.I. 8(7).36; ἡ νερτέρα θ.,= Περσεφόνη, S.OC1548, etc.; of Thetis, Pl. Ap.28c; of Niobe, S.El.150 (lyr.), Ant.834 (anap.): in dual, of Demeter and Persephone, τὰ τοῖν θεοῖν ψηφίσματα Ar.V.378 (lyr.); οὐδ’ ἔδεισε τὼ θεώ And.1.125; freq. in oaths, νὴ τὼ θεώ Ar.Lys.112; μὰ τὼ θεώ Id.Ec.155,532.
Daniel R. Streett Asst. Prof. of Greek and NT Criswell College, Dallas, TX
On Tue, Dec 14, 2010 at 7:53 PM, nikolaos kadamouwrote:
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
see μήτε θήλεια θεός
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
Hi, Robert,
We can now.
Yes. And a VERY bad teacher would be a δυσ-διδασ-κακος. (DYSDIDASKAKOS)
(not giving up my day job) Mark L Φωσφορος
FWSFOROS MARKOS
________________________________; Biblical Greek Mailing List Sent: Tue, December 14, 2010 8:05:06 AM
What about:
Didaskalos
Διδασκαλος
Can we have “η διδασκαλος”?
? And for that matter, would a bad teacher be a διδασκακος?
Rob
—–Original Message—– href=”mailto:b-greek-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org”>b-greek-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:b-greek-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Mark Lightman Sent: Monday, December 13, 2010 5:53 PM
θεος (QEOS) is another one. Even ανθρωπος (ANQRWPOS.)
(Hi, Stephen)
Mark L
FWSFOROS MARKOS
________________________________ Sent: Mon, December 13, 2010 5:46:44 PM
Certain nouns in Greek are “epicene” (or “common”) in that their form is the same for both masculine and feminine but their gender depends on whom the noun is referring to. DIAKONOS (aide) is one of them. PARQENOS (virgin) is another.
Stephen — Stephen C. Carlson Graduate Program in Religion Duke University — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
I’ve been waiting for further input but seeing none forthcoming let me prove my lack of knowledge before the whole world- the example from LSJ, as far as I can tell does not once use a fem article with a masc noun. It is my understanding that the article tells us what the gender of its noun is. So, the article and its noun are ALWAYS the same gender. What don’t I understand in this conversation? Terry Cook sDg
————————————————– Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 9:05 PM Cc: “Biblical Greek Mailing List”
href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
What you’re missing is that in the sections of LSJ cited below:
(a) that θήλεια θεός involves a feminine adjective applied to a noun θεός, proving that θεός may be understood as referring to a goddess;
(b) In τοῖς θεοῖς εὔχομαι πᾶσι καὶ πάσαις, that πάσαις is a modifier of τοῖς θεοῖς, which must therefore be understood as having common gender;
(c) ἁ Διὸς θεός: where ἁ is the feminine article, equivalent to Attic-Ionic ἡ
(d) ἡ νέρτερα θεός = Persephone, “the nether goddess”
The evidence cited in LSJ by Daniel Streett is altogether convincing that the noun θεός was understood to have common gender and could be used of a goddess as well as of a masculine god.
Carl W. Conrad Department of Classics, Washington University (ret)
href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
I’ve posted 10-11 times over the past five years and nearly every time Carl has graciously responded in some way (thank you) but Carl makes me feel like a grade schooler again watching out for Mr King who roamed the halls looking for little boys misbehaving so he could paddle ’em! Maybe it’s in part because Carl always cuts my name and the “sDg” off before responding.
OK, LSJ points out a few examples of a fem art with a masc noun. Was this usage only prior to the Koine era? Are there any examples of this construction in the NT or LXX? Was it “good” Greek or were writers being lazy or maybe even “ungrammatical?”
Terry Cook sDg
Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2010 7:20 PM Cc: nikolaos kadamou ; Daniel Streett ; Biblical Greek Mailing List
I’ve been waiting for further input but seeing none forthcoming let me prove my lack of knowledge before the whole world- the example from LSJ, as far as I can tell does not once use a fem article with a masc noun. It is my understanding that the article tells us what the gender of its noun is. So, the article and its noun are ALWAYS the same gender. What don’t I understand in this conversation?
What you’re missing is that in the sections of LSJ cited below:
(a) that θήλεια θεός involves a feminine adjective applied to a noun θεός, proving that θεός may be understood as referring to a goddess;
(b) In τοῖς θεοῖς εὔχομαι πᾶσι καὶ πάσαις, that πάσαις is a modifier of τοῖς θεοῖς, which must therefore be understood as having common gender;
(c) ἁ Διὸς θεός: where ἁ is the feminine article, equivalent to Attic-Ionic ἡ
(d) ἡ νέρτερα θεός = Persephone, “the nether goddess”
The evidence cited in LSJ by Daniel Streett is altogether convincing that the noun θεός was understood to have common gender and could be used of a goddess as well as of a masculine god.
Carl W. ConradDepartment of Classics, Washington University (ret)
————————————————– Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 9:05 PM Cc: “Biblical Greek Mailing List”
href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
Hi, Terry,
Have you studied any languages apart from Greek that still have gender/classes in their noun system?
It is helpful to distinguish between the grammatical class (unfortunately called “gender”) of a noun and the gender of what it refers to, if it refers to something that has gender. Obviously a house has no gender, even though OIKOS is grammatically masculine.
QEOS is grammatically masculine – some prefer to call it common gender, but I consider that to be an unhelpful mixing of grammatical class with reference – while QEA is grammatically feminine. QEA would always refer to a goddess, whereas QEOS may refer to either a masculine god or a feminine goddess, and this is clarified by use of the article or by other words that agree in gender with the referent of the noun. It is not a difference between Classical and Koine Greek. You can find THS MEGALHS QEAS (of the great goddess) in Acts 19:27 and THN QEON hHMWN (our goddess) in Acts 19:37, even though some mss changed to QEAN.
Another such word would be ONOS (donkey). It may refer to a male donkey hO ONOS or a female donkey hH ONOS.
PARQENOS and DIAKONOS have already been mentioned. ANQRWPOS is more tricky, so I will leave that aside.
Iver Larsen
—– Original Message —– Cc: “Biblical Greek Mailing List” Sent: 22. december 2010 16:23
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
Sorry, but it’s not a matter of a feminine article with a masculine noun. Rather, QEOS, like ANQRWPOS, is a noun of “common” gender. We find hH ANQRWPOS used of a female human being or “person” — and we find hH QEOS of a female deity.
Moreover, although we would hardly expect to find an instance of QEOS used as a feminine substantive (because it has a feminine article) in the Greek New Testament or in the LXX, paganism endured in the Greek-speaking world well after the beginning of the Christian era. So it’s not really a matter of an obsolete usage but rather a usage that one wouldn’t expect to find in Christian literature composed in Greek. And again — it’s not a matter of a “masculine” noun being used with a feminine adjective; rather it is a noun of “common” gender.
Carl W. Conrad Department of Classics, Washington University (ret)
href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
θεος (QEOS) is another one. Even ανθρωπος (ANQRWPOS.)
(Hi, Stephen)
Mark L
θεος (QEOS) is another one. Even ανθρωπος (ANQRWPOS.)
(Hi, Stephen)
Mark L
What about:
Didaskalos
Διδασκαλος
Can we have “η διδασκαλος”?
? And for that matter, would a bad teacher be a διδασκακος?
Rob
—–Original Message—– href=”mailto:b-greek-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org”>b-greek-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:b-greek-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Mark Lightman Sent: Monday, December 13, 2010 5:53 PM
θεος (QEOS) is another one. Even ανθρωπος (ANQRWPOS.)
(Hi, Stephen)
Mark L
FWSFOROS MARKOS
________________________________ Sent: Mon, December 13, 2010 5:46:44 PM
Certain nouns in Greek are “epicene” (or “common”) in that their form is the same for both masculine and feminine but their gender depends on whom the noun is referring to. DIAKONOS (aide) is one of them. PARQENOS (virgin) is another.
Stephen — Stephen C. Carlson Graduate Program in Religion Duke University — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
Mark, Θεὸς/θεὰ in everything else you are right
href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
Actually, LSJ gives numerous references where θεός (QEOS) is used with the fem. article, often to refer to Athena:
θεός fem., *goddess*, μήτε θήλεια θεός, μήτε τις ἄρσην Il.8.7, cf. Hdt.2.35, al.; τοῖς θεοῖς εὔχομαι πᾶσι καὶ πάσαις D.18.1, cf. 141, Orac.ib.21.52; esp. at Athens, of Athena, Decr. ap. And.1.77, Pl.Ti.21a, etc.; ἁ Διὸς θεός, Ζηνὸς ἡ θ., S.Aj.401 (lyr.), 952 (ἡ Διὸς θεά ib.450); of other goddesses, ποντία θεός Pi.I. 8(7).36; ἡ νερτέρα θ.,= Περσεφόνη, S.OC1548, etc.; of Thetis, Pl. Ap.28c; of Niobe, S.El.150 (lyr.), Ant.834 (anap.): in dual, of Demeter and Persephone, τὰ τοῖν θεοῖν ψηφίσματα Ar.V.378 (lyr.); οὐδ’ ἔδεισε τὼ θεώ And.1.125; freq. in oaths, νὴ τὼ θεώ Ar.Lys.112; μὰ τὼ θεώ Id.Ec.155,532.
Daniel R. Streett Asst. Prof. of Greek and NT Criswell College, Dallas, TX
On Tue, Dec 14, 2010 at 7:53 PM, nikolaos kadamouwrote:
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
see μήτε θήλεια θεός
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
Hi, Robert,
We can now.
Yes. And a VERY bad teacher would be a δυσ-διδασ-κακος. (DYSDIDASKAKOS)
(not giving up my day job) Mark L Φωσφορος
FWSFOROS MARKOS
________________________________; Biblical Greek Mailing List Sent: Tue, December 14, 2010 8:05:06 AM
What about:
Didaskalos
Διδασκαλος
Can we have “η διδασκαλος”?
? And for that matter, would a bad teacher be a διδασκακος?
Rob
—–Original Message—– href=”mailto:b-greek-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org”>b-greek-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:b-greek-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Mark Lightman Sent: Monday, December 13, 2010 5:53 PM
θεος (QEOS) is another one. Even ανθρωπος (ANQRWPOS.)
(Hi, Stephen)
Mark L
FWSFOROS MARKOS
________________________________ Sent: Mon, December 13, 2010 5:46:44 PM
Certain nouns in Greek are “epicene” (or “common”) in that their form is the same for both masculine and feminine but their gender depends on whom the noun is referring to. DIAKONOS (aide) is one of them. PARQENOS (virgin) is another.
Stephen — Stephen C. Carlson Graduate Program in Religion Duke University — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
I’ve been waiting for further input but seeing none forthcoming let me prove my lack of knowledge before the whole world- the example from LSJ, as far as I can tell does not once use a fem article with a masc noun. It is my understanding that the article tells us what the gender of its noun is. So, the article and its noun are ALWAYS the same gender. What don’t I understand in this conversation? Terry Cook sDg
————————————————– Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 9:05 PM Cc: “Biblical Greek Mailing List”
href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
What you’re missing is that in the sections of LSJ cited below:
(a) that θήλεια θεός involves a feminine adjective applied to a noun θεός, proving that θεός may be understood as referring to a goddess;
(b) In τοῖς θεοῖς εὔχομαι πᾶσι καὶ πάσαις, that πάσαις is a modifier of τοῖς θεοῖς, which must therefore be understood as having common gender;
(c) ἁ Διὸς θεός: where ἁ is the feminine article, equivalent to Attic-Ionic ἡ
(d) ἡ νέρτερα θεός = Persephone, “the nether goddess”
The evidence cited in LSJ by Daniel Streett is altogether convincing that the noun θεός was understood to have common gender and could be used of a goddess as well as of a masculine god.
Carl W. Conrad Department of Classics, Washington University (ret)
href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
I’ve posted 10-11 times over the past five years and nearly every time Carl has graciously responded in some way (thank you) but Carl makes me feel like a grade schooler again watching out for Mr King who roamed the halls looking for little boys misbehaving so he could paddle ’em! Maybe it’s in part because Carl always cuts my name and the “sDg” off before responding.
OK, LSJ points out a few examples of a fem art with a masc noun. Was this usage only prior to the Koine era? Are there any examples of this construction in the NT or LXX? Was it “good” Greek or were writers being lazy or maybe even “ungrammatical?”
Terry Cook sDg
Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2010 7:20 PM Cc: nikolaos kadamou ; Daniel Streett ; Biblical Greek Mailing List
I’ve been waiting for further input but seeing none forthcoming let me prove my lack of knowledge before the whole world- the example from LSJ, as far as I can tell does not once use a fem article with a masc noun. It is my understanding that the article tells us what the gender of its noun is. So, the article and its noun are ALWAYS the same gender. What don’t I understand in this conversation?
What you’re missing is that in the sections of LSJ cited below:
(a) that θήλεια θεός involves a feminine adjective applied to a noun θεός, proving that θεός may be understood as referring to a goddess;
(b) In τοῖς θεοῖς εὔχομαι πᾶσι καὶ πάσαις, that πάσαις is a modifier of τοῖς θεοῖς, which must therefore be understood as having common gender;
(c) ἁ Διὸς θεός: where ἁ is the feminine article, equivalent to Attic-Ionic ἡ
(d) ἡ νέρτερα θεός = Persephone, “the nether goddess”
The evidence cited in LSJ by Daniel Streett is altogether convincing that the noun θεός was understood to have common gender and could be used of a goddess as well as of a masculine god.
Carl W. ConradDepartment of Classics, Washington University (ret)
————————————————– Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 9:05 PM Cc: “Biblical Greek Mailing List”
href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
Hi, Terry,
Have you studied any languages apart from Greek that still have gender/classes in their noun system?
It is helpful to distinguish between the grammatical class (unfortunately called “gender”) of a noun and the gender of what it refers to, if it refers to something that has gender. Obviously a house has no gender, even though OIKOS is grammatically masculine.
QEOS is grammatically masculine – some prefer to call it common gender, but I consider that to be an unhelpful mixing of grammatical class with reference – while QEA is grammatically feminine. QEA would always refer to a goddess, whereas QEOS may refer to either a masculine god or a feminine goddess, and this is clarified by use of the article or by other words that agree in gender with the referent of the noun. It is not a difference between Classical and Koine Greek. You can find THS MEGALHS QEAS (of the great goddess) in Acts 19:27 and THN QEON hHMWN (our goddess) in Acts 19:37, even though some mss changed to QEAN.
Another such word would be ONOS (donkey). It may refer to a male donkey hO ONOS or a female donkey hH ONOS.
PARQENOS and DIAKONOS have already been mentioned. ANQRWPOS is more tricky, so I will leave that aside.
Iver Larsen
—– Original Message —– Cc: “Biblical Greek Mailing List” Sent: 22. december 2010 16:23
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
Sorry, but it’s not a matter of a feminine article with a masculine noun. Rather, QEOS, like ANQRWPOS, is a noun of “common” gender. We find hH ANQRWPOS used of a female human being or “person” — and we find hH QEOS of a female deity.
Moreover, although we would hardly expect to find an instance of QEOS used as a feminine substantive (because it has a feminine article) in the Greek New Testament or in the LXX, paganism endured in the Greek-speaking world well after the beginning of the Christian era. So it’s not really a matter of an obsolete usage but rather a usage that one wouldn’t expect to find in Christian literature composed in Greek. And again — it’s not a matter of a “masculine” noun being used with a feminine adjective; rather it is a noun of “common” gender.
Carl W. Conrad Department of Classics, Washington University (ret)
href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org href=”mailto:B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org”>B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org — B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek