Koine and Biblical and Medieval Greek • Re: Papyri

Here is Xenophon:

ὥσπερ εἰ εἴποις ὅτι δεῖ γράμματα ἐπίστασθαι τὸν μέλλοντα δυνήσεσθαι τὰ ὑπαγορευόμενα γράφειν καὶ τὰ γεγραμμένα ἀναγιγνώσκειν.

Not that it gets us very far. He needs to know his letters to be able to both γράφειν and ἀναγιγνώσκειν, but it doesn't examine ἀναγιγνώσκειν alone.

Isaiah seems to settle it though:

καὶ ἔσονται ὑμῖν πάντα τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα ὡς οἱ λόγοι τοῦ βιβλίου τοῦ ἐσφραγισμένου τούτου, ὃ ἐὰν δῶσιν αὐτὸ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐπισταμένῳ γράμματα λέγοντες Ἀνάγνωθι ταῦτα· καὶ ἐρεῖ Οὐ δύναμαι ἀναγνῶναι, ἐσφράγισται γάρ. καὶ δοθήσεται τὸ βιβλίον τοῦτο εἰς χεῖρας ἀνθρώπου μὴ ἐπισταμένου γράμματα, καὶ ἐρεῖ αὐτῷ Ἀνάγνωθι τοῦτο· καὶ ἐρεῖ Οὐκ ἐπίσταμαι γράμματα.

So the LXX translator, at least, uses it to mean "I can't read."

Statistics: Posted by jeidsath — Sun Mar 10, 2024 4:12 pm


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