[B-Greek] IWTA (George F Somsel)
George F Somsel
gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Tue Dec 2 23:20:18 EST 2008
Whether the tradition that Jesus was a carpenter is correct may be questioned. The Greek is subject to another understanding as well.
3οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τέκτων, ὁ υἱὸς τῆς Μαρίας καὶ ἀδελφὸς Ἰακώβου καὶ Ἰωσῆτος καὶ Ἰούδα καὶ Σίμωνος;καὶ οὐκ εἰσὶν αἱ ἀδελφαὶ αὐτοῦ ὧδε πρὸς ἡμᾶς;καὶ ἐσκανδαλίζοντο ἐν αὐτῷ.
3 OUX hOUTOS ESTIN hO TEKTWN, hO hUIOS mARIAS; KAI ADELFOS IAKWBOU KAI IWSHTOS KAI IOUDA KAI SIMWNOS KAI OUK EISIN hAI ADELFAI AUTOU hWDE PROS hHMAS; KAI ESKANDALIZONTO EN AUTWi
The word TEKTWN signifies an artisan who may work in wood or in some other medium such as stone. It is interesting that Nazareth was not far from Sepphoris which was a bustling center of Greco-Roman civilization.
In 1931 L. Waterman made excavations on the site … To the Roman period belongs a large theater, of which only a section was excavated. This building is of the Roman type, about 110 feet in diameter, and is estimated to have seated between 4,000 and 5,000 spectators. The stage (scaenae frons) was about 90 feet long and 18 feet wide. There were no entrances in the stage building, but it had towers at each end. To the same period belong remains of an aqueduct, a tunnel and reservoirs, part of the water-supply system of the city, through which water was brought from a spring miles away.
Negev, A. (1996, c1990). The Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land (3rd ed.). New York: Prentice Hall Press.
It would not be something to cause amazement if Joseph and he (and his brothers ?) were to seek employment in the construction of some of the buildings there. If such were the case, it also would not be surprising that he would have occasion to acquire a knowledge of Greek or perhaps even Latin -- or both.
george
gfsomsel
… search for truth, hear truth,
learn truth, love truth, speak the truth, hold the truth,
defend the truth till death.
- Jan Hus
_________
________________________________
From: Frank Boumphrey <boumphreyfr at mainspringtech.com>
To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Cc: nikolaos.adamou at hotmail.com; gfsomsel at yahoo.com; fjanzen at gmx.net; frank at mainspringtech.com
Sent: Tuesday, December 2, 2008 8:24:11 PM
Subject: Re: IWTA (George F Somsel)
Koine Greek was a Lingua Franca spoken over the whole Mediterreanen.
A parallel existed in the 50's, and may exist today, in East Africa, in Swahili. Various dialects of Swahili were spoken by almost every one in East Africa; many in the Congo (Zaire); Southern Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia and also in many of the sea ports around the Indian ocean. Unlike Greek though it was the mother tongue of a very small minority. Even in country areas, where there was little contact with urban life, most adult males (and some females) spoke Swahili. Jesus was a carpenter, and thus an artisan who had trade contacts with many. I think it highly likely that he spoke Greek.
Frank
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