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  • From: George F Somsel <gfsomsel AT juno.com>
  • To: corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Cc: corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Corpus-Paul] Did Paul break the Law?
  • Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 08:18:12 -0500

On Wed, 19 Jan 2005 07:02:52 -0600 "Mark D. Nanos" <nanosmd AT comcast.net> writes:
> on 1/19/05 6:31 AM, George F Somsel at gfsomsel AT juno.com wrote:
> >
> > While I would not suggest that the society of the time was
> literate in
> > the same sense that ours today would be considered to be (and even
> less
> > that of a generation or two previous to the current), let us not
> suppose
> > that the audience to which these writings were addressed were by
> any
> > means ignorant.  To use an example outside of the Pauline corpus,
> the
> > Apocalypse abounds in references which are only understandable to
> one who
> > has a most intimate knowledge of the OT writings.  If the hearers
> > themselves were unable to ferret out the allusions, presumably
> there was
> > someone there who was thus capable who would in turn explain it to
> the
> > audience generally.
>
> George,
> I was not discussing ignorance, and it should be pretty clear that I
> am
> discussing the reception of letters that expect much from the
> recipients. In
> a largely oral culture folks could memorize circles around most of
> us. What
> I am trying to bring to bear is literacy. According to prevailing
> wisdom,
> literacy was limited for the most part to elites and retainers, and
> guesses
> range from 3% to 10% for the Roman Empire, with slightly higher in
> some
> Greek cities, and lower in rural settings. Recent work on Paul's
> communities
> suggests most if not all of the members were poor to relatively
> poor, not
> elites, maybe a few at retainer level. Hence, the low end of
> literacy is
> probable. There is quite a debate going on now about literacy levels
> in
> Judea and within Diaspora Jewish communities, but the numbers for
> literacy
> are generally still quite low (surprising to me to learn). It is an
> open
> question how the receptions of these letters worked, but the topic
> of
> literacy and orality as well as manuscript availability does bear on
> the
> topic at hand. Why was appeal to Scripture as authority made, where
> and how
> was Scripture accessed by the recipients, and who was presumed to
> be
> available to explain it, are just the kind of questions being
> raised.
>
> Regards,
> Mark
> --
> Mark D. Nanos, Ph.D.
> Rockhurst University
> Co-Moderator
> http://home.comcast.net/~nanosmd/
____________________
 
In RE 1.3 we find
 
μακάριος ὁ ἀναγινώσκων καὶ οἱ ἀκούοντες τοὺς λόγους τῆς προφητείας καὶ τηροῦντες τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ γεγραμμένα, ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς ἐγγύς.
 
MAKRIOS hO ANAGINWSKWN KAI hOI AKOUONTES TOUS LOGOUS THS PROFHTEIAS KAI THROUNTES TA EN AUTHi GEGRAMMENA, hO GAR KAIROS EGGUS.
Presumably it would be ὁ ἀναγινώσκων (hO ANAGINWSKWN) or the one who reads aloud (the lector).
 
george
gfsomsel
___________



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