Re: LOGOS vs RHMA

Lindsay J. Whaley (Lindsay.J.Whaley@dartmouth.edu)
27 Feb 97 08:35:39 EST

--- William Dicks wrote:
Hi all b-greekers,
I have been off this list now for several months and intend to get back
onto it again. We have all heard of the so-called preacher Greek. My
question is: what do you guys think of the popular usage of RHMA(trans?) as
opposed to LOGOS? The popular usage of preachers is that LOGOS refers to the
written word whereas RHMA refers to the spoken word.
--- end of quoted material ---

RHMA, at least in one of its most common uses, refers to a spoken word or
phrase, but I don't find any reason to connect LOGOS with the written word.
There are occassions, in fact, when it clearly seems to refer to spoken words,
as in Jn 4.41: And because of his LOGON, many more believed.
As a general rule, I would be skeptical of any attempt to render a
basic or core meaning to LOGOS. It can be used in many ways, and it often is
pregnant with connotations drawn from Classical or Hellenistics philosophers,
Hebrew scriptures, etc.

Lindsay Whaley
Dartmouth College
Dept. of Classics/Program in Linguistics & Cognitive Science