A couple thoughts that might have a bearing on these questions: (1) the
fundamental sense of GRAFW is not "write" but "sketch" or even "paint." One
of the oldest meanings of GRAFH in classical Attic is "picture" or
"painting." I think this element may bear upon the sense of PROEGRAFH here;
(2) Culturally, the Greek mind (Greek-speaking mind?) was habituated to
thinking about knowledge and understanding in visual terms (that's one of
the things that Thorleif Boman in that celebrated work _Das hebraeische
Denken mit dem griechischen vergleicht_ got right!): think of the verb
OIDA, originally the pf. tense of EIDON, think of Plato's words EIDOS and
IDEA from the same root, think of the opening line of ARistotle's
Metaphysics ("All people [ANQRWPOI] by nature desire to know; the proof is
the delight we take in our senses, especially that of the eyes."). So true
is this that John's gospel makes visual experience one of the two major
vehicles of revelation and faith (light/blindness/vision/darkness), the
other being the spoken word. So I think that the form PROEGRAFH in this
context would indeed have the fundamental sense, "before whose (minds')
eyes was vividly painted a picture of the crucifixion of Jesus."
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Summer: 1647 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(704) 675-4243
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cconrad@yancey.main.nc.us
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/