At 07:27 AM 8/8/97 +0100, you wrote:
>
>
>In English we can write the number "two" either as a word - TWO - or as
>a cipher - 2. In many Greek papyri of parts of the New Testament, very
>roughly half of the numbers are written as words, and the other half as
>ciphers. Thus a lone Alpha with a superscript line is the cipher for
>the number one, and a lone Beta with superscript line is the cipher for
>the number two, used in roughly half of the instances of the numbers
>one and two, whereas elsewhere the numbers are written as the words
>EIJ and DUO, and so on.
>
>I am interested in finding out whether this is a characteristic of
>Christian writing in Greek. Does anyone know, please, whether
>manuscripts of Classical Greek literature use ciphers for numbers? Where
>can I read about this (apart from ploughing through facsimiles of
>manuscripts!)?
>
>Also, does anyone know how the Greek ciphers for larger numbers are
>worked out?! Maybe mathematics and B-Greek have something in common
>after all?!
>
>
>-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
>
>Brian E. Wilson
>
>Please visit my ** UPDATED ** home page at
>
> http://www.twonh.demon.co.uk/
>
>-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
>
>
Kevin W. Woodruff
Library Director/Reference Librarian
Cierpke Memorial Library
Tennessee Temple University/Temple Baptist Seminary
1815 Union Ave.
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37404
United States of America
423/493-4252 (office)
423/698-9447 (home)
423/493-4497 (FAX)
Cierpke@utc.campus.mci.net (preferred)
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http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~kwoodruf/woodruff.htm