MARTUS

clayton bartholomew (c.s.bartholomew@worldnet.att.net)
Wed, 05 Nov 1997 22:14:26 +0000

Always on the watch for irony I noticed that MARTUS is
used in Acts 7:58 for those who were involved in the
stoning of Stephen and in Acts 22:20 to refer to Stephen as
a martyr.

In Acts 7:58 the term is used in accord with the LXX legal
term for witnesses of a capital offense (Num 35:30, Duet
17:6). I believe the second use of the term is newer. BAGD
(494.2) gives a long list of literature on the use of MARTUS
as martyr, none of which I have read. Perhaps someone on
b-greek has looked into this issue.

Clay Bartholomew
Three Tree Point