From: JPDow (mathetes@erols.com)
Date: Tue Jan 20 1998 - 11:21:15 EST
Jim West wrote:
> >I want the
> >GNT with diacriticals, since the Greek texts in the Online bible,
> >which I have, are devoid of any diacritical marks (which I think is
> >kind of lame). Any suggestions?
>
> What do you mean, kind of lame? The earliest mss of the NT have no
> diacriticals at all- and not even spaces between words. Thus, I would
> suggest, the diacriticals are editorial additions which are secondary and
> necessary only if one is unfamiliar with the inner workings of the language.
> You dont need diacriticals any more than a person with two good legs needs
> crutches! :)
I'm basically aware of how the earliest mss of the NT were written.
However, I prefer the diacriticals because without them sometimes
two words which have different meanings appear to be identical (e.g.,
the definite article hO and the neuter nominative/accusative relative
pronoun hO -- the difference being the presence of the acute accent
in the latter). Even though such differences wouldn't seriously
affect one's understanding of a given text if one (as you say) is
familiar with the inner workings of the language, nevertheless, I
think the presence of the diacriticals makes them easier to spot.
Sola Gratia,
Jeremy
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