Horsley G.H.R., Swinn S.P. New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity, 5: Linguistic Essays: with Cumulative Indexes to v.1-5 v

Macquarie University, 1989. — 216 p.This series seeks to keep New Testament and early church researchers, teachers, and students abreast of emerging documentary evidence by reproducing and reviewing recently published Greek inscriptions and papyri that illumine the context in which the Christian church developed. Produced by the Ancient History Documentary Research Centre at Macquarie University, the New Docs volumes broaden the context of biblical studies and other related fields and provide a better understanding of the historical and social milieus of early Christianity.This volume provides a synthesis of the linguistic significance of the material dealt with in the first four volumes of the series, in which hundreds of Greek inscriptions and papyri were discussed. The topics addressed here include whether there was a separate Greek-Jewish dialect of the ''koine'', whether the emphasis given in some New Testament grammars to its semitic features is justified, and the adequacy for current research of Moulton and Milligan's ''The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament'' and other lexicographical works. The use of names as an aid to social history is covered in a detailed study of the inscription of a fishing cartel at Ephesus, and there are cumulative indexes by S.P. Swinn for the first five volumes of the series.