Greek primacy
Greek primacy is a scholarly term in general use for the dominance of Hellenism at certain periods of history. In the context of the language of the New Testament, "Greek primacy" is a Wikipedia neologism (Wikipedia 2006, print 2007)[1] for the majority view that the New Testament or its sources were originally written in Koine Greek. It is generally accepted by most scholars today that the New Testament of the Bible was written primarily, if not completely, in Koine (common) Greek.[2][3] A small number of scholars argue instead for "Aramaic" or "Hebrew primacy" (other neologisms) for some books, typically Matthew.
[edit] Use in socio-historical studies
Greek primacy is a term found originally in socio-historical studies, for the cultural dominance of Hellenism.[4][5]
[edit] Use by Aramaic primacy advocates
The recent use of the term "Greek primacy" to relate to the consensus of scholars that the original language of the New Testament is Greek is largely found in sources advocating the minority view (Aramaic primacy) such as Bauscher (2007)[6] and Lataster (2009).[7] The first use in Wikipedia (2006, creation of this article) goes back before the first confirmed use in print (2007).[8] As such, the term may be an example of a Wikipedia neologism.
[edit] Notes
- ^ First recorded use: Bauscher, Rev. David (2007), The Original Aramaic Gospels in Plain English, p. 59.
- ^ Metzger, Bruce M; Ehrman, Bart D, The Text of the New Testament. Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration (fourth ed.).
- ^ Aland, K; Aland, B, The text of the New Testament, ISBN 978‐0‐80‐284‐098‐1.
- ^ Bar-Kochva, Bezalel, The Image of the Jews in Greek Literature: The Hellenistic Period.
- ^ Clough, Shepard Bancroft (1957), "Reasons for Greek primacy", The rise and fall of civilization.
- ^ Bauscher, The Original Aramaic Gospels in Plain English, p. 59, "“Occam's Razor” would decide this matter very easily: the data are much more easily accounted for by Peshitta Primacy than by Greek Primacy. Indeed, Greek Primacy..."
- ^ Lataster (2009), "Appendix A — The Deceptive Nature of Greek Primacy", Was the New Testament Really Written in Greek?.
- ^ Currently appears to be Bauscher 2007, term does not appear in Lamsa.
