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Luke-Acts and the Verbs of Dionysius of Halicarnassus

Department of New Testament Language, Literature and Theology The University of Edinburgh, New College, Mound Place, Edinburgh EH I 2LX

Differences between Hellenistic and Attic Greek are most obvious in the verb forms. A series of such forms in Luke-Acts are selected for comparison. The comparison is made primarily with the slightly earlier historical writer Dionysius of Halicarnassus. He is chosen both as historian and as a clear example of the earlier milder revival of Attic forms. Of twenty Hellenistic verb forms examined, most are either found at least occasionally in Dionysius or Plutarch, or have precedent in writers such as Herodotus, Sophocles or Diodorus. Of the remainder, four forms are otherwise found mainly in the LXX and papyri, one form only in the papyri. The style of Luke- Acts is varied, and some popular and biblical usages are retained. The test of Luke's style was a severe one. A few forms are found mainly in the LXX or the papyri, but most of the examples fall somewhere between the usage of the better Hellenistic writers and Dionysius.

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