Subject: Re Rev. 1:4

From: "Vinton A. Dearing" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 5 Feb 1997 13:34:04 PST

When "John" is capitalized in Rev. 1:4  it is because it is the first 
word in the text of the book. Verses 1-3 are the book's title. 
Vinton A. Dearing

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From: "George Kiraz" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 5 Feb 1997 17:02:56 -0500

I have a plan to compile a book of Syriac quotations. Quotations will be taken
from Syriac literature, and will be in English translation. If you have
published (or in the process of publishing) Syriac texts, homilies, memre, etc.
in English translation, I can make use of them. Even works and papers which
here and there quote Syriac texts are useful. Please send me references. Beter
yet,  if you have anything in electronic form, that would be most useful. All
translation sources of course will be acknowledged.

George Kiraz

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From: Maurice Robinson <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 5 Feb 1997 17:14:23 -0500 (EST)

> word in the text of the book. Verses 1-3 are the book's title. 

While this might be a possible thought from within a higher-critical
perspective, the manuscript evidence demonstrates precisely the opposite
(see Hoskier's collation data in vol.2 of his _Concerning the Text of the
Apocalypse_).

While the "real" title of the book varies dramatically (Apocalypse / Apoc. 
of John / Apoc. of John the Theolog / Apoc. of John the Holy Theolog, etc. 
etc. with many varied forms and expansions), as soon as one hits
Apoc.1:1-1:3, the main text reverts back to the "normal" pattern one finds
in the main text of any scriptural book, with little variance among the
MSS, and _no_ indication that 1:1-3 was specifically considered a title in
any normal sense.

There is _no_ basis found among the Greek MSS for the capitalization of
"JOHN" in 1:4 -- that was purely an individual editor's decision related
to printed editions or translations, just as with the inscription on the
cross or "MYSTERY: BABYLON THE GREAT" in the KJV. 

_________________________________________________________________________
Maurice A. Robinson, Ph.D.           Professor of Greek and New Testament
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary     Wake Forest, North Carolina
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From: ANDREW SMITH <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 1997 05:40:54 -0500 (EST)

On Wed, 5 Feb 1997, George Kiraz wrote:

> I have a plan to compile a book of Syriac quotations.
> Please send me references.

*********************

TITLE: The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life
DATE: 1987
PLACE: Kalamazoo, Michigan
PUBLISHER: Cistercian Publications
EDITOR: Sebastian Brock

TITLE: Daily Readings with St. Isaac of Syria
DATE: 1989 / 1990
PLACE: London / Springfield, Illinois
PUBLISHER: Templegate Publishers / Darton, Longman, and Todd Ltd.
EDITOR: A.M. Allchin and Sebastian Brock

TITLE: Voices in the Wilderness: an Anthology of Patristic Prayers
DATE: 1988
PLACE: Brookline, MA
PUBLISHER: Holy Cross Orthodox Press
EDITOR: Nikolaos S. Hatzinikolaou