12-25-2012, 08:52 PM
The Moffatt Translation is interesting here.
Of course, Moffatt is suspect for 2 reasons concerning Luke 1:3.
1. "The authors of the New Testament all wrote in Hellenistic Greek..."
2. "The first stage was the oral circulation and collection of sayings and stories of Jesus, mainly in the Aramaic, for the purpose of proving that he was the real messiah of God's people."
The second objection is important since the introduction of Luke would, to Moffatt, have been in Greek since there is no "Oral History" of Jesus being given here.
Why then would this be of interest?
Luke 1: 1 - 4 (Moffatt):
1 Inasmuch as a number of writers have essayed to draw up a narrative of the established facts in out religion,
2. exactly as these have been handed down to us by the original eye-witnesses who were in the service of the Gospel Message,
3. and inasmuch as I have gone carefully over them all myself from the beginning, I have decided, O Theophilus, to write them out in order for your excellency,
4. to let you know the solid truth of what you have been taught.
The purpose here, as in presenting a legal document, is to show an Official of some Court that what is presented is written, written without ambiguity and has been reviewed as such. For Moffatt, this is seen in his assertion that "Theophilus" is to be called "Excellency", as a Scribe would respect various superiorities of Court Dynamics, as when reporting a review of material to a member of royalty.
CW
Of course, Moffatt is suspect for 2 reasons concerning Luke 1:3.
1. "The authors of the New Testament all wrote in Hellenistic Greek..."
2. "The first stage was the oral circulation and collection of sayings and stories of Jesus, mainly in the Aramaic, for the purpose of proving that he was the real messiah of God's people."
The second objection is important since the introduction of Luke would, to Moffatt, have been in Greek since there is no "Oral History" of Jesus being given here.
Why then would this be of interest?
Luke 1: 1 - 4 (Moffatt):
1 Inasmuch as a number of writers have essayed to draw up a narrative of the established facts in out religion,
2. exactly as these have been handed down to us by the original eye-witnesses who were in the service of the Gospel Message,
3. and inasmuch as I have gone carefully over them all myself from the beginning, I have decided, O Theophilus, to write them out in order for your excellency,
4. to let you know the solid truth of what you have been taught.
The purpose here, as in presenting a legal document, is to show an Official of some Court that what is presented is written, written without ambiguity and has been reviewed as such. For Moffatt, this is seen in his assertion that "Theophilus" is to be called "Excellency", as a Scribe would respect various superiorities of Court Dynamics, as when reporting a review of material to a member of royalty.
CW