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Spelling in Acts 7:16

Posted: August 5th, 2012, 11:57 am
by romanjaro
Dear friends,
In Acts 7:16 the name of Hamor in my Nestle-Aland editon (27 ed.) is written: *E)MMW/R (Ἐμμώρ) but in Aland (4.ed) *E(MMW/R (Ἑμμώρ). Are both spellings are correct? BDAG gives the spelling (with rough breathing) *E(MMW/R (Ἑμμώρ), so the other is wrong?
Jarek Romanowski

Re: Spelling in Acts 7:16

Posted: August 6th, 2012, 9:41 am
by RandallButh
both are correct. Neither are correct.

the name is a transliteration from a Semitic name. The accents are added by a modern editor.

the 'rough' mark is trying to show the etymology and to approximate a Hebrew voiceless pharyngeal fricative, which is quite distinct from any ancient 'rough' breathing. The 'smooth' breathing is trying to show the way in which most Greeks would have pronounced the name in the first century when the language was becoming psilotic (without pronouncing rough breathings, like the ancient Ionic dialect).