The Historical Evidence for the Virgin BirthTaylor, Vincent
Religion
The Historical Evidence for the Virgin Birth
Taylor, Vincent
Bible. Gospels; Jesus Christ -- Nativity; Virgin birth
In his three books on the Acts, Harnack is fond of underlining Lukan
characteristics in the “We” Sections, in order to show the linguistic
identity which exists between these Sections and the rest of the work. Let
us see how Lk. i. 34 f. appears, when treated in this way; not forgetting,
of course, that we are dealing with two verses only. It is obviously
impossible to indicate by this method the special significance of each
word or phrase; this, however, has already been shown. Our results may be
represented as follows: _εἶπεν δὲ_ Μαριὰμ _πρὸς τὸν_ ἄγγελον Πῶς ἔσται
τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω; καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ ἄγγελος εἷπεν αὐτῇ _Πνεῦμα
ἅγιον ἐπελεύσεται ἐπὶ σέ_, καὶ _δύναμις Ὕψίστου ἐπισκιάσει σοι· διὸ καὶ
τὸ γεννώμενον_ ἅγιον _κληθήσεται_, υἱὸς θεοῦ.
A possible reply to the linguistic argument presented above is that we may
have to do with an interpolator who has thoroughly entered into the Lukan
style. If our examination has shown anything at all, it has shown that Lk.
i. 34. f. is very far from presenting neutral features: it is shot through
and through with “Lukanisms”.(67) But, it may be asked, could not an
interpolator, strongly influenced by the Lukan style, have penned these
verses?
Let us see what, on that hypothesis, the interpolator has done. He has
produced a passage of thirty‐seven words, in which there is not a
construction, and only one word (ἐπεί), which is not well represented in
the Lukan writings. He has used a word (γινώσκω) in a sense not elsewhere
illustrated in those works, but a word which St. Luke would naturally
employ in the connexion in which it occurs. He has employed words,
phrases, and constructions for which St. Luke has a fondness, such as
καλέω, δύναμις Ὕψίστου, διὸ καί, the article with the participle in place
of a noun (τὸ γενν.).(68) He has used two verbs (ἐπισκιάζω and ἐπέρχομαι)
which are rare in the New Testament, but which St. Luke uses more than
once; the phrase Π. ἅ. ἐπελεύσεται ἐπὶ σέ, which is closely paralleled in
Acts i. 8; and, above all, the markedly Lukan εἶπεν δὲ ... πρός.
This feat, it must be confessed, is a striking performance. If, indeed, it
has been achieved, we must conclude that it has been carried out
deliberately. We make every allowance for the possibility that a redactor
may well enter into the style of an author. But to suppose that in so
short a passage so many Lukan features have come together without
premeditation or design is all but impossible. We make bold to say that,
if we must admit such an undesigned collocation of “Lukanisms”, we can
have little confidence in the linguistic argument anywhere.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account