Use the "back" button of your browser to return to the list of abstracts.
LETTING EARLY GE’EZ FREE: GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF THE ABBA GARIMA GOSPEL OF MARK [Abstract ID: 0806-06]
There is a strong tendency in Ge’ez studies to interpret variation in spelling or grammar as the result of scribal error, whether due to traditional scribal lapses or a scribe’s deficient understanding of the language. In light of the early dating of the Abba Garima Gospels, however, this view is historically and philologically untenable. If the manuscripts are the oldest non-epigraphic witness to the Ge’ez language—by centuries—we are obligated to take their linguistic evidence more seriously. This paper will highlight a number of grammatical variations in the text that seem to be at odds with the accepted grammar or writing convention of Ge’ez and discuss how we should analyze these issues.