The idea of “an old semantic world” suggests “the Old Country” as we used to say about our origins in Europe. It too was an “old semantic world” but sometimes digging into that world and its ancient languages offers something new.

Looking forward to a visit!

Thanks, George. I appreciate your appreciation. It was fun to write. New meanings also open up the possibility of “conversion” in the Greek sense of “metanoia,” a “turning to,” as one leaves behind an old semantic world.

Thank you, Ruth, for the insightful comment. I did not know there is a such a thing as a word book of “literal meanings.” I’d be interested to know what it has to say about some of the words I have chewed over. As for the Pauline texts, that will wait awhile until after my next post, which will be about “the pleasures of the Cyrillic alphabet.” After all,those of us who read Cyrillic letters pick up the Greek alphabet really fast. I have just finished reading a scholar new to me, Paula Fredrikson, Paul: The Pagans’ Apostle. Its Notes alone are 72 pages. And the word “women” isn’t in the Index! Clearly, Pauline scholars have many fish to fry. But I have noted her few remarks about mistranslations of Paul’s Greek, so stay tuned. (It seem the Reformation had it all wrong.)

Thanks, Helen. We are now past Valentine’s Day in the new year so we have all had a first chance for a renewed heart in 2019.