After consulting with a few scholars on the subject, I find that this argument is inconclusive. The three words from the letter which are used as comparanda, ἐκλεγόμενος (first page), χρησάμενος (second page), περιβεβλημένος (third page), all end in -μενος, not just -νος. Words ending in -μενος are common and -μενος had its own distinct form of abbreviation or ligature. Here is a table from of William Wallace, 'And Index of Greek Ligatures and Contractions' The Journal of Hellenistic Studies 43.2 (1923) 183-193:Peter Kirby wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2024 3:03 pm In addition:
Secret Alias wrote: ↑Tue Apr 02, 2024 3:03 pm Three nouns that end in -νος
ἐκλεγόμενος (first page)
χρησάμενος (second page)
περιβεβλημένος (third page)
Do any of these look like γυμνοὶ on page three? Completely different ligature already recognized by Tselikas. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/wp- ... ions-1.pdfKen Olson wrote: ↑Tue Apr 02, 2024 8:18 pmThat is a good argument.Secret Alias wrote: ↑Tue Apr 02, 2024 4:11 pm Somehow I have managed to have three different photos of each page of the original manuscript for proper comparison. Notice the final ligature -νος consistent throughout:
(Note that the table shows particular ligatures for -μενος and for -ος, but not for -νος)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/625810
See also Andrew Smith's site on Greek ligatures:
https://airtable.com/appgrNuo12M56MZkN/ ... LCvhcXcIbN
And the Fordham University site here (under: 'Abbreviations: through contraction together with superposition, suspension or combination'):
https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/ikon/greekabb.asp
There are numerous other sites that document that -μενος had its own particular form of abbreviation/ligature, just google it.
In light of this fact, I think the argument that if the word under dispute in The Letter to Theodore III 13 had been γυμνὸς, rather than γυμνοὶ, we should expect to see the same ligature found in ἐκλεγόμενος, χρησάμενος, and περιβεβλημένος, does not establish that the final letter of γυμνὸ- is not a Sigma.
Best,
Ken