Bible Lexicons

The NT phrase τάδε λέγει (Acts 21:11, Revelation 2:1 al.) may be compared with τάδε διέθετο, the regular formula in wills for introducing the testator’s dispositions, e.g. P Petr I. 16 (1).12 (B.C. 230) τάδε διέθετο νοῶν καὶ φρονῶν Μένιππος κτλ. : cf. P Giss I. 36.10 (B.C. 161) τάδε λέγ ̣ε ̣ι γ ̣υνὴ Ἑλληνὶς Ἀμμωνία κτλ. (with the editor’s note), and P Passalacqua.14 (Ptol.) (= Witkowski.2, p. 54) ἀπεδόθη τάδ᾽ αὐτῶι, where τάδ᾽ = ἥδε ἡ ἐπιστολή. Apart from the phrase cited above, the pronoun occurs only twice (Luke 10:39, James 4:13) in the NT (it is commoner in the LXX, Thackeray Gr. i. p. 191), and this corresponds with its rarity in the later Κοινή : cf. however P Ryl II. 162.11 (A.D. 159) κατὰ τήνδε τ [ὴ ]ν ὁμολογίαν, ";in accordance with this agreement,"; P Oxy VII. 1033.14 (A.D. 392) τούσδε τοὺς λιβέλλους ἐπιδίδομεν, and P Grenf I. 53.24 (iv/A.D.) αἵδε λέγουσαι. For earlier exx. see Mayser Gr. p. 308, and add P Tor I. 2.40 (B.C. 241) ἐπὶ τήνδε τὴν οἰκίαν : for the NT usage see Blass-Debrunner § 289. The only survival of the pronoun in MGr is ὁ τάδε (ς) used in the sense of δεῖνα (Jannaris, § 564).