Negative Concord and Word Order in the Greek Bible and New Testament

This chapter compares the Classical Greek system of negation with the system of negation witnessed by the Septuagint and the New Testament. The distribution of forms of ‘objective’ negation (the system of οὐ(κ) and οὐδείς) is at the core of the empirical survey, with special attention to the observed patterns of negative concord. The main aim of the study is to assess if the changes in the basic word order at the clausal level in Postclassical Greek, with the decrease of verb-final orders, influenced the syntax of negative concord in ways that could favor further changes taking place at later (Medieval) stages. The investigation of negative concord in the Septuagint and the New Testament fills a gap in the diachronic trajectory and assesses whether the system of negation already shows early signs of development in (varieties of) Postclassical Greek.