202 Peter Spitaler standard lexica and grammar books — Friedrich Blass and Albert Debrunner, Friedrich Büchsel, and Walter Bauer (4) — authenticate its existence. Third, the special NT meaning can be confirmed by cross- referencing specific NT passages that contain diakrivnomai (5). Whereas most contemporary scholars use one form or another — or some combination — of these three explanations to justify the special NT meaning, “doubt”, for diakrivnomai, a closer look at each of these arguments reveals their weaknesses. First, it is problematic to deduce a special NT meaning “doubt” (using reflexive expressions like “dispute with oneself” or “being divided against oneself”) from the middle voice diakrivnomai. Such reflexive meanings are not present in the classical/Hellenistic Greek because the middle diakrivnomai consistently denotes a contesting partner other than — and outside of — oneself. In addition, none of the NT authors to which the special NT meaning is attributed embeds unequivocal linguistic evidence in the literary contexts surrounding diakrivnomai that would lead hearers/readers of the passage to understand this verb to be semantically expanded. Internal markers that substantiate such a shift are either inconclusive or absent. For instance, many scholars observe that (with the exception of Acts 10,20) the noun pivsti" or the verb pisteuvw occurs in the immediate literary context of passages with diakrivnomai (Mt 21,21, Mk 11,23, Rom 4,20, 14,23, Jas 1,6[2x], Jude 22) and, therefore, interpret that these authors juxtapose diakrivnomai with words from the stem pist*. However, the common inference that these words mark the antithesis faith–doubt, therefore implying diakrivnomai should be translated —————— Greek New Testament Illustrated from the Papyri and other Non-Literary Sources (Grand Rapids 1963) 150; W. SCHMITTHALS, Der Römerbrief. Ein Kommentar (Gütersloh 1988) 509. (4) BAUER, Wörterbuch, 370-371; F. BLASS – A. DEBRUNNER – F. REHKOPF, Grammatik des neutestamentlichen Griechisch (Göttingen 161984) §78:73; F. BÜCHSEL, “krivnw”, TWNT, III, 920-955. (5) Contemporary lexica, dictionaries, and commentaries define a distinct category, NT meaning, for diakrivnomai in Mt 21,21, Mk 11,23, Acts 10,20, Rom 4,20, 14,23, Jas 1,6[2x], and Jude 22 in addition to — and separate from — the classical/Hellenistic Greek meaning (to be separated; to come to a decision; to contend); cf. BAUER, Wörterbuch, 370-371; LSJ, 399; D.J. HARRINGTON, “Jude and 2 Peter”, 1 Peter, Jude and 2 Peter (ed. D.J. HARRINGTON) (Sacra Pagina 15; Collegeville 2003) 221; T.R. SCHREINER, 1, 2 Peter, Jude (NAC 37; Nashville 2003) 488.