This volume provides a synthesis of the linguistic significance of the material dealt with in the first four volumes of the series, in which hundreds of Greek inscriptions and papyri were discussed. The topics addressed here include whether there was a separate Greek-Jewish dialect of the ''koine'', whether the emphasis given in some New Testament grammars to its semitic features is justified, and the adequacy for current research of Moulton and Milligan's ''The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament'' and other lexicographical works. The use of names as an aid to social history is covered in a detailed study of the inscription of a fishing cartel at Ephesus, and there are cumulative indexes by S.P. Swinn for the first five volumes of the series.