Word Order Acts 14:8a

clayton stirling bartholomew c.s.bartholomew at worldnet.att.net
Tue Sep 8 14:57:08 EDT 1998


This whole passage is giving me the bends. To start out with Acts 14:8a in
NA27 is difficult to scan, even given the flexibility of NT Greek word order.

KAI TIS ANHR ADUNATOS EN LUSTROIS TOIS POSIN EKAQHTO, 

I read this with the rest of the immediate context several times before I
dived into the reference works. I was relieved to find Metzger's comment that
this word order "cries out for rearrangement." Particularly the placement of
EN LUSTREOIS seems highly infelicitous. 

The reading in NA27 is only found in three manuscripts; Aleph, B, 1175. Codex
Bezae omits EN LUSTREOIS and rearranges the verse substantially. I am
wondering if choosing the most difficult reading as the original makes sense
when the most difficult reading is improbable stylistically. Also, three
manuscripts are rather slim support even when two of them are Aleph and B.  


-- 
Clayton Stirling Bartholomew
Three Tree Point
P.O. Box 255 Seahurst WA 98062



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