A Little More TC Help Needed

Polycarp66 at aol.com Polycarp66 at aol.com
Tue Mar 21 07:56:38 EST 2000


In a message dated 3/21/2000 7:51:18 AM Central Daylight Time, 
thmann at juno.com writes:

<< 
 Here's what I don't understand:  (1) TOU QEOU appears in p46.  The
 witnesses listed by Metzger are, I believe, of later vintage.  Now, if a
 variant appears in a really early witness, what difference does it make
 if it is not included in later witnesses?  Doesn't the fact that it
 appears so early prove its early existence, and diminish the importance
 of its absence in later documents?  In the case of 1 Cor. 2:14, I gather
 that (unlike UBS3), UBS4 and NA27 include TOU QEOU without comment, but
 what about other similar situations?  (2) With reference to 1 Cor. 2:14,
 Metzger indicates that the UBS3 committee considered the possibility that
 TOU QEOU might have been added by copyists.  But are there any witnesses
 earlier than p46 that exclude it?  If not, how can one make such a
 determination?
  >>

Unfortunately corruption can creep into a textual tradition early as well as 
late.  For this reason it is necessary to check the distribution of a 
particular reading.  Does it appear in only one geographical area?  What 
about other documents in the same area?  Do they have the same reading?  
There are many factors to consider other than simply finding the earliest 
attestation of a particular passage and following that.

Sorry for the brevity -- I need to run.

gfsomsel



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