[B-Greek] MSS behind Erasmus' GNT offlist again
George F Somsel
gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Mon Mar 17 06:29:01 EDT 2008
SOURCES FOR THE NOVUM INSTRUMENTUM
Seven manuscripts were used by Erasmus in Basel to compile the
Greek text which was printed alongside his Latin translation.46
1. Codex 1eap, a minuscule containing the entire NT except for Revelation,
dated to about the 12th century.
2. Codex 1r, a minuscule containing the book of Revelation except for the
last 6 verses (Rev 22:16–21), dated to the 12th century.
3. Codex 2e, a minuscule containing the Gospels, dated to the 12th century.
4. Codex 2ap, a minuscule containing Acts and the Epistles, dated to the
12th century or later.
5. Codex 4ap, a minuscule containing Acts and the Epistles, dated to the
15th century.
6. Codex 7p, a minuscule containing the Pauline Epistles, dated to the
11th century.
7. Codex 817, a minuscule containing the Gospels, dated to the 15th century.
All of these were the property of the Dominican Library in Basel except
for 2ap, which was obtained from the family of Johann Amerbach of
Basel.47 Manuscripts 1eap and 1r had been borrowed from the
Dominicans by Johannes Reuchlin. Erasmus borrowed them from
Reuchlin.
Thus Erasmus had 3 manuscripts of the Gospels and Acts; 4
manuscripts of the Pauline Epistles; and only 1 manuscript of
Revelation.48 However, the main sources for his text were Codices 2e and 2a
Erasmus did not compile his own Greek text from the manuscripts at his disposal,
few as they were; instead, Codices 2e and 2ap themselves served as the printer’s
copy for all the NT except Revelation. They still contain Erasmus’ corrections written
between the lines of the text and occasionally in the margins, which came from the
other four manuscripts, though he made little use of some of them.50 A comparison
between the manuscripts used by the printer and the printed text
indicates that the printer did not accept every correction that Erasmus
proposed, and that the printer made some revisions not authorized by Erasmus.51
For the book of Revelation, Erasmus had only one manuscript (1r).
Since the text of Revelation was imbedded in a commentary by Andreas
of Caesarea and thus difficult for the printer to read, Erasmus had a
fresh copy made. The copyist himself misread the original at places, and
thus a number of errors were introduced into Erasmus’ printed text.52
For example, in Revelation 17:4 Codex 1r and all other Greek
manuscripts have the word ajkavqarta (“impure”), but Erasmus’ text
reads ajkaqavrthto", a word unknown in Greek literature. In a similar
fashion, the words kai; parevstai (“and is to come”) in 17:8 were misread
as kaivper e[stin (“and yet is”).53 These and other errors produced
by the scribe who made the copy of Revelation for the printer are still to
be found in modern editions of the TR, such as the widely used version
published by the Trinitarian Bible Society.54
Source: William W. Coombs, "Erasmus and the Textus Receptus", Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal, Spring 1996, pp. 45-46.
george
gfsomsel
… search for truth, hear truth,
learn truth, love truth, speak the truth, hold the truth,
defend the truth till death.
- Jan Hus
_________
----- Original Message ----
From: Mitch Larramore <mitchlarramore at yahoo.com>
To: B Greek <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2008 9:05:39 PM
Subject: [B-Greek] MSS behind Erasmus' GNT offlist again
I am looking for a trustworthy list of the 6 or 7
manuscripts used by Erasmus in his Greek New
Testament. I am not looking for the list given by Dr.
Combs. Could someone point me to a link where this
data can be found?
Mitch Larramore
Sugar Land, Texas
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