SBL 2009:
The Textual Criticism Sessions
The full program can be accessed here:
http://www.sbl-site.org/meetings/Congre ... etingId=15
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Thomas J. Kraus, Willibald Gluck Gymnasium
Reconstructing Fragmentary Manuscripts – Chances and Limitations (20 min)
With the help of some (classic) example cases the methodological challenges will be visualized that result from the task of reconstructing fragmentary manuscripts. How do we soundly reconstruct gaps in manuscripts? Which status does the reconstructed text then have? What about deducing more complex hypotheses from reconstructions? In addition, it makes a difference if a manuscript can be identified with a known text and reconstructed as such then (e.g., P.Ryl.Greek 457=P52) or if the reconstruction of an unknown text is based on probabilities, possibilities, and tentative exercise (which is the case with manuscript fragments that are discussed as the remnants of lost and unknown Gospels, such as P.Mert. II 51, P.Vindob.G 2325, and P.Oxy. IV 654 and the fragment of a shroud); and even the latter category is not a homogeneous one. The paper will explore chances and limitations, will tackle methodological pitfalls, and will propose an adequate treatment of fragmentary manuscripts.
Dave Nielsen, Brigham Young University
“The Existence and Importance of New Testament Ostraca” (20 min)
This paper will explore the existence of New Testament ostraca and their importance for studying both the textual and the social history of early Christianity. Dozens have been discovered to date yet they are seemingly unknown by most scholars. These have been forgotten since they are omitted in critical editions and lists (save one in the Kurzgefasste Liste). However, only until all witnesses are examined can the full history of the text and its reception be written. This paper seeks to fill this lacuna by 1) discussing all known New Testament ostraca and their provenance, dates, etc., and 2) outlining their value for the overall study of Christian origins.
Matthew V. Novenson, Princeton Theological Seminary
Marginal Annotation in the Greek New Testament Papyri (20 min)
To date, no catalog has been made of marginalia in the 124 registered Greek New Testament papyri. Building on a 1997 study by Eldon Epp, I undertake in the paper to fill this lacuna. I document several marginalia, most of them text-critical, in only a few MSS. My findings suggest that marginal annotation of New Testament MSS was relatively uncommon prior to the fifth c. C.E. and that most exceptions to this rule derive from an unusually literate monastic social setting. One text-critical implication is that the interpolation of marginal glosses is unlikely to have been common in this period.
Geoffrey Smith, Princeton University
The Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex and Its Community of Readers (20 min)
Among the so-called “Dishna Papers” is the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex, a fascinating fourth-century book containing an assortment of canonical and non-canonical Christian texts. In the nearly sixty years since the discovery of the Dishna Papers, the individual tractates have received much attention, especially the two Epistles of Peter and the Epistle of Jude, since they are among our earliest witnesses of these New Testament epistles. Although the codex as a whole has also received scholarly attention, this interest has been limited to its complicated binding history and the overarching logic or theological tendencies of the collection. Though these codicological issues are not yet settled, this paper raises an additional set of questions about this ancient book arising from recent advances in our understanding of reading as a social practice: How did this book participate in the broader social and cultural systems of fourth-century Christians in Upper Egypt? What types of reading practices does its formatting facilitate and how do these reading practices relate to its community of readers? To answer these and related questions, this paper will pay careful attention to the physical features of the codex itself, i.e. marginal notes, colopha, formatting, etc., and explore its probable connection with the nearby Pachomian monastic community.
Charles E. Hill, Reformed Theological Seminary
Diplai Sacra? The Scribal "Quotation Marks" in in P.Oxy 3.405 (Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.9.3) and Elsewhere (20 min)
P. Oxy 3.405, consisting of fragments of Irenaeus' Against Heresies 3.9.3, has gained some notoriety over the years for its text and its early (late second or early third century) date. This paper takes up an under-reported scribal feature of the text, its marginal diples used to draw attention to the quotation from Matt. 3.16-17. The paper explores the background for P. Oxy. 405 in the varied use of diples in secular literary texts, then examines their use as indicators of Scriptural citations in Christian texts. It deliberates on the likelihood that in P. Oxy. 405 is the earliest surviving instance of a Christian scribal convention parallel in some ways to the nomina sacra, marking not sacred names but sacred texts.
Holger Strutwolf, Institute for New Testament Textual Research
The making of the text-type theory (15 min)
The grouping of manuscripts into families, text-types or local text-forms is a widely used procedure in New Testament textual criticism. It aims at reducing the overwhelming complexities of a mixed tradition to a small number of texts from which an attempt is made to reconstruct the basic strands of the transmission history. But this kind of genealogical approach is far from being self-evident, as can be shown by its own history. In this paper I want to reconstruct the emergence and the development of text-type theories from the pioneer works of Albrecht Bengel to the handbooks of today in order to detect the basic presumptions of the underlying paradigm and to determine the value and the limits of this kind of scholarly methodology. Thus, the reconstruction of the history of the idea of text-types will result in their deconstruction.
JLH Krans, Vrije Universiteit-Amsterdam
Textual Criticism in the Making: Johann Jakob Wettstein (15 min)
Wettstein’s edition of the Greek New Testament (2 vols., 1751-1752) is a landmark of New Testament textual criticism. Unknown to most present-day scholars, and hitherto unexplored, are Wettstein’s papers, preserved for posterity by the Remonstrant Church, and nowadays kept in the library of the University of Amsterdam. Though some have unfortunately been lost, the papers that remain still give us some surprising and instructive insights into the working conditions of a textual critic in the 18th century, his scholarly circle, and the making of his landmark edition.
Dirk Jongkind, Tyndale House
Samuel Prideaux Tregelles: How to Produce a Greek New Testament in the 19th Century (15 min)
Hailed by Bruce Metzger as the scholar who 'was most successful in drawing British preference away from the Textus Receptus', Tregelles is still one of the very few people who produced a complete GNT with full apparatus (published 1857-79). Interestingly, a lot can be known about the actual practical stages Tregelles went through in the whole process from collation to actual publication. Tregelles published a thorough account of his method, of his ideas, and of his knowledge of the history of textual criticism. Besides, a good many of his notebooks have been preserved in a Cambridge college library. Drawing on all these resources a good reconstruction can be made of the efforts of this man who may have influenced his good friend Hort much more than previously recognized.
Tommy Wasserman, Lund University
Text-types and the Evaluation of Readings in New Testament Textual Criticism (20 min)
Ever since the days of Westcott and Hort the concept of text-types, as part of the external evidence, has played a major role in the evaluation of individual readings and the production of critical texts. The widely used standard editions today differ little from the text of Westcott and Hort, reflect a preference for the text-type commonly known as “Alexandrian.” In recent years, however, the study of the relationship between manuscripts has led to refined results, most importantly through the application of the Coherence Based Genealogical Method (CBGM). This development, it is argued, leads to a “calibration” of the external evidence that is likely to diminish the importance of the concept of text-types in New Testament textual criticism. The paper will present examples from passages in the Catholic Epistles in order to demonstrate in practice how a refined knowledge of manuscript relationships, beyond text-types, can aid in the evaluation of readings.
Jared Anderson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The Origen-al Text of the Gospels: Origen's Witness to a Carefully Preserved New Testament Text in Alexandria (20 min)
Building upon recent discussions concerning the validity of Text-Types and their designations, this paper asserts that patristic evidence lends support to the theory of a carefully preserved "Alexandrian text" of the New Testament. In particular, comprehensive profile analysis of Origen’s text of John demonstrates that his citations closely align with the best members of the "Primary-Alexandrian" text type (P75, B, and ? in John 8:39ff), and that he took his manuscript(s) of John with him when he relocated to Caesarea in 231 CE. The fact that Origen's text of John remained the same while some of his other texts changed corroborates regional differences in textual types. Overview of research on Clement, Didymus, and Athanasius as well as the citations of Heracleon embedded in Origen's commentaries rounds out my discussion of patristic evidence. Therefore while new computer methods usher in a new era of textual research and the concepts of textual relationships should be nuanced, patristic evidence provides a vital check to the dismissal of the traditional geographical terms, especially "Alexandrian text."
Dr. Klaus Wachtel, University of Muenster
The Byzantine Text of the Gospels: Recension or Process? (20 min)
Codex Alexandrinus (A 02) and the Purple Codices (N 022, O 023, S 042, F 043) are often classified as early witnesses of the Byzantine text and thought to support the theory that it was the result of a recension made early in the 4th century. Full collations of 38 synoptic pericopes in 156 manuscripts brought together in a research project at the Münster Institute for New Testament Textual Research can now be used for a fresh look at the question of how the Byzantine text of the Gospels arose. In fact, the evidence points to a development rather than to a recension, although it becomes clear that a large part of this development had already taken place by the 5th century. This paper will describe the phases of that development represented by Codex Alexandrinus and the Purple Codices.
Peter M Head, Tyndale House/University of Cambridge
The Marginalia of Codex Vaticanus: Putting the Distigmai (formerly known as ‘Umlauts’) in their Place (20 min)
In recent years it has been suggested that the double dots in the margins of Codex Vaticanus (Cod. Vat. Gr. 1209 or B/03) are ancient markers of places of known textual variation (most notably by Philip Payne). This paper challenges the claimed antiquity of these double dots by investigating their relationships with other marginal material in Codex Vaticanus; including the marginal marks (or diple) noting OT citations; and the various levels of marginal chapter markings; and other comments and corrections. A relative chronology of all the marginalia is proposed and demonstrated visually. This relative chronology suggests that the distigmai are the latest observable additions to this codex. Other considerations also confirm a sixteenth century date for these markers of places of textual variation.
Matteo Grosso, University of Torino
'Where there is no male and female'. On the textual tradition of Col. 3:11 (20 min)
The variant reading that in some “D-type” witnesses presents the insertion of the words “male and female” at Col 3:11 is normally held as secondarily generated by the influence of Gal. 3:28. This paper proposes an assessment of that judgement through a reconsideration of the variant reading in the light of the anti-women scribal tendency detectable both in the “D-type” text and in the rest of the manuscript tradition of the Pauline Epistles. In this way it shows that some noteworthy reasons can be found supporting the case that this reading was part of the earlier text of the epistle.
Gregory S. Paulson, University of Edinburgh
Singular Readings: Harmonizations in Codex D in Matthew (20 min)
Scribes undoubtedly corrupted the text of the New Testament, either intentionally or unintentionally. One such corruption is harmonization, which occurs when “discordant parallels” are brought into verbal agreement (Metzger and Ehrman, Text of the New Testament, 262). Scribes were very aware of gospel parallels, but what purpose did parallels serve for the scribe of codex D in Matthew? The scribe’s technique was to intentionally copy words from Mark, Luke, and John and use them in the parallel passage in Matthew. The scribe altered the text before him/her in a reasonably unobtrusive manner since usually just one word has been affected. The scribe has demonstrated sophistication in copying since the alterations smooth difficult readings in Matthew. There are no theological tendencies noticeable from the material harmonized in Matthew (unlike Acts, as seen in Epps monograph, Theological Tendency of Codex Bezae). Of the thirty-four singular harmonizations, twenty-one involve one word and result in smoother readings. The alterations are systematic since the scribe tends to be consistent in making the same alterations throughout parallel passages in all the gospels, therefore giving the impression of intention. The assimilated text in D in Matthew improves the text in the simplest fashion since usually just one word is altered. For example, in 15:27 the scribe singularly changes the verb to agree with the subject’s number, which parallels Mk 7:28 exactly. In addition, the noun "maidservant" in 26:71 is added to clarify the text (as read in 26:69 and Mk 14:69). The scribe used parallels as a critical resource to smooth and clarify the Matthean text yet was careful not to alter the text more than a single word in most cases. Overall, these tendencies demonstrate that the scribe was mindful of what he/she was copying and intended to make a smoother, more readable copy of Matthew.
Bill Warren, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Steven Whatley, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Just Spell It like It Sounds! Case Studies on the Spelling Tendencies of Scribes (20 min)
When does spelling matter? Spelling differences are common among the NT manuscripts, but how can their importance be weighed? Were they due to unintentional spelling errors by scribes or at times do they represent intentional changes designed to alter the meaning of the text, like when a verb hinges on whether an omega or an omicron is present, as in Rom. 5:1? This presentation, part of a larger study that is looking at orthographic tendencies both by individual manuscript characteristics and over the chronological range from the second century to the fifteenth century, highlights some initial findings by way of selected case studies.
James M. Leonard, University of Cambridge
Codex Schøyen as an Alternative Gospel of Matthew: A Consideration of Schenke’s Retroversion of Matt 12:2-14 (20 min)
Codex Schøyen is a substantial but fragmentary Coptic papyrus manuscript of Matthew’s Gospel. It dates early, perhaps early fourth century, but only recently became public (1999). Its editio princeps was produced by H.-M. Schenke, who concluded that its text is a translation of an entirely different Vorlage than that reflected in the NA27. For Schenke, Codex Schøyen reflects an alternative Matthew which illuminates the statements of Epiphanius and Papias regarding early Christian gospels. Apart from an article and review by Tjitze Baarda who called for additional analysis (NT 46, 265-287; 302-306), Schenke’s striking claims have gone unchallenged. These claims are clearly reflected in his retroversion. This paper analyses one side of the best preserved page of the manuscript, focusing on the verse which Schenke retroverts most differently from NA27. Schenke’s retroversion of Matt 12:11 deviates from NA27 in 16 of 26 words. Thus, if the retroversion is indeed an accurate picture of Codex Schøyen’s Vorlage, then the conclusion would seem inevitable that Codex Schøyen is derived from a long lost version of Matthew. Alternatively, Schenke’s method of retroversion could be flawed, and if so, one must ask whether Codex Schøyen’s Coptic is actually a faithful rendering of a text comparable to NA27. This paper will evaluate these possibilities.
Leonard J. Greenspoon, Creighton University
“If I forget thee…: Remembering, and Forgetting, in ‘Scriptural Citations’ (20 min)
Interest in “Scriptural Citations” by the writers of the New Testament is a perennial issue that shows no signs of abating. If anything, closer contacts between scholars of the Septuagint and those of the New Testament, among others, have cast new light on this intriguing phenomenon. In this paper, I will explore this issue primarily through the “extra-textual” phenomenon of citation from memory, using modern examples, which can be clearly documented, as a starting point for further examination of the ancient world.
Martin Karrer, Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal / Barmen School of
Old and New in Greek Bibles of the 4/5th centuries – Citations of the LXX in their New Testament versions (30 min)
The Early Christian writings that later became the New Testament form part of the reception history of the Jewish scriptures. Their writers not only draw on theological concepts and imageries from the Jewish scriptures, they also frequently cite them as prove texts in order to root their own religious experience and theological narratives firmly within the tradition mediated through these scriptures. In so doing New Testament writers are also early witnesses to text forms of the Jewish scriptures in their Greek version, the Septuagint, as the scholarly consensus has it. Although the Septuagint is in parts a version that goes back to the 3rd c. BCE, substantial manuscript evidence for it dates from the 4th c. CE onwards, when its textual transmission has become part of the tradition of the Christian Greek Bible. Hence, witnesses from the first c. CE, such as the New Testament citations, offer a rare glimpse into early phases of the Septuagint’s textual history. At the same time, however, it has to be acknowledged, that the earliest substantial manuscript witnesses for the New Testament writings do not carry the time stamp of their presumptive first century literary origin. They similarly date from the 3rd/4th centuries CE onwards. In other words: Septuagint and New Testament writings travelled for at least 200 years within the same Christian environments before we can pin down the first physical reminder of one of these precious citations of the former in the latter. The fourth century CE then sees the appearance of some of the most ambitious book productions in the history before the invention of printing, namely the three and four column complete Bibles, Codices Vaticanus and Sinaiticus respectively as well as the two column Bible of the 5th century Codex Alexandrinus. With these gorgeous manuscripts we have the first examples of books that encompass both parts of the Christian Bible, i.e. the LXX (= Christian Old Testament) and the New Testament in one physical entity. As such, these manuscripts are of unique value to study the interaction (or lack thereof) between the New Testament citation and its Septuagint source text while being mediated in tandem. With the many corrections from the scriptorium and subsequent generations that are found especially in Codex Sinaiticus we have additional information for assessing the ongoing interaction between both texts (LXX and NT) as they are used and studied throughout the centuries. Hence, the title “Old and New” not only pertains to the two parts of the Christian Bible, but to the subsequent generations of correctors as well. The aim of our presentation is to give an account of our work on the issue of OT citations in the NT as carried out at the Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal/Bethel.
