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The Reading Culture of Early Christianity

**EDWARD D. ANDREWS** (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored 170+ books. Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).

Major Critical Texts of the New Testament

Byz RP: 2005 Byzantine Greek New Testament, Robinson & Pierpont
TR1550: 1550 Stephanus New Testament
Maj: The Majority Text (thousands of minuscules which display a similar text)
Gries: 1774-1775 Johann Jakob Griesbach Greek New Testament
Treg: 1857-1879 Samuel Prideaux Tregelles Greek New Testament
Tisch: 1872 Tischendorf’s Greek New Testament
WH: 1881 Westcott-Hort Greek New Testament
NA28: 2012 Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament
UBS5: 2014 Greek New Testament
NU: Both Nestle-Aland and the United Bible Society
SBLGNT: 2010 Greek New Testament
THGNT: 2017 The Greek New Testament by Tyndale House
GENTI: 2022 Greek-English New Testament Interlinear

Colossians 2:2 The Greek-English New Testament Interlinear (GENTI)
τοῦof the μυστηρίουmystery τοῦof the θεοῦ,God, Χριστοῦ,of Christ,

Colossians 2:2 Eberhard Nestle et al., The Greek New Testament, 28th ed.
τοῦof the μυστηρίουmystery τοῦof the θεοῦ,God, Χριστοῦ,of Christ,

Col 2:2 ESV

Col 2:2 LEB

Col 2:2 CSB

Col 2:2 NASB

1995/2020

Col 2:2 UASV

Col 2:2 KJV

… the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ,

… the knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ,

… the knowledge of God’s mystery—Christ

… true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself

… an accurate knowledge^[1] of the mystery of God, namely, Christ,

… he acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ

WH NU GENTI τοῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ
“the mystery of God, Christ”
𝔓⁴⁶ B

Variant 1 του μυστηριου του θεου, ο εστιν Χριστου
“the mystery of God, which is Christ”
D*

Variant 2 του μυστηριου του θεου
“the mystery of God”
D¹ H P 1881

Variant 3 του μυστηριου του Χριστου
“the mystery of Christ”
81 (1739) it^b

Variant 4 του μυστηριου του θεου πατρος του Χριστου
“the mystery of God, Father of Christ”
א* A C 048^vid

Variant 5 του μυστηριου του θεου και πατρος του Χριστου
“the mystery of God, even the Father of Christ”
א² Ψ 0208

Variant 6/TR του μυστηριου του θεου και πατρος και του Χριστου
“the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ”
D² Maj syr**

NOTE: Syriac reading in syr^h that is set off by asterisks, indicating some question about its originality.

The original reading when looking at the earliest and weightiest manuscripts was (τοῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ – 𝔓⁴⁶ B) “the mystery of God, Christ” or “the mystery of God, namely, Christ.” There are many more variant readings than have been listed here. These are the primary ones. Variant 2 του μυστηριου του θεου “the mystery of God.” (D¹ H P 1881) Variant 3 του μυστηριου του Χριστου “the mystery of Christ.” (81 (1739) it^b) Variant 4 του μυστηριου του θεου πατρος του Χριστου “the mystery of God, Father of Christ.” (א* A C 048^vid) Variant 5 του μυστηριου του θεου και πατρος του Χριστου “the mystery of God, even the Father of Christ.” (א2 Ψ 0208) Variant 6/TR του μυστηριου του θεου και πατρος και του Χριστου “the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ.” (D² Maj syr**) The number of variants is evidence that the scribes had some serious difficulties. There can only be one reading, which is the original reading. The reading that the other readings most likely came from is (τοῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ – 𝔓⁴⁶ B), and so it is likely the original. This is the fundamental principle of textual criticism. The other scribes were on a mission to make more clear (variant 1), to shorten (variants 2-3), or expand (variants 4-6) the original reading. Some have argued that if we are saying what all other readings rose from; then, variant 1 and variant 2 were likely original. This cannot be because their manuscript evidence is quite weak. The emendations were an attempt by the scribes to expound on the relationship between the Father and Christ. The scribes who added Father were looking to make clear God was the Father of Christ.

Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, p. 555

τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ {B}

Among what at first sight seems to be a bewildering variety of variant readings, the one adopted for the text is plainly to be preferred (a) because of strong external testimony (𝔓46 B Hilary Pelagius Ps-Jerome) and (b) because it alone provides an adequate explanation of the other readings as various scribal attempts to ameliorate the syntactical ambiguity of τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ.

Roger L. Omanson and Bruce Manning Metzger, A Textual Guide to the Greek New Testament (Simplified Version), pp. 413–414

τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ (of God, of Christ) {B}

There is a bewildering variety of variant readings here. (See the listing and discussion in Metzger, The Text of the New Testament, pp. 236–38 below). But the reading in the text is plainly to be preferred. It has strong external testimony, and it alone provides an adequate explanation of the other readings as attempts by various copyists to improve the ambiguity of the words τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ. For reasons of clarity in the receptor language, it may be necessary to add the words “that is,” as some copyists did. Compare “the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself” (NRSV, similarly REB) and “the mystery of God, namely, Christ” (NIV). NJB follows the shorter reading: “knowledge of the mystery of God.”
Barth and Blanke (Colossians, p. 281) state that all the variants can be explained as paraphrases or modifications of the reading in the text. “The number of the variants is probably conditioned by the fact that two interpretations are possible from the original transmission, whose form or specifically whose expression is without parallel in Paul: (1) the mystery of the God of Christ …; (2) the mystery of God, Christ …”

The Complete Guide to Bible Translation-2

Metzger, The Text of the New Testament, pp. 236–38.

58 The caution with which the conclusion is expressed is in deference to those who, like F. W. Beare in the Interpreter’s Bible, think that the expression τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ is too difficult for the author to have written and that some primitive error must lie behind the earliest attainable text.

HOW DO WE DETERMINE THE ORIGINAL READING THROUGH The Principles and Practice of New Testament Textual Studies?

TEXTUAL INSIGHTS

Variant Reading(s): differing versions of a word or phrase found in two or more manuscripts within a variation unit (see below). Variant readings are also called alternate readings.

Variation Unit: any portion of text that exhibits variations in its reading between two or more different manuscripts. It is important to distinguish variation units from variant readings. Variation units are the places in the text where manuscripts disagree, and each variation unit has at least two variant readings. Setting the limits and range of a variation unit is sometimes difficult or even controversial because some variant readings affect others nearby. Such variations may be considered individually, or as elements of a single reading. One should also note that the terms “manuscript” and “witness” may appear to be used interchangeably in this context. Strictly speaking, “witness” (see below) will only refer to the content of a given manuscript or fragment, which it predates to a greater or lesser extent. However, the only way to reference the “witness” is by referring to the manuscript or fragment that contains it. In this book, we have sometimes used the terminology “witness of x or y manuscript” to distinguish the content in this way.

TERMS AS TO HOW WE SHOULD OBJECTIVELY VIEW THE DEGREE OF CERTAINTY FOR THE READING ACCEPTED AS THE ORIGINAL

The modal verbs are might have been (30%), may have been (40%), could have been (55%), would have been (80%), must have been (95%), which are used to show that we believe the originality of a reading is certain, probable or possible.

The letter [WP] stands for Weak Possibility (30%), which indicates that this is a low-level proof that the reading might have been original in that it is enough evidence to accept that the variant might have been possible, but it is improbable. We can say the reading might have been original, as there is some evidence that is derived from manuscripts that carry very little weight, early versions, or patristic quotations.

The letter [P] stands for Plausible (40%), which indicates that this is a low-level proof that the reading may have been original in that it is enough to accept a variant to be original and we have enough evidence for our belief. The reading may have been original but it is not probably so.

The letter [PE] stands for Preponderance of Evidence (55%), which indicates that this is a higher-level proof that the reading could have been original in that it is enough to accept as such unless another reading emerges as more probable.

The letter [CE] stands for Convincing Evidence (80%), which indicates that the evidence is an even higher-level proof that the reading surely was the original in that the evidence is enough to accept it as substantially certain unless proven otherwise.

The letter [BRD] stands for Beyond Reasonable Doubt (95%), which indicates that this is the highest level of proof: the reading must have been original in that there is no reason to doubt it. It must be understood that feeling as though we have no reason to doubt is not the same as one hundred percent absolute certainty.

NOTE: This system is borrowed from the criminal just legal terms of the United States of America, the level of certainty involved in the use of modal verbs, and Bruce Metzger in his A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (London; New York: United Bible Societies, 1994), who borrowed his system from Johann Albrecht Bengel in his edition of the Greek New Testament (Tübingen, 1734). In addition, the percentages are in no way attempting to be explicit, but rather they are nothing more than a tool to give the non-textual scholar a sense of the degree of certainty. However, this does not mean the percentages are not reflective of certainty.

SOURCES

Edward D. Andrews, FROM SPOKEN WORDS TO SACRED TEXTS: Introduction-Intermediate New Testament Textual Studies (Cambridge, Ohio), 2021.
B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort, Introduction to the New Testament in the Original Greek: Appendix (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1882)
Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006)
Bruce Manning Metzger, United Bible Societies, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, Second Edition a Companion Volume to the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament (4th Rev. Ed.) (London; New York: United Bible Societies, 1994),
Eberhard Nestle and Erwin Nestle, Nestle-Aland: NTG Apparatus Criticus, ed. Barbara Aland et al., 28. revidierte Auflage. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012).
Dirk Jongkind, ed., The Greek New Testament: Apparatus (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017).
Dirk Jongkind, ed., The Greek New Testament (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), Matt. 6:8.
Eberhard Nestle and Erwin Nestle, Nestle-Aland: Novum Testamentum Graece, ed. Barbara Aland et al., 28. revidierte Auflage. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012)
Philip Wesley Comfort, A COMMENTARY ON THE MANUSCRIPTS AND TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2015).
Philip W. Comfort, New Testament Text and Translation Commentary: Commentary on the Variant Readings of the Ancient New Testament Manuscripts and How They Relate to the Major English Translations (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2008).
Philip Wesley Comfort and David P. Barrett, The Text of the Earliest New Testament Manuscripts: Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts, 2 Volume Set The (English and Greek Edition) (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2019)
Rick Brannan and Israel Loken, The Lexham Textual Notes on the Bible, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).
Roger L. Omanson and Bruce Manning Metzger, A Textual Guide to the Greek New Testament: An Adaptation of Bruce M. Metzger’s Textual Commentary for the Needs of Translators (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2006).
Wallace B., Daniel (n.d.). Retrieved from The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts: http://csntm.org/
Wilker, Wieland (n.d.). Retrieved from An Online Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels: http://www.willker.de/wie/TCG/index.html

[1] The Greek word (ἐπίγνωσις epignōsis) behind the English rendering accurate knowledge is a strengthened or intensified form of gnosis (epi, meaning “additional”), meaning “true,” “real,” “full,” “complete,” or “accurate,” depending upon the context. Paul and Peter alone use epignosis.