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 over 120 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 TGNT: 2017 The Greek New Testament by Tyndale House
ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΤΘΑΙΟΝ 1:7-8Westcott-Hort New Testament (WHNU)
Matthew 1:7-8English Standard Version (ESV) 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah,
WH/NA/UBS: Ἀσάφ. Ἀσάφ “Abijah fathered Asaph, 8 Asaph fathered Jehoshaphat,” – 𝔓1 א B C (D) f1 f13 700 1071, it cop arm eth geo
Matthew 1:7-8 Updated American Standard Version (UASV) 7 and Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam became the father of Abijah, and Abijah became the father of Asa, 8 and Asa became the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat became the father of Joram, and Joram became the father of Uzziah,
[BRD] TR: Ασα. Ασα “Abijah fathered Asa, 8 Asa fathered Jehoshaphat,” – L W 33 Maj
Asa was the son of Abijah and the grandson of Rehoboam. The superscriptions for Psalms 50 and 73 to 83 are credited to the Psalmist Asaph. However, it seems more likely that the name is being used as a reference to the house of which he was the paternal head, as some of the Psalms (79, 80) clearly described events later than the days of Asaph.
On Matthew 1:7-8, Comfort is correct when he writes, “However, the documentary evidence strongly supports the ‘incorrect’ spelling.”[1] Nevertheless, he is mistaken when he goes on to say, “Apparently, Matthew wrote Ασαφ, following a spelling he copied from a genealogical record other than that found in most copies of the Septuagint (which read Ασα).” On these same verses, Metzger writes, “the evangelist may have derived material for the genealogy, not from the Old Testament directly, but from subsequent genealogical lists, in which the erroneous spelling occurred …”[2]
What we can say as textual scholars who believe in absolute inerrancy is this, Matthew was moved along by Holy Spirit, so he did not make a spelling error, nor did he copy a spelling error from a genealogy list aside from the Old Testament. To even suggest such an idea is to suggest limited inerrancy or that the Holy Spirit is capable of errors. The reading that appears in the Textus Receptus is the norm of spelling because Abijah was the father of Ἀσά, according to 1 Chronicles 3:10–11. We boldly start with the position that Matthew wrote Ασα. Thereafter, very early, some scribes introduced an error when they wrote Ἀσάφ. Then, we agree with Comfort’s closing thought on this matter, “Later, scribes changed it to “Asa,” probably because they did not want readers to think this king was the psalmist ‘Asaph.’”[3] Therefore, in short, Matthew under inspiration, who was moved along by Holy Spirit penned the correct spelling of Ἀσά, and scribes shortly thereafter introduced a scribal error when they wrote Ἀσάφ, with later scribes changing it back to Ἀσά.
[1] 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), 2.
[2] 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), 1.
[3] 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), 2.
