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The Reading Culture of Early Christianity

Uncial **0189**


Text	Acts 5:3-21
Date	c. 200
Script	Greek
Found	unknown
Now at	Berlin State Museums
Cite	Salonius, A. H. (1 January 1927). “Die griechischen Handschriftenfragmente des Neuen Testaments in den Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin.” ZNW (in German). 26: 116–119. doi:10.1515/zntw.1927.26.1.97. ISSN 1613-009X. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
Size	1 vellum leaf; 18 x 11.5 cm; 32 lines/page
Type	Alexandrian
Category	I
Hand	reformed documentary
Note	page numbers suggest Acts only codex

Uncial 0189 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering) is the oldest parchment manuscript of the New Testament. It consists of a single vellum leaf of a middle second-century Greek codex, containing only a small part of the Acts of the Apostles. The history of Uncial 0189 is unknown prior to its current possession by the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Uncial 0189 measures 11.5 cm by 18 cm from a page of 32 lines. The scribe wrote in a reformed documentary hand. Uncial 0189 has evidence of the following nomina sacra: ΑΝΟΣ ΠΝΑ ΚΥ ΚΩ ΙΛΗΜ ΘΩ ΙΣΗΛ.

The Alands describe the text-type as “at least normal.” Uncial 0189 is an important early witness to the Alexandrian text-type, nearly always agreeing with the other witnesses to this type of text. Aland placed it in Category I (because of its date). Aarne H. Salonius originally dated Uncial 0189 to the 4th Century CE. However, this was later redated by C. H. Roberts to the 2nd or 3rd Century CE, which the Alands accepted. The INTF currently dates Uncial 0189 to the 2nd or 3rd century CE. Philip W. Comfort dates it to the middle of the second century A.D.

Kurt Aland included Uncial 0189 in the Critical Apparatus of the 25th edition of Novum Testamentum Graece (1963). Uncial 0189 is classed as a “consistently cited witness of the first order” in the Novum Testamentum Graece (NA27). NA27 considers it even more highly than other witnesses of this type. It provides an exclamation mark (!) for “papyri and uncial manuscripts of particular significance because of their age.” A transcription of the text of Uncial 0189 was first published by Aarne H. Salonius in Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft in 1927.

Comfort: The Alands say it is an “at least normal text.” The text nearly always agrees with the Alexandrian witnesses. Salonius, the original editor of this manuscript, dated it to the fourth century. C. H. Roberts redated it to the second or third century. Aland accepted this date. Indeed, the handwriting is much earlier than the fourth century. The finely executed hand bears resemblance to second-century manuscripts such as P4/P64/P67, P. Oxy. 661, and P. Oxy. 2404, but 0189 is later in overall appearance—especially the small omicron.

Textual Variants

Acts 5:8:
Omit τοσουτου: 0189.
Include τοσουτου: P⁸ P⁵⁷ P⁷⁴ 01 02 025 03 044 05 08 18 33 323 614 630 945 1175 1241 1505 1739 424 NA28.

Acts 5:12:
τε: 0189 03.
δε: 𝔓⁴⁵ P⁷⁴ 01 02 05 08 025 044 18 33 323 424 614 630 945 1175 1241 1505 1739 NA28.

εγινετο: 𝔓⁴⁵ P⁷⁴ 01 025 03^(c2) 08 044 424 630 1175 1241 1505 1739 NA28.
εγεινοντο: 0189.
εγεινετο: 02 03* 05
εγενετο: 18 33 323 614 945.

παντες: 02 0189 03 08.
απαντες: 𝔓⁴⁵ P⁷⁴ 01 05 025 044 18 33 323 424 614 630 945 1175 1241 1505 1739 NA28.

Acts 5:13:
ουθεις: 03 0189.
ουδεις: 𝔓⁴⁵ P⁷⁴ 01 (ουδις) 02 05 08 025 044 18 33 323 424 614 630 945 1175 1241 1505 1739 NA28.

Acts 5:16:
συνηρχοντο: 0189 614.
συνηρχετο: 𝔓⁴⁵ P⁷⁴ 01 02 03 08 025 044 05 18 33 323 424 630 945 1175 1241 1505 1739 NA28.

Acts 5:19:
ηνοιξε(ν): 0189 (ηνυξε) 03 08 025 044 18 33 323 424 614 945 1241 1505 1739.
ανοιξας: 𝔓⁴⁵ P⁷⁴ 01 02 1175 NA28.
ανοιξε: 630.
Omit: 05.

δε: 0189 03 044.
τε: 𝔓⁴⁵ P⁷⁴ 01 02 025 05 18 33 323 424 614 630 945 1175 1241 1505 1739 NA28.
Omit: 08.

Edward D. Andrews: In the case of the New Testament papyri manuscripts, our early evidence for the Greek New Testament, size is irrelevant. They range from centimeters encompassing a couple of verses to a codex with many books of the New Testament. But all of them add something significant. And often, monumental. It can be from support for an original reading to establishing which family of manuscripts were the earliest. A tiny fragment that may date to about 100-150 A.D. or 150-200 A.D. that is established as belonging to the Alexandrian family gives us credence that the Alexandrian text is the earliest form of the text. In addition, it validates our two greatest vellum codices: Vaticanus and Sinaiticus. Early on, the supporters of the Byzantine text tried to argue that the Byzantine manuscripts were the earliest and the most accurate. In addition, they claimed the Alexandrian family had removed material from the New Testament. Well, this was debunked when the 20th century arrived because of all the 144 Papyrus Greek NT manuscripts and all of those dating to the first three centuries after the first century, none are of the Byzantine family, and the rest are Alexandrian, with a couple being Western. The argument from the Alexandrian supporters that the Byzantine was later, and their scribes added to the Bible, was true. The general rule, the earlier the manuscript, the more accurate. So, the early papyri can validate the original reading for almost all of our textual variants.

REFERENCES

Philip W. Comfort; David P. Barrett (2019). The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts. Vol. 1&2 Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Academics.
Philip Comfort, Encountering the Manuscripts: An Introduction to New Testament Paleography & Textual Criticism (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2005)
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)
B. P. Grenfell & A. S. Hunt, Oxyrhynchus Papyri XIII, (London 1919),
Kurt Aland; Barbara Aland (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
“Liste Handschriften” Münster: Institute for New Testament Textual Research.
Attribution: This article incorporates some text from the public domain: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and Edward D. Andrews