Christian Publishing House Blog
Apologetic Defense of the faith, the Bible, and Christianity
“Let us have peace with God” is the reading in four of the earliest manuscripts (א* A B* C), as well as (D L 33 1739*) Marcion. “We have peace with God” is found in two earliest manuscripts, as well as (א1 B2 F G P Ψ 0220vid 1739). See the Final Thoughts at the end, as I would disagree with the majority consensus here.
A number of Bible translations are choosing to go with εκλεκτος (“chosen one”) over ὁ υἱός (the Son), such as TNIV NEB REB NJB NLT LEB NET, which the recent publication P106 has strengthened εκλεκτος (“chosen one”) as a choice. However, is this the best choice as the original reading based on the evidence?
Lacuna (pl: Lacunae): an unfortunate loss of text within a manuscript due to accident or wear and tear. Even more unfortunate, lacunae usually are more frequent and more damaging in early manuscripts, especially the papyri. Notable Examples ...
"The scribes of the Byzantine text were guilty of taking liberties with the text in both adding to and taking away from." Andrews "It was the corrupt Byzantine form of text that provided the basis for almost all translations of the New Testament into modern languages down to the nineteenth century." - Metzger
P72 B C K P 614 0209 1739 2492 Byz; Ambr has the original reading in 2 Peter 1:10, where we have Peter exhorting the brothers to “be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and choosing” (βεβαιαν υμων την κλησιν και εκλογην ποιεισθαι). A gloss, that is, a very short comment written by the scribe explaining
A scribe is far more likely to omit a word or phrase mistakenly, as to intentionally adding. The reading that is deemed immediately at odds with the context is preferred if deemed intentional because a scribe is more likely to have smoothed the reading out. The harmonization of passages is likely an intentional change by a copyist, who is seeking to have a passage agree with a similar passage from another book. Examples: Doctrinal Corrections, Liturgical Corrections, Harmonistic Corrections, Historical Corrections, and Linguistic or Rhetorical Corrections.
The quotation in verses 2 and 3 is composite, the first part being from Mal 3:1 and the second part from Is 40:3. It is easy to see, therefore, why copyists would have altered the words ...
Textual criticism delves into errors in textual evidence, aiming to preserve original words. With an abundance of evidence, conjectural emendation has little place. While only a small portion of text is questioned, unintentional and intentional errors lead to variant readings. These errors include those of the eye, pen, speech, mind, memory, and judgment.
Textual Studies of the Bible The task of reconstructing the original text of the Bible with as great a degree of accuracy as the available materials permit.
Respecting the text of the Hebrew Scriptures, scholar W. H. Green observed: “It may be safely said that no other work of antiquity has been so accurately transmitted.” (Archaeology and Bible History, by J. P. Free, 1964, p. 5) This statement is even more true today.
