Textual stability and fluidity exhibited in the earliest Greek manuscripts of John: an analysis of the second/third-century fragments with attention also to the more extensive papyri (P45, P66, P75)
View/ Open
Date
27/06/2015Author
Bell, Lonnie David
Metadata
Abstract
This thesis is an assessment of the character of textual transmission reflected in the
pre-fourth century Greek manuscripts of the Gospel of John. Since John is the most
attested New Testament book among the early papyri, has the highest number of
papyri that share overlapping text, and is the best attested Christian text in the second
century, it serves well as a case study into the level of fluidity and stability of the
New Testament text in its earliest period of transmission. The transmission of New
Testament writings in this period has been characterized by a number of scholars as
error-prone, free, wild and chaotic. This thesis is an inquiry into the validity of this
characterization. I contend that our earliest extant manuscripts should serve as the
most relevant evidence for addressing this issue, both for the period in which they
were copied and for inferences about the preceding period for which we lack
manuscript evidence.
My treatment of the earliest Greek manuscripts of John primarily involves a fresh
and full assessment of the level of fluidity and stability exhibited in the 14 smaller
fragments (P5, P22, P28, P39, P52, P90, P95, P106, P107, P108, P109, P119, P121,
0162) by identifying on the basis of internal evidence the character of variants and
unique readings attested. Additionally, I compare the number, character and
significance of the singular/sub-singular readings of each early fragmentary
manuscript with those in the same portion of text in the major majuscule manuscripts
up through the seventh century that share complete overlap. The unique readings of
P66 and P75 are added to this comparison where they fully overlap with the smaller
fragments. Since P45 and P66 have been particularly identified with a “free” manner
of transmission, I include an extended discussion in my introductory section in which
I engage with research on the character of transmission exhibited in these two
witnesses.
My analysis of these early manuscripts based on the internal evidence of readings
allows for a more in-depth and accurate characterization of the freedom and/or care
exhibited. The comparison of singular and sub-singular readings with those of the
later majuscules facilitates a diachronic comparison of the number and nature of
readings most likely to have been generated at the time in which each respective
manuscript was transcribed. This latter step allows us to test, by way of these
passages, whether or not the manuscript tradition can be fairly characterized as freer
and more prone to corruption in the second and third centuries than in subsequent
centuries. From these data, and in conjunction with observations made on any
relevant physical features of the manuscripts themselves, I conclude that the copying
of John during the second and third centuries was characterized largely by stability
and by continuity with the later period. These conclusions serve the broader purpose
of providing a window on the character of New Testament textual transmission in the
earliest centuries.