Alexandrian text-type

Last updated January 13, 2024

In textual criticism of the New Testament, the Alexandrian text-type is one of the main text types. It is the text type favored by the majority of modern textual critics and it is the basis for most modern (after 1900) Bible translations. Over 5,800 New Testament manuscripts have been classified into four groups by text type. Besides the Alexandrian, the other types are the Western, Caesarean, and Byzantine. Compared to these later text types, Alexandrian readings tend to be abrupt, use fewer words, show greater variation among the Synoptic Gospels, and have readings that are considered difficult. That is to say, later scribes tended to polish scripture and improve its literary style. Glosses would occasionally be added as verses during the process of copying a Bible by hand. From the ninth century onward, most surviving manuscripts are of the Byzantine type.^[1]

The King James Version and other Reformation-era Bibles are translated from the Textus Receptus , a Greek text created by Erasmus and based on various manuscripts of the Byzantine type. In 1721, Richard Bentley outlined a project to create a revised Greek text based on the Codex Alexandrinus.^[2] This project was completed by Karl Lachmann in 1850.^[3] Brooke Foss Westcott and F. J. A. Hort of Cambridge published a text based on Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus in 1881. Novum Testamentum Graece by Eberhard Nestle and Kurt Aland, now in its 28th edition, generally follows the text of Westcott and Hort.

Manuscripts

Up until the ninth century, Greek texts were written entirely in upper-case letters, referred to as uncials. During the ninth and tenth centuries, minuscules came to replace the older style. Most Greek uncial manuscripts were recopied in this period and their parchment leaves typically scraped clean for re-use. Consequently, surviving Greek New Testament manuscripts from before the ninth century are relatively rare, but nine (over half of the total that survive) witness a more-or-less pure Alexandrian text. These include the oldest near-complete manuscripts of the New Testament: Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209 and Codex Sinaiticus (both believed to date from the early fourth century).

A number of substantial papyrus manuscripts of portions of the New Testament survive from earlier still, and those that can be ascribed a text-type, such as 𝔓⁶⁶ and 𝔓⁷⁵ from the second to the third century, also tend to witness to the Alexandrian text.

The earliest Coptic versions of the Bible (into a Sahidic variety of the late second century) use the Alexandrian text as a Greek base, while other second and third century translations (into Latin and Syriac) tend rather to conform to the Western text-type. Although the overwhelming majority of later minuscule manuscripts conform to the Byzantine text-type, detailed study has, from time to time, identified individual minuscules that transmit the alternative Alexandrian text. Around 17 such manuscripts have been discovered so far and so the Alexandrian text-type is witnessed by around 30 surviving manuscripts, by no means all of which are associated with Egypt although in that area, Alexandrian witnesses are the most prevalent.

According to Robert Boyd, the Arabic manuscripts of the New Testament appear to have an origin within the Alexandrian text-type.^[4]

The Alexandrian text-type is witnessed to in the writings of Origen (185 – c. 253), Athanasius (296–298 – 373), Didymus (313 – 398) and Cyril of Alexandria (376 – 444).^[5] The quotations of Clement of Alexandria also often agree with the Alexandrian text-type, although sometimes they contain readings which are instead common in the Byzantine text-type. ^[6]

List of notable manuscripts representing Alexandrian text-type

Sign	Name	Date	Content	Discovery
𝔓⁴⁵	Chester Beatty I	3rd	fragments of Gospels, Acts	1931
𝔓⁴⁶	Chester Beatty II	c. 200	Pauline epistles	1931
𝔓⁴⁷	Chester Beatty III	3rd	fragments of Revelation	1931
𝔓⁶⁶	Bodmer II	c. 200	Gospel of John	1952
𝔓⁷²	Bodmer VII/VIII	3rd/4th	Jude; 1-2 Peter	1952
𝔓⁷⁵	Bodmer XIV-XV	3rd	Gospels of Luke and John	1952
א	Codex Sinaiticus	330-360	NT	1844
B	Codex Vaticanus	325-350	Matt. — Hbr 9, 14	16th century?
A	Codex Alexandrinus	c. 400	(except Gospels)	17th century
C	Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus	5th	(except Gospels)	17th century?
Q	Codex Guelferbytanus B	5th	fragments Luke — John	18th century
T	Codex Borgianus	5th	fragments Luke — John	18th century
I	Codex Freerianus	5th	Pauline epistles	1906
Z	Codex Dublinensis	6th	fragments of Matt.	1787
L	Codex Regius	8th	Gospels	18th century?
W	Codex Washingtonianus	5th	Luke 1:1–8:12; J 5:12–21:25	1906
057	Uncial 057	4/5th	Acts 3:5–6,10-12	20th century?
0220	Uncial 0220	6th	NT (except Rev.)	1950
33	Minuscule 33	9th	Romans	18th century?
81	Minuscule 81	1044	Acts, Paul	1853
892	Minuscule 892	9th	Gospels	1877

Other manuscripts

Papyri: 𝔓¹ , 𝔓⁴ , 𝔓⁵ , 𝔓⁶ , 𝔓⁸ , 𝔓⁹ , 𝔓¹⁰ , 𝔓¹¹ , 𝔓¹² , 𝔓¹³ , 𝔓¹⁴ , 𝔓¹⁵ , 𝔓¹⁶ , 𝔓¹⁷ , 𝔓¹⁸ , 𝔓¹⁹ , 𝔓²⁰ , 𝔓²² , 𝔓²³ , 𝔓²⁴ , 𝔓²⁶ , 𝔓²⁷ , 𝔓²⁸ , 𝔓²⁹ , 𝔓³⁰ , 𝔓³¹ , 𝔓³² , 𝔓³³ , 𝔓³⁴ , 𝔓³⁵ , 𝔓³⁷ , 𝔓³⁹ , 𝔓⁴⁰ , 𝔓⁴³ , 𝔓⁴⁴ , 𝔓⁴⁹ , 𝔓⁵¹ , 𝔓⁵³ , 𝔓⁵⁵ , 𝔓⁵⁶ , 𝔓⁵⁷ , 𝔓⁶¹ , 𝔓⁶² , 𝔓⁶³ , 𝔓⁶⁴ , 𝔓⁶⁵ , 𝔓⁷⁰ , 𝔓⁷¹ , 𝔓⁷⁴ , 𝔓⁷⁷ , 𝔓⁷⁸ , 𝔓⁷⁹ , 𝔓⁸⁰ (?), 𝔓⁸¹ , 𝔓⁸² , 𝔓⁸⁵ (?), 𝔓⁸⁶ , 𝔓⁸⁷ , 𝔓⁹⁰ , 𝔓⁹¹ , 𝔓⁹² , 𝔓⁹⁵ , 𝔓¹⁰⁰ , 𝔓¹⁰⁴ , 𝔓¹⁰⁶ , 𝔓¹⁰⁷ , 𝔓¹⁰⁸ , 𝔓¹¹⁰ , 𝔓¹¹¹ , 𝔓¹¹⁵ , 𝔓¹²² .

Uncials: Codex Coislinianus, Porphyrianus (except Acts, Rev), Dublinensis, Sangallensis (only in Mark), Zacynthius, Athous Lavrensis (in Mark and Cath. epistles), Vaticanus 2061, 059, 068, 070, 071, 073, 076, 077, 081, 083, 085, 087, 088, 089, 091, 093 (except Acts), 094, 096, 098, 0101, 0102, 0108, 0111, 0114, 0129, 0142, 0155, 0156, 0162, 0167, 0172, 0173, 0175, 0181, 0183, 0184, 0185, 0189, 0201, 0204, 0205, 0207, 0223, 0225, 0232, 0234, 0240, 0243, 0244, 0245, 0247, 0254, 0270, 0271, 0274.

Minuscules: 20, 94, 104 (Epistles), 157, 164, 215, 241, 254, 256 (Paul), 322, 323, 326, 376, 383, 442, 579 (except Matthew), 614, 718, 850, 1006, 1175, 1241 (except Acts), 1243, 1292 (Cath.), 1342 (Mark), 1506 (Paul), 1611, 1739, 1841, 1852, 1908, 2040, 2053, 2062, 2298, 2344 (CE, Rev), 2351, 2427, 2464.^[7]

According to the present critics codices 𝔓⁷⁵ and B are the best Alexandrian witnesses, which present the pure Alexandrian text. All other witnesses are classified according to whether they preserve the excellent 𝔓⁷⁵-B line of text. With the primary Alexandrian witnesses are included 𝔓⁶⁶ and citations of Origen. With the secondary witnesses are included manuscripts C, L, 33, and the writings of Didymus the Blind.^[8]

Characteristics

All extant manuscripts of all text-types are at least 85% identical and most of the variations are not translatable into English, such as word order or spelling. When compared to witnesses of the Western text-type, Alexandrian readings tend to be shorter and are commonly regarded as having a lower tendency to expand or paraphrase. Some of the manuscripts representing the Alexandrian text-type have the Byzantine corrections made by later hands (Papyrus 66, Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Ephraemi, Codex Regius, and Codex Sangallensis).^[9] When compared to witnesses of the Byzantine text type, Alexandrian manuscripts tend:

to have a larger number of abrupt readings, such as the shorter ending of the Gospel of Mark, which finishes in the Alexandrian text at Mark 16:8 (".. for they were afraid.") omitting verses Mark 16:9-20; Matthew 16:2b–3, John 5:4; John 7:53-8:11;
Omitted verses: Matt 12:47; 17:21; 18:11; Mark 9:44.46; 11:26; 15:28; Luke 17:36; Acts 8:37; 15:34; 24:7; 28:29.^[10]
In Matthew 15:6 omitted η την μητερα (αυτου) (or (his) mother): א B D cop^sa;^[11]
In Mark 10:7 omitted phrase και προσκολληθησεται προς την γυναικα αυτου (and be joined to his wife), in codices Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Athous Lavrensis, 892, ℓ48, syr^s, goth.^[12]
Mark 10:37 αριστερων (left) instead of ευωνυμων (left), in phrase εξ αριστερων (B Δ 892^v.l.) or σου εξ αριστερων (L Ψ 892*);^[13]
In Luke 11:4 phrase αλλα ρυσαι ημας απο του πονηρου (but deliver us from evil) omitted. Omission is supported by the manuscripts: Sinaiticus, B, L, f¹, 700, vg, syr^s, cop^{sa, bo}, arm, geo.^[14]
In Luke 9:55-56 it has only στραφεις δε επετιμησεν αυτοις (but He turned and rebuked them): 𝔓⁴⁵𝔓⁷⁵ א B C L W X Δ Ξ Ψ 28 33 565 892 1009 1010 1071 Byz^pt Lect
to display more variations between parallel synoptic passages, as in the Lukan version of the Lord's Prayer (Luke 11:2), which in the Alexandrian text opens "Father.. ", whereas the Byzantine text reads (as in the parallel Matthew 6:9) "Our Father in heaven.. ";
to have a higher proportion of "difficult" readings, as in Matthew 24:36, which reads in the Alexandrian text "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only"; whereas the Byzantine text omits the phrase "nor the Son", thereby avoiding the implication that Jesus lacked full divine foreknowledge. Another difficult reading is Luke 4:44.

The above comparisons are tendencies, rather than consistent differences. There are a number of passages in the Gospel of Luke in which the Western text-type witnesses a shorter text, the Western non-interpolations. Also, there are a number of readings where the Byzantine text displays variation between synoptic passages, that is not found in either the Western or Alexandrian texts, as in the rendering into Greek of the Aramaic last words of Jesus, which are reported in the Byzantine text as "Eloi, Eloi.." in Mark 15:34, but as "Eli, Eli.." in Matthew 27:46.

Related Research Articles

The Codex Sinaiticus, designated by siglum א‎ [Aleph] or 01, δ 2, also called Sinai Bible, is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the deuterocanonical books, and the Greek New Testament, with both the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas included. It is written in uncial letters on parchment. It is one of the four great uncial codices. Along with Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Vaticanus, it is one of the earliest and most complete manuscripts of the Bible, and contains the oldest complete copy of the New Testament. It is a historical treasure, and using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the mid-fourth century.

The Codex Vaticanus, designated by siglum B or 03, δ 1, is a Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament and the majority of the Greek New Testament. It is one of the four great uncial codices. Along with Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Sinaiticus, it is one of the earliest and most complete manuscripts of the Bible. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the 4th century.

In textual criticism of the New Testament, the Western text-type is one of the main text types. It is the predominant form of the New Testament text witnessed in the Old Latin and Syriac Peshitta translations from the Greek, and also in quotations from certain 2nd and 3rd-century Christian writers, including Cyprian, Tertullian and Irenaeus. The Western text had many characteristic features, which appeared in text of the Gospels, Book of Acts, and in Pauline epistles. The Catholic epistles and the Book of Revelation probably did not have a Western form of text. It was named "Western" by Semmler (1725–1791), having originated in early centers of Christianity in the Western Roman Empire.

The Codex Alexandrinus, designated by the siglum A or 02, δ 4, is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, written on parchment. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the fifth century. It contains the majority of the Greek Old Testament and the Greek New Testament. It is one of the four Great uncial codices. Along with Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, it is one of the earliest and most complete manuscripts of the Bible.

The Uspenski Gospels, Minuscule 461, ε 92 (Soden), are a New Testament minuscule manuscript written in Greek, dated to 835 AD, and now in St Petersburg in Russia. They are the oldest known dated manuscript of the New Testament; it was not customary for Greek scribes to date their work at the time.

Codex Washingtonianus, Codex Washingtonensis or Codex Freerianus, designated by W or 032, ε014, also called the Washington Manuscript of the Gospels, The Freer Gospel and The Freer Codex, is a Greek uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, written on parchment. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the 4th or 5th century. The manuscript has some gaps.

There have been many Coptic versions of the Bible, including some of the earliest translations into any language. Several different versions were made in the ancient world, with different editions of the Old and New Testament in five of the dialects of Coptic: Bohairic (northern), Fayyumic, Sahidic (southern), Akhmimic and Mesokemic (middle). Biblical books were translated from the Alexandrian Greek version.

A biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. Biblical manuscripts vary in size from tiny scrolls containing individual verses of the Jewish scriptures to huge polyglot codices containing both the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the New Testament, as well as extracanonical works.

Papyrus 45, designated by siglum 𝔓⁴⁵ in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts, is an early Greek New Testament manuscript written on papyrus, and is one of the manuscripts comprising the Chester Beatty Papyri, a group of early Christian manuscripts discovered in the 1930s, and purchased by business man and philanthropist, Alfred Chester Beatty. Beatty purchased the manuscript in the 1930s from an Egyptian book dealer, and it was subsequently published in The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri, Descriptions and Texts of Twelve Manuscripts on Papyrus of the Greek Bible by palaeographer, biblical and classical scholar Frederic G. Kenyon in 1933. Manuscripts among the Chester Beatty Papyri have had several places of discovery associated with them, the most likely being the Faiyum in Egypt. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the early 3rd century CE. This therefore makes it the earliest example of not only the four Gospels contained in one volume, but also the Acts of the Apostles. It contains verses in fragmentary form from the texts of Matthew chapters 20–21 and 25–26; Mark chapters 4–9 and 11–12; Luke chapters 6–7 and 9–14; John chapters 4–5 and 10–11; and Acts chapters 4–17.

Codex Basilensis, designated by E^e, 07 or ε 55, is a Greek uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, dated paleographically to the 8th century.

Uncial 030, designated by siglum U or 030, ε 90, is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament on parchment, dated palaeographically to the 9th century. The manuscript has complex contents, with full marginalia.

Codex Regius, designated by siglum L^e or 019, ε56, is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament written on parchment. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been assigned to the 8th century. The manuscript has several gaps. Textual critic Frederick H. A. Scrivener described it as "by far the most remarkable document of its age and class."

Codex Sangallensis, designated by Δ or 037, ε76, is a Greek-Latin diglot uncial manuscript of the four Gospels. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it is usually dated to the 9th century CE, though a few palaeographers would place it in the 10th century CE. It was given its current name by biblical scholar Johann Martin Augustin Scholz in 1830.

Codex Athous Dionysiou, designated by Ω or 045, ε 61, is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament. The codex is dated palaeographically to the 9th century. It has marginalia.

Minuscule 33, δ 48 (Soden), before the French Revolution was called Codex Colbertinus 2844. It is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament on parchment, dated palaeographically to the 9th century. The manuscript is lacunose. It has marginalia. According to the textual critics it is one of the best minuscule manuscripts of the New Testament.

Minuscule 5, δ 453, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on 342 parchment leaves. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the 13th century.

Minuscule 892, ε 1016 (Soden). It is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on 353 parchment leaves. It is dated palaeografically to the 9th century.

Papyrus 106, designated by 𝔓¹⁰⁶, is a papyrus manuscript of the Gospel of John from the New Testament in Greek in a fragmentary condition. It contains text from John 1:29-35 & 1:40-46. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been assigned assigned to the early 3rd century. The manuscript is currently housed at the Sackler Library at Oxford University in Oxford, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Textual criticism of the New Testament</span> Analysis of the manuscripts of the New Testament

Textual criticism of the New Testament is the identification of textual variants, or different versions of the New Testament, whose goals include identification of transcription errors, analysis of versions, and attempts to reconstruct the original text. Its main focus is studying the textual variants in the New Testament.

Textual variants in the Gospel of John are the subject of the study called textual criticism of the New Testament. Textual variants in manuscripts arise when a copyist makes deliberate or inadvertent alterations to a text that is being reproduced. An abbreviated list of textual variants in this particular book is given in this article below.

References

↑ Anderson, Gerry, Ancient New Testament Manuscripts Understanding Text-Types Archived 2017-04-01 at the Wayback Machine "
↑ Bentley, Richard, Dr. Richard Bentley's proposals for printing a new edition of the Greek Testament and St. Hierom's Latin version, London, 1721.
↑ Lachmann, Karl, Novum testamentum graece et latine, Cambridge Univ Press, 2010. Originally published in two volumes in 1842 and 1850.
↑ Metzger, Bruce Manning (1977). The Early Versions of the New Testament: Their Origin, Transmission and Limitations. New York; Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 61. ISBN 0-19-826170-5.
↑ Hill, Charles E.; Kruger, Michael J. (2012-06-14). The Early Text of the New Testament. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-956636-5.
↑ P. M. Barnard, The Quotations of Clement of Alexandria from the Four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, Texts & Studies, vol. 5, no. 4 (Cambridge, 1899).
↑ David Alan Black, New Testament Textual Criticism, Baker Books, 2006, p. 64.
↑ Bruce M. Metzger, Bart D. Ehrman, The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption and Restoration, Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 278.
↑ E. A. Button, An Atlas of Textual Criticism, Cambridge, 1911, p. 13.
↑ Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft: Stuttgart 2001), pp. 315, 388, 434, 444.
↑ NA26, p. 41.
↑ UBS3, p. 164.
↑ NA26, p. 124.
↑ UBS3, p. 256.