Tommy Wasserman

Papyrus 72 and the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex

The Bodmer miscellaneous codex contains not only P72 (Jude, 1-2 Peter), but eight other biblical and Christian writings as well. Three independent sections (I-II-III) of the codex have been identified and a different sequence than the traditional is suggested as original. There are strong connections between sections I and III and they probably followed in sequence. The most significant connection is P72 copied by one single scribe, who displays both a liturgical and theological tendency. This scribe may have been the final collector of the codex, a miscellany of an apologetic character, bearing the marks of incipient orthodoxy.

The Coherence Based Genealogical Method as a Tool for Explaining Textual Changes in the Greek New Testament

This article discusses the advantages of the the Coherence Based Genealogical Method (CBGM), not only as a tool for reconstructing the text of the New Testament, but also for surveying the history of readings and for explaining textual changes. The CBGM promises to detect readings, which have emerged several times independently in the textual tradition. The method is applied to selected examples in 1 John 5:6 and Jude 4, which are relevant to the issue of “orthodox corruption,” as raised by Bart D. Ehrman. The results speak against deliberate textual changes as effects of early Christological controversies in these particular passages. Rather the textual changes reflect other typical behaviour on the part of the scribes throughout the history of transmission. (Less)

Proposal for a New Rating System in Greek New Testament Editions

Introduction: Rating systems in Greek New Testament editions As early as 1734, Johann Albrecht Bengel included a letter-rating system in his edition of the Greek New Testament.1 In more recent years, the United Bible Societies have employed a similar letter-rating system in the four editions of the Greek New Testament (GNT). By means of the letters A, B, C, and D, enclosed within braces { } at the beginning of each set of variants, the editorial committees have sought to indicate “the different degrees of certainty with respect to the form of the original text.”2 The four levels of certainty are defi ned as follows in UBS4:

Some Bibliographic Notes on Greek New Testament Manuscripts

During the work on an edition of the Epistle of Jude that will include all extant Greek continuous-text witnesses, I have examined a large number of manuscripts, mostly on microfilm at the Institut fur neutestamentliche Textforschung in M?nster (INTF). The following notes supply biblio graphic information pertaining to these MSS. At some points, the notes correct and supplement entries in the main register of Greek New Testa ment manuscripts: Kurt Aland, Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Hand schriften des Neuen Testaments (ANTF 1; 2nd rev. and enl. ed.; Berlin/New York: De Gruyter, 1994), hereafter Liste, and the continuous update of the Liste on the website of the INTF; online: http://www.uni-muenster.de/ NTTextforschung/KgLSGII05_01 .pdf.x