Highly Uncertain Variants

Contents: Introduction * Matthew * Mark * Luke * John * Romans * 1 Corinthians * 2 Corinthians * Galatians * Ephesians * Philippians * Colossians * James * 1 John * 2 John * 3 John * Jude * Apocalypse

Appendix I: Orthographic Variants * Appendix II: Clear Minority Readings of UBS * Appendix III: Rate of Variants * Appendix IV: Agreements of the Texts

Introduction

The title of this section is perhaps misleading. This is not a comprehensive list of uncertain variants; it isn't even a list of variants over which scholars have shown the most hesitation (e.g. it excludes 1 Cor. 13:3, perhaps the most-discussed short variant in the canon). It isn't a list of readings where I disagree with UBS or with the editorial consensus. What this section is is a comprehensive list of variants where the various editions diverge most notably. I've taken the seven primary "modern editions" (Bover, Merk, Tischendorf, UBS, Vogels, von Soden, Westcott and Hort) and listed all instances where three of these (including the Hort margin) disagree against four. For completeness, I have included the readings of many other editions, as well as a brief summary of the manuscript support for each reading, but neither the readings of these editions nor the manuscripts influence the variants listed.

Note that this list does not include readings where five or more editions stand against UBS (e.g. Matt. 12:10); even though these might be considered highly doubtful readings, since UBS is the newest and most respected edition, they do not meet the four-versus-three criterion. These readings are summarized in Appendix II.

When I started this list, I thought the four-versus-three rule would work well. I should note that it isn't quite so simple -- for example, if a reading is found in [brackets] in five editions, is it more or less certain than one found in five editions without brackets and omitted in the other two? In such cases, I've done my best to pick the "truly" uncertain readings -- but be it noted that I think this crutch of bracketed readings should be dropped. In general, if all editors include a word, I have not noted the variant, no matter how many use brackets (e.g. Matt. 20:10, where three editors bracket to; this is a complex variant, but all editors use the same text, so I do not note it).

In addition, some variants I consider meaningless have been omitted from the main list. Some, such as the various spellings of David (Daueid, Dabid, etc.) I have omitted entirely. Others I have relegated to Appendix I.

For the most part, I have relied upon the lists of variants between editions found in NA27 and Bover, though I have consulted the editions where these disagree (Bover made a rather high number of errors concerning Merk, if it matters; some of these may be due to the fact that Merk revised his text).

In the list which follows, () around the name of one of the English translations (NEB, RV) indicates that this is the text printed by the editor of the retroverted text, but may not have been the reading in the translators' minds (this is of course somewhat conjectural; I have not checked the English versions to see if their rendering is literal); [] indicates a reading in brackets in the editor's Greek text. (Note: if the variant is an add/omit, the brackets apply only to the words to be included/excluded, no matter how long the lemma.)

The editions cited (* means an edition cited consistently):

Note that some of these editions (Hodges & Farstad, Lachmann, NEB, RV, Tregelles, Weiss) are not consulted in deciding which variants to include.

A reading marked with ** means a variant not noted in NA27.

The citation of Hodges & Farstad had been somewhat complicated, since they have different apparatus in different sections of the New Testament. In Matthew-Jude, their margin has been cited only where there is a reading in the primary apparatus -- the one showing Byzantine variants (and readings where they list the TR as going against the entire Majority tradition are omitted). In the Apocalypse, however, they merge the apparatus. In this case, a reading is cited as HFmarg if -- and only if -- they show some M subgroup supporting a variant. Where they show part of a subgroup supporting a variant, I have, shown my uncertainty by marking HFmarg?, indicating that I'm not sure whether the really consider the majority text divided at this point.

A secondary use for this list may be as a way to see the tendencies of the various editions, since the list includes only the "difficult" readings. In compiling the list, the pro-Byzantine tendency of Vogels has been obvious, at least in the Gospels (where the Vulgate is mostly Byzantine) as has been the somewhat "Sturzian" -- and rather erratic -- tendencies of von Soden and Greeven. The New English Bible tends toward Westcott and Hort but with a distinct bias toward "Western" readings. Tischendorf tends toward Aleph, especially when supported by D. Tregelles doesn't have any particular bias -- but considering that he worked before Aleph and B were available, his work is especially well-done. Or so it seems to me. Here is your chance to draw your own conclusions.

Sources: Not all of the editions cited are available directly to me. Some have necessarily been taken from secondary sources. The following list shows the sources checked. Items in Bold have been directly checked. Variants have been found by comparison of Bover and Appendix III of NA27


Matthew

Matthew 1:5

***Matthew 1:15***

Matthew 1:20

Matthew 1:24

Matthew 2:22

Matthew 3:2

Matthew 3:14

Matthew 3:16

Matthew 3:16C

Matthew 4:13

***Matthew 4:18-19***

Matthew 4:23

Matthew 5:9

Matthew 5:39

Matthew 6:15

Matthew 6:25

Matthew 6:33

Matthew 7:6

Matthew 7:14

Matthew 7:18A

Matthew 7:18B

Matthew 8:8

Matthew 8:13

Matthew 8:18

Matthew 8:21

Matthew 8:23

Matthew 8:25

Matthew 9:2

Matthew 9:4

Matthew 9:5

Matthew 9:14

Matthew 9:18

Matthew 9:27A

Matthew 9:27B

Matthew 10:32

Matthew 10:33

Matthew 11:8

**Matthew 11:21**

Matthew 11:23

Matthew 12:4A

Matthew 12:4B

Matthew 12:15

Matthew 12:18

Matthew 12:35

Matthew 12:36

Matthew 12:47

Matthew 13:1

Matthew 13:4

Matthew 13:7

Matthew 13:11

Matthew 13:22

Matthew 13:57

Matthew 14:3

Matthew 14:4

Matthew 14:9

Matthew 14:10

Matthew 14:12

Matthew 14:15

Matthew 14:22

Matthew 14:24

Matthew 14:26

Matthew 14:27

Matthew 14:29

Matthew 14:30

Matthew 15:2

Matthew 15:4

Matthew 15:6

Matthew 15:14

Matthew 15:15

Matthew 15:22A

Matthew 15:22B

Matthew 15:23

Matthew 15:30

Matthew 15:31

Matthew 15:38

Matthew 16:2b-3

Matthew 16:8

Matthew 16:12

Matthew 16:19

Matthew 17:8

Matthew 17:9

Matthew 17:10

Matthew 17:21

Matthew 17:24

Matthew 17:25

Matthew 18:12A (cf. 18:12B)

Matthew 18:12B (cf. 18:12A)

Matthew 18:15

Matthew 18:16

Matthew 18:19

Matthew 18:21

Matthew 18:24

Matthew 18:25

Matthew 18:26

Matthew 18:30

Matthew 18:34

Matthew 19:3

Matthew 19:7

Matthew 19:9

Matthew 19:21A

Matthew 19:21B

Matthew 19:24A

Matthew 19:24B

Matthew 19:29

Matthew 20:17

Matthew 20:18

Matthew 20:21

Matthew 20:23

Matthew 20:30

Matthew 20:31

Matthew 21:1

**Matthew 21:2**

Matthew 21:6

Matthew 21:12

Matthew 21:18

Matthew 21:19

Matthew 21:25

Matthew 21:28

Matthew 21:29 (cf. 21:30B, 31)

Matthew 21:30A

Matthew 21:30B (cf. 21:29, 31)

Matthew 21:31 (cf. 21:29, 30B)

Matthew 21:44

Matthew 22:10

Matthew 22:20

Matthew 22:30

Matthew 22:32

Matthew 22:39

Matthew 22:43

Matthew 22:44

Matthew 23:4

Matthew 23:21

Matthew 23:23

Matthew 23:26

Matthew 23:36

Matthew 24:16

Matthew 24:24

Matthew 24:30

Matthew 24:31A

Matthew 24:31B

Matthew 24:33

Matthew 24:36

Matthew 24:38

Matthew 24:40

Matthew 25:1

Matthew 25:3

Matthew 25:4

Matthew 25:6

Matthew 25:16

Matthew 25:17A

Matthew 25:17B

Matthew 25:22

Matthew 25:39

Matthew 25:41

Matthew 26:20

Matthew 26:22

Matthew 26:39

Matthew 26:45

Matthew 26:53A

Matthew 26:53B

Matthew 26:58

Matthew 26:61

Matthew 26:65

Matthew 26:71

Matthew 27:2

Matthew 27:3

Matthew 27:24

Matthew 27:29A

Matthew 27:29B

Matthew 27:35

Matthew 27:40

Matthew 27:42

Matthew 27:51

Matthew 27:54

Matthew 27:56

Matthew 27:57

Matthew 27:59

Matthew 27:65

Matthew 28:14

Matthew 28:15


Mark

Mark 1:1

Mark 1:2

Mark 1:4

Mark 1:15

Mark 1:21

Mark 1:24A

Mark 1:24B

Mark 1:25

Mark 1:27

Mark 1:32

Mark 1:37

Mark 1:40

Mark 1:45

Mark 2:1

Mark 2:9

Mark 2:10

Mark 2:16A

Mark 2:16B

Mark 2:16C

Mark 2:17

Mark 2:26

Mark 3:2

Mark 3:3

Mark 3:4

Mark 3:5

Mark 3:11

Mark 3:20

Mark 3:26

Mark 3:32

Mark 3:35

Mark 4:8

Mark 4:15

Mark 4:16

Mark 4:21

Mark 4:22

Mark 4:24

Mark 4:28(A)

Mark 4:38

Mark 4:40

Mark 5:6

Mark 5:10

Mark 5:25

Mark 5:26

Mark 5:27

Mark 5:33

Mark 5:34

Mark 5:40

Mark 6:2(B)

Mark 6:12

Mark 6:14

Mark 6:22(B)

Mark 6:22(C)

Mark 6:23(B)

Mark 6:27

Mark 6:33

Mark 6:37

Mark 6:41

Mark 6:49

Mark 7:4A

Mark 7:4B

Mark 7:8

Mark 7:16

Mark 7:24

Mark 7:35

Mark 7:37

Mark 8:17

Mark 8:19

Mark 8:20A

Mark 8:20B

Mark 8:23

Mark 8:28

Mark 8:35

Mark 8:37

Mark 9:1

Mark 9:9

Mark 9:12

Mark 9:14

Mark 9:25

Mark 9:29

Mark 9:38

Mark 9:42

Mark 10:6

Mark 10:7

Mark 10:13A

Mark 10:13B

Mark 10:20

Mark 10:21A

Mark 10:21B

Mark 10:24

Mark 10:28

Mark 10:29

Mark 10:36

Mark 10:37

Mark 10:52

Mark 11:1

Mark 11:2

Mark 11:3

Mark 11:11

Mark 11:19

Mark 12:9

Mark 12:17

Mark 12:19

Mark 12:26

Mark 12:28

Mark 12:36A

Mark 12:36B

Mark 12:43

Mark 13:7

Mark 13:15A

Mark 13:15B

Mark 13:27

Mark 13:28

Mark 14:3

Mark 14:8

Mark 14:19

Mark 14:21

Mark 14:31

Mark 14:33

Mark 14:40

Mark 14:51

Mark 14:52

Mark 14:53

Mark 14:72

Mark 15:1

Mark 15:8

Mark 15:12

Mark 15:20

Mark 15:22

Mark 15:28

Mark 15:34

Mark 15:35

Mark 15:36

Mark 15:46

Mark 16:1

Mark 16:9-20
Note: since 16:9-20 is not properly part of some editions' texts, we cannot note significant variants. Relatively major variants in the editions include 16:14 add/omit de, 16:14 add/omit ek nekrwn, 16:18 add/omit kai en tais cersin, 16:19 add/omit Ihsous

Mark 16:8 + "shorter ending" (Panta de ta parhggelmena...swthrias)


Luke

Luke 1:15

Luke 1:21

Luke 1:25

Luke 1:36

Luke 1:63

Luke 1:75

Luke 1:76

Luke 1:78

Luke 2:2

Luke 2:5

Luke 2:19

Luke 2:25

Luke 2:26

Luke 2:35

Luke 2:39A

Luke 2:39B

Luke 2:40

Luke 2:52

Luke 3:20

***Luke 3:29***

Luke 3:31

Luke 3:37

Luke 4:17

Luke 4:25

Luke 4:40

Luke 4:41A

Luke 4:41B

Luke 5:2(A)

Luke 5:3

Luke 5:5A

Luke 5:5B

Luke 5:12

Luke 5:13

Luke 5:28

Luke 5:34

Luke 5:39A

Luke 5:39B

Luke 6:1

Luke 6:2

Luke 6:5(A)

Luke 6:7A

Luke 6:7B

Luke 6:26

Luke 6:31

Luke 6:33

Luke 6:36

Luke 6:42

Luke 6:45

Luke 7:11

Luke 7:16

Luke 7:20

Luke 7:22A

Luke 7:22B

Luke 7:24-25 (cf. 7:26)

Luke 7:26 (cf. 7:24-25)

Luke 7:28A

Luke 7:28B

Luke 7:35

Luke 7:44

Luke 7:46

Luke 8:20A

Luke 8:20B

Luke 8:26

Luke 8:30

Luke 8:32

Luke 8:37

Luke 8:40

Luke 8:45

Luke 8:48

Luke 8:50

Luke 9:2

Luke 9:3

Luke 9:9

Luke 9:13A

Luke 9:13B

Luke 9:14

Luke 9:24

Luke 9:28

Luke 9:39

Luke 9:47

Luke 9:49

Luke 9:59(B)

Luke 10:1A

Luke 10:1B

Luke 10:1C

Luke 10:6A

Luke 10:6B

Luke 10:11

Luke 10:17

Luke 10:19

Luke 10:21A

Luke 10:21B

Luke 10:30

Luke 10:38

Luke 10:41-42

Luke 10:42(B)

Luke 11:11(B)

Luke 11:12

Luke 11:13

Luke 11:14

Luke 11:17

Luke 11:19

Luke 11:20

Luke 11:24

Luke 11:27

Luke 11:49

Luke 12:1

Luke 12:18

Luke 12:25

***Luke 12:28***

Luke 12:39

Luke 12:53

Luke 12:56(A)

Luke 13:5

Luke 13:19

Luke 13:21

Luke 13:27(A)

Luke 13:35

Luke 14:5

Luke 14:17

Luke 14:26A

Luke 14:26B(C)

Luke 15:12

Luke 15:16(B)

Luke 15:17

Luke 15:20

Luke 15:21

Luke 15:29

Luke 16:26

Luke 16:27

Luke 16:29

Luke 17:1

Luke 17:6

Luke 17:11

Luke 17:12

Luke 17:23

Luke 17:27

Luke 17:29

Luke 17:33(B)

Luke 18:11

Luke 18:12

Luke 18:21

Luke 18:22

Luke 18:30

Luke 19:15

Luke 19:30

Luke 19:36

Luke 19:38

Luke 19:40

Luke 19:42

Luke 20:42

Luke 20:44A

Luke 20:44B

Luke 20:45

Luke 21:2

Luke 21:3

Luke 21:4A

Luke 21:4B

Luke 21:4C

Luke 21:11

Luke 21:12

Luke 21:13

Luke 21:15

Luke 21:19

Luke 22:16

Luke 22:34

Luke 22:44

Luke 22:57

Luke 22:64

Luke 23:11

Luke 23:12

Luke 23:17

Luke 23:28

Luke 23:32

Luke 23:36

Luke 23:38

Luke 23:50

Luke 23:51

Luke 24:12

Luke 24:13

Luke 24:36

Luke 24:38

Luke 24:40

Luke 24:44

Luke 24:47

Luke 24:48

Luke 24:49(A)

Luke 24:51

Luke 24:52

Luke 24:53


John

John 1:18

John 1:21

John 1:37

John 1:46

John 1:47

John 2:10

John 2:12

John 2:15

John 2:22

John 2:24

John 3:16

John 3:31

John 4:1

John 4:16

John 4:17

John 4:51

John 4:54

John 5:1

John 5:2

John 5:3(A)

John 5:3(B) (5:4)

John 5:11

John 5:12

John 5:15

John 5:17

John 5:29

John 5:37

John 6:3

John 6:7

John 6:10

John 6:23

John 6:29

John 6:35

John 6:36

John 6:39

John 6:40

John 6:54

John 6:66

John 6:71

John 7:8

John 7:9

John 7:12A

John 7:12B

John 7:16

John 7:34

John 7:36

John 7:42

John 7:46

John 7:50

John 7:53-8:11
Note: No attempt will be made to list all the variants within this passage; the nature of the witnesses means that any such comparison is less than meaningful, and some editions do not properly include the text anyway.

John 8:23

John 8:38

John 8:39

John 8:54

John 8:55

John 8:58

John 9:10

John 9:16

John 9:20

John 9:26

John 9:28

John 9:31

John 9:35A

John 9:35B

John 10:7A

John 10:7B

John 10:29A

John 10:29B

John 11:2

John 11:19A

John 11:19B

John 11:20

John 11:21

John 11:29A

John 11:29B

John 11:32

John 11:44

John 11:45

John 11:46

John 12:1

John 12:3

John 12:4A

John 12:4B

John 12:12

John 12:22A

John 12:22B

John 12:36

John 13:6A

John 13:6B

John 13:10

John 13:21

John 13:22

John 13:23

John 13:25

John 13:26

John 13:27

John 13:29

John 13:31

John 13:32A

John 13:32B

John 13:36

John 13:37

John 14:5A

John 14:5B

John 14:6

John 14:7A

John 14:7B

John 14:7C

John 14:9A

John 14:9B

John 14:10A

John 14:10B

John 14:16

John 14:17

John 14:19

John 14:26

John 15:10

John 15:26

John 16:13A

John 16:13B

John 16:18

John 16:19

John 16:31

John 17:1

John 17:8

John 17:11

John 17:21A

John 17:21B

John 17:21C

John 17:24

John 18:1A

John 18:1B

John 18:2

John 18:3

John 18:5

John 18:7

John 18:20

John 18:23

John 18:29

John 18:31

John 18:34

John 18:36

John 19:4

John 19:11A

John 19:11B

John 19:12

John 19:24

John 19:30

John 19:33

John 19:35

John 19:38

John 20:10

John 20:15

John 20:16

John 20:17

John 20:18

John 20:21

John 20:24

John 20:25

John 20:31

John 21:3

John 21:4

John 21:5

John 21:13

John 21:17(B)

John 21:18

John 21:23A

John 21:23B

John 21:24A

John 21:24B

John 21:25


Romans

Romans 1:1

Romans 2:2

Romans 2:8

Romans 2:16

Romans 3:2

Romans 3:4

Romans 3:7

Romans 3:12A

Romans 3:12B

Romans 3:22

Romans 3:25

Romans 4:8

Romans 4:9

Romans 4:11A

Romans 4:11B

Romans 4:19

Romans 7:17

Romans 7:25

Romans 8:2

Romans 8:11

Romans 8:14

Romans 8:20

Romans 9:27

Romans 10:3

Romans 10:5

Romans 10:20

Romans 11:17

Romans 11:20

Romans 11:21

Romans 11:22

Romans 11:23

Romans 12:1

Romans 12:15

Romans 14:5

Romans 14:19

Romans 14:21

Romans 15:15

Romans 15:17

Romans 15:23

Romans 16:1

***Romans 16:7***

Romans 16:17

Romans 16:19

Romans 16:20


1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1:1

1 Corinthians 1:14

1 Corinthians 2:1

1 Corinthians 2:15

1 Corinthians 3:12

1 Corinthians 4:11

1 Corinthians 4:17(B)

1 Corinthians 5:4

1 Corinthians 5:5

1 Corinthians 6:11

1 Corinthians 7:9

1 Corinthians 7:13

1 Corinthians 7:15

1 Corinthians 9:9

1 Corinthians 9:22

1 Corinthians 10:8

1 Corinthians 10:9(B)

1 Corinthians 10:9(C)

1 Corinthians 10:11

1 Corinthians 10:18

1 Corinthians 10:20

1 Corinthians 11:17

1 Corinthians 11:19

1 Corinthians 12:9

1 Corinthians 12:10

1 Corinthians 12:26

1 Corinthians 13:4

1 Corinthians 13:11

1 Corinthians 14:2

1 Corinthians 14:6

1 Corinthians 14:16

1 Corinthians 14:18

1 Corinthians 14:35

1 Corinthians 14:38

1 Corinthians 15:6

1 Corinthians 15:10

1 Corinthians 15:14

1 Corinthians 15:28

1 Corinthians 15:49

1 Corinthians 15:51


2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 1:8

2 Corinthians 1:12

2 Corinthians 2:1

2 Corinthians 3:9

2 Corinthians 4:5

2 Corinthians 4:6

2 Corinthians 8:7

2 Corinthians 8:19

2 Corinthians 8:24

2 Corinthians 9:2

2 Corinthians 11:3A

2 Corinthians 11:3B

2 Corinthians 11:4

2 Corinthians 11:18

2 Corinthians 11:27

2 Corinthians 11:32

2 Corinthians 12:5

2 Corinthians 12:10

2 Corinthians 12:15

2 Corinthians 13:5A

2 Corinthians 13:5B


Galatians

Galatians 1:3

Galatians 1:4

Galatians 1:8

Galatians 1:15

Galatians 2:6

Galatians 3:21

Galatians 4:19

Galatians 4:25

Galatians 5:7

Galatians 5:20A

Galatians 5:20B

Galatians 5:21A

Galatians 5:21B

Galatians 6:10

Galatians 6:17


Ephesians

Ephesians 1:1A

Ephesians 1:1B

Ephesians 1:14

Ephesians 3:9

Ephesians 3:18

Ephesians 4:8

Ephesians 4:9

Ephesians 4:26

Ephesians 5:19A

Ephesians 5:19B

Ephesians 5:22

Ephesians 5:28

Ephesians 5:31

Ephesians 6:21


Philippians

Philippians 1:6

Philippians 2:4

Philippians 2:21

Philippians 3:8

Philippians 3:10A

Philippians 3:10B

Philippians 4:23


Colossians

Colossians 1:7

Colossians 1:12

Colossians 1:16

Colossians 1:27

Colossians 2:4

Colossians 2:7

Colossians 2:13

Colossians 2:16

Colossians 3:4

Colossians 3:6

Colossians 3:11

Colossians 3:13

Colossians 3:16

Colossians 4:15


James

James 1:12

James 3:4

James 3:8

James 4:9

James 5:4A

James 5:4B

James 5:7

James 5:14


1 John

1 John 2:18

1 John 2:19

1 John 2:20

1 John 3:13

1 John 3:19A

1 John 3:19B

1 John 3:23

1 John 4:12

1 John 5:5

1 John 5:6

1 John 5:18

2 John

2 John 6

2 John 12

3 John

No Highly Uncertain Variants in 3 John

Jude

Jude 5 (cf. Appendix II)

Jude 15

Jude 18

Jude 22A

Jude 22-23

Apocalypse

Revelation 1:15

Revelation 1:19

Revelation 2:2

Revelation 2:22

Revelation 2:25

Revelation 3:3

Revelation 3:7

Revelation 3:9

Revelation 3:17

Revelation 3:18

Revelation 3:20

Revelation 4:4

Revelation 4:7

Revelation 4:8

Revelation 4:9

Revelation 5:3

Revelation 5:4

Revelation 5:6

Revelation 5:8

Revelation 5:9

Revelation 5:11

Revelation 5:13

Revelation 6:8

Revelation 6:11(B)

Revelation 7:1

Revelation 8:6

Revelation 9:5

Revelation 9:7

Revelation 9:20

Revelation 9:21

Revelation 10:8

Revelation 11:11

Revelation 11:15

Revelation 11:16A

Revelation 11:16B

Revelation 12:2

Revelation 12:3

Revelation 12:5

Revelation 12:10A

Revelation 12:10B

Revelation 12:12

Revelation 12:18 (13:1 in HF)

Revelation 13:1

Revelation 13:8

Revelation 13:15

Revelation 13:18

Revelation 14:3

Revelation 14:8

Revelation 14:18

Revelation 16:6

Revelation 16:12

Revelation 16:14

Revelation 16:18

Revelation 17:3A

Revelation 17:3B

Revelation 17:4

Revelation 17:7

Revelation 17:8

Revelation 17:13

Revelation 18:9A

Revelation 18:9B

Revelation 18:12

Revelation 18:16

Revelation 18:24

Revelation 19:5

Revelation 19:11

Revelation 19:12

Revelation 19:13

Revelation 19:14

Revelation 19:17

Revelation 19:20A

Revelation 19:20B

Revelation 20:2

Revelation 20:5

Revelation 20:6

Revelation 20:9

Revelation 20:10

Revelation 20:11

Revelation 21:3

Revelation 21:4(A)

Revelation 21:5

Revelation 21:14

Revelation 21:18

Revelation 21:27

Revelation 22:2

***Revelation 22:5***

Revelation 22:8

Revelation 22:18

Revelation 22:21A

Revelation 22:21B

Appendix I: Orthographic Variants

The following list summarizes orthographic variants. Only the seven major editions, plus Hodges & Farstad, are listed. Note that most of these variants are not included in the list of variants in the Nestle-Aland editions.

* Note that this is not a purely orthographic variant, but the non-orthographic variant is not well enough supported to be considered strongly contested.

Appendix II: Clear Minority Readings

The following list shows all readings where UBS goes against the clear consensus of the earlier versions -- i.e. it has no more than one supporter among the six major editions.

Note: No attempt is made to show which variant in each verse is the clear minority reading; this can be found by consulting NA27. Variants in accents and breathings (e.g. Luke 8:42) are generally not listed.

Matthew 8:13, 10:14, 11:9, 12:10, 13:28, 13:30, 15:6, 19:10, 19:28, 20:20, 20:30, 20:31, 24:37, 24:38, 27:16, 27:17, 18:18

Mark 3:14, 3:25, 3:31, 4:8(A), 4:28(B), 6:2(A), 6:22(A), 6:23(A), 7:9, 7:28, 16:4

Luke 4:8, 5:9, 5:18, 6:3, 6:5(B), 7:45, 8:29(A), 9:18, 9:52, 9:59(A), 9:62, 10:15, 10:32, 10:35, 10:40, 11:11B, 11:33, 12:24, 12:54, 12:56(B), 13:7, 13:27(B), 14:26(B), 15:13, 15:16(A), 16:4, 16:16, 17:33(A), 18:24, 20:9, 22:7, 22:18, 22:61, 23:42, 24:28, 24:49(B), 24:50

John 1:26, 3:23, 3:27, 3:28, 4:5, 4:29, 4:53, 5:10, 6:37, 6:52, 7:3, 7:24, 7:39A, 7:39B, 8:28, 8:41, 8:52, 11:22, 11:54, 12:12(B), 13:2, 13:24, 15:8, 16:23, 16:28, 17:2, 17:25, 20:30, 21:4, 21:17(A)

Romans 5:1, 8:24, 9:19, 10:5, 10:15, 16:27

1 Corinthians 4:17(A), 9:16, 10:9(A), 13:3, 16:22

2 Corinthians 1:12(A), 5:3, 6:4, 8:16, 9:4, 9:10, 12:6

Galatians 1:18, 4:23, 6:2

Ephesians 1:20, 5:2

Philippians 1:14, 1:24, 3:13

Colossians 1:3, 2:12, 3:22

James 4:14

1 John 3:15, 3:21, 4:10, 5:10, 5:20

2 John 5, 8 (cf. Appendix I)

Jude 5 (x2), 15, 16

Apocalypse: 6:1, 6:11(A), 11:18, 12:8, 13:3, 13:10, 17:8(B), 18:2, 18:21, 19:7, 21:6, 21:12, 21:16

Appendix III: Rate of Variants

The following table attempts to approximate the number of highly uncertain variants per unit of length. The method used is quite simple: We count the total variants listed above, then divide by the number of pages the book occupies (in Barbara & Timothy Friberg, Analytical Greek New Testament, the only edition of UBS I have which does not have variant readings, so that the amount of text per page is roughly constant). Readings are sorted in descending order based on this statistic -- i.e. the books with the greatest rate of uncertainty are listed first.

Note that this list does not include the Clear Minority Variants listed above; obviously Luke is the book where the UBS committee made the most changes from what seemed nearly certain before. But it is not the book where the editors are least sure of themselves, as the table below makes clear:

Book Pages Variants Variants/Page
Mark 63* 136 2.16
John 83 171 2.06
Luke 110 190 1.73
Matthew 105 180 1.71
Jude 3 5 1.67
Apocalypse 55 90 1.64
Colossians 9 14 1.56
2 John 1.5 2 1.33
Galatians 13 15 1.15
Romans 40 44 1.10
1 Corinthians38 40 1.05
Ephesians 14 14 1.00
1 John 12 11 0.92
2 Corinthians25.5 21 0.83
James 10 8 0.80
Philippians 9 7 0.77
3 John 1.5 0 0.00

* Includes the first page containing the Longer Ending but not that containing the shorter.

If we wish to look at the places where the UBS text is in the clear minority, our figures become

Book Pages Variants Variants/Page
2 John 1.5 2 1.33
Jude 3 4 1.33
1 John 12 5 0.42
John 83 30 0.36
Luke 110 37 0.34
Philippians 9 3 0.33
Colossians 9 3 0.33
2 Corinthians25.5 7 0.27
Apocalypse 55 13 0.24
Galatians 13 3 0.23
Mark 63 11 0.17
Matthew 105 17 0.16
Romans 40 6 0.15
Ephesians 14 2 0.14
1 Corinthians38 5 0.13
James 10 1 0.10
3 John 1.5 0 0

If we combine the two lists of variants, we can list the books where the UBS most often stands on shaky ground, either because the variant is highly uncertain or because the UBS has gone against most of what went before:

Book Pages Variants Variants/Page
Jude 3 9 3.00
2 John 1.5 4 2.67
John 83 201 2.42
Mark 63 147 2.33
Luke 110 227 2.06
Colossians 9 17 1.89
Matthew 105 197 1.88
Apocalypse 55 103 1.87
Galatians 13 18 1.38
1 John 12 16 1.33
Romans 40 50 1.25
1 Corinthians38 45 1.18
Ephesians 14 16 1.14
Philippians 9 10 1.11
2 Corinthians25.5 28 1.10
James 10 9 0.90
3 John 1.5 0 0

It's interesting to note that John, usually considered the Gospel least subject to fiddling (because it has no synoptic parallels) is the one where the text is least settled. It appears, looking at the overall picture, that the reason is the papyri: John exists in both P66 and P75, and the data in these most vital of witnesses has influenced the UBS text substantially, often causing it to adopt readings most other editors rejected.

Appendix IV: Agreements of the Texts

Various attempts in the past have been made to compare the nature of the sundry editions. The most recent to do this were the Alands, but they centered everything about the UBS edition. What we want is to compare all editions.

Particularly, at least in this article, in the most strongly disputed readings. So the following tables show the agreements of the more important cited texts in each of the various books.

Matthew

 --MANUSCRIPTS----EDITIONS--
 Aleph BDByzBoverMerkSodenTischTregUBSVogelsWeissWH
Aleph --37%35%29%31%29%40%81%28%37%31%46%50%
B37%--35%19%49%53%22%41%58%61%25%84%83%
D31%32%---41%54%38%33%37%52%55%39%35%35%
Byz26%17%41%--46%48%64%24%44%39%83%17%13%
Bover31%49%59%51%--42%47%37%62%65%52%47%49%
Merk29%53%41%53%42%--51%26%53%51%57%54%48%
Soden40%22%36%71%47%51%--35%39%31%69%19%20%
Tisch81%41%40%27%37%26%35%--34%38%27%51%53%
Treg28%58%57%49%62%53%39%34%--72%49%54%59%
UBS37%61%60%43%65%51%31%38%72%--44%63%65%
Vogels31%25%43%91%52%57%69%27%49%44%--26%17%
Weiss46%84%39%19%47%54%19%51%54%63%26%--76%
WH50%83%38%15%49%48%20%53%59%65%17%76%--

There is much that is interesting here. It is no great surprise that Westcott and Hort are very close to B -- though Weiss is equally close (a 1% difference in this sample is hardly significant, the more so as I'm having to take Weiss secondhand). Nor is Tischendorf's fondness for Aleph unexpected. That Vogels is basically the Byzantine text rehashed is not news, either, and Soden's methods make it no surprise that he's the next most Byzantine. But it is noteworthy that Bover and Merk -- often treated as falling somewhere between von Soden and Hort -- show no affinity to each other or, indeed, anything else.

And then there are the affinities of the UBS text. It is, other than Weiss and B, the closest relative of Hort's text. But, contrary to what is often charged, the UBS text is not a rehash of WH, because its closest relative is -- Tregelles. This may not apply beyond the bounds of the Most Uncertain readings, but it's an additional testament to this much-underestimated editor.

Mark

 --MANUSCRIPTS----EDITIONS--
 Aleph BDByzBoverMerkSodenTischTregUBSVogelsWeissWH
Aleph --43%30%26%39%43%35%69%40%46%30%40%48%
B43%--24%18%42%55%14%38%53%72%32%87%90%
D30%24%--48%53%30%41%32%50%41%36%27%28%
Byz24%16%44%--46%43%64%27%51%30%73%17%16%
Bover39%42%53%50%--36%54%44%53%49%43%38%47%
Merk43%55%30%47%36%--47%32%53%47%54%57%59%
Soden35%14%41%70%54%47%--40%47%24%69%17%18%
Tisch69%38%32%30%44%32%40%--41%45%28%45%42%
Treg40%53%50%56%53%53%47%41%--53%57%48%53%
UBS46%72%41%32%49%47%24%45%53%--37%70%73%
Vogels30%32%36%80%43%54%69%28%57%37%--32%29%
Weiss40%87%27%19%38%57%17%45%48%70%32%--83%
WH48%90%28%18%47%59%18%42%53%73%29%83%--

The picture here is not too different from that in Matthew, except in two regards: One is that the UBS text has distinctly shifted toward B and its allies Weiss and Westcott-Hort. The other is that Tregelles has gone in the opposite direction, away from UBS. Something to watch in the next two books....

Luke

 --MANUSCRIPTS----EDITIONS--
 Aleph BDByzBoverMerkSodenTischTregUBSVogelsWeissWH
Aleph --41%37%33%43%45%42%58%33%46%35%39%43%
B41%--29%12%32%64%21%28%48%80%22%81%92%
D37%29%--46%52%30%45%42%54%35%43%35%32%
Byz32%11%45%--61%32%64%46%52%21%84%20%6%
Bover43%32%52%63%--41%66%43%61%37%62%33%30%
Merk46%64%30%33%41%--34%34%47%65%42%70%67%
Soden42%21%45%66%66%34%--42%50%30%67%22%16%
Tisch58%28%42%48%43%34%42%--42%35%44%37%36%
Treg33%48%54%54%61%47%50%42%--51%56%44%45%
UBS46%80%35%22%37%65%30%35%51%--26%76%76%
Vogels35%22%43%87%62%42%67%44%56%26%--28%18%
Weiss39%80%35%20%33%70%21%36%44%76%28%--80%
WH43%92%32%7%30%67%16%36%45%76%18%81%--

Here we see a major change. The older editions -- Tischendorf, Soden, Vogels, Westcott-Hort -- show pretty much their old affinities. But UBS has changed: It has shifted to following B consistently, causing it to move distinctly toward Westcott-Hort and Weiss. The agreement would be even more extreme were it not for the "Western Non-Interpolations." It may be that P75 has changed the way the evidence is viewed. It may be that it affects the variants which are most uncertain. In any case, this seems to provide evidence of a textual shift in UBS.

John

 --MANUSCRIPTS----EDITIONS--
 Aleph BDByzBoverMerkSodenTischTregUBSVogelsWeissWH
Aleph --33%44%36%44%30%43%64%28%43%36%35%37%
B33%--27%12%35%42%16%46%67%66%18%69%92%
D37%23%--41%45%25%45%35%39%35%43%28%22%
Byz35%12%47%--48%47%66%29%35%25%81%28%11%
Bover44%35%53%49%--43%65%36%45%50%60%46%36%
Merk30%42%29%48%43%--51%38%48%42%58%53%48%
Soden43%16%53%68%65%51%--28%39%31%74%31%18%
Tisch64%46%42%30%36%38%28%--41%49%28%43%49%
Treg28%67%46%36%45%48%39%41%--58%39%58%67%
UBS43%66%41%25%50%42%31%49%58%--31%62%68%
Vogels36%18%51%83%60%58%74%28%39%31%--36%17%
Weiss35%69%33%29%46%53%31%43%58%62%36%--69%
WH37%92%27%11%36%48%18%49%67%68%17%69%--

Interestingly, the pattern we saw in Luke, of UBS moving dramatically toward B, is not as obvious here. UBS does agree with B and WH more than anything else, but it's drifted back "Byzantine-ward," leaving it about as distant from WH as are Weiss and Tregelles. This even though UBS shows distinctly less agreement with Tregelles than does WH. It is a curious pattern.