Bible Query – Early Manuscripts of 1 Timothy

October 27, 2022 version

 

Q: In 1 Tim, what are early New Testament manuscripts we have preserved today?

A: Here are many of them.

Sinaiticus [Si] 340-350 A.D.

1 Timothy was not preserved in Vaticanus [B]

Alexandrinus [A] c.450 A.D.

Ephraemi Rescriptus [C] 5th century

Claromontanus [D] 6th century

I Washington, D.C. 5th century

Italic [Ital] 4th to 13th centuries

Vulgate [Vulg] 4th and 5th centuries

Bohairic Coptic 3rd/4th century

Sahidic Coptic 3rd/4rth century

Armenian [Arm] from 5th century

Georgian [Geo] from 5th century

Ethiopic [Eth] from c.500 A.D.

Peshitta Syriac [Syr P] 411-435 A.D. Over 350 manuscripts.

Philoxenian Syriac [Syr Ph] 507/508 A.D. Bishop Philoxenus of Mabug

Gothic 493-555 A.D.

Harclean Syriac [Syr H] 616.A.D Thomas of Harkel

048 Fifth century

Carston Thiede claims 1 Timothy 3:16-4:3 is preserved among the Dead Sea scrolls as MSS 7Q4. This would make it prior to 68 A.D. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7547/ntmss.html has more info on this. However, most experts disagree.

 

Q: In 1 Tim, what are the textual variations with the Textus Receptus, the basis for the KJV?

A: Jay P. Green, Sr. in the Interlinear Bible records variations in approximately 13 words between the Textus Receptus and the majority text. These are in 13 places (1 Timothy 1:2,4,9,13; 3:2,11; 5:4,21,25; 6:5,12,17,20). He does not record any additional alternates.

 

Q: In 1 Tim, what are some of the textual variations?

A: Paul’s First Letter to Timothy has a total of 1,591 Greek words in 113 verses. This is the count in Aland et al. 5th revised eition, 4th revised edition, and 3rd edition, including 2 words in brackets. The text of the 3rd edition is on-line at http://www.greekbible.com. 1 Timothy has an estimated word-for-word accuracy of 98.0%, with 32 words in question. These are in 20 verses (23 places).

   Below are the variations with the primary choice and the top alternate choice. Aland et al. 5th revised edition, 4th revised edition, and 3rd edition, from which this primarily is based, also give a judgment of the degree of certainty per variation. The list below does not include many places where the evidence for a particular reading is so strong that the alternatives are very unlikely. See the next question for which manuscripts support which variants.

1 Tim 1:1 “command” vs. “promise” (only in Sinaiticus) so not counted in the totals. Bruce Metzger’s A Textual Commentary on the New Testament p.571 says the scribe of Sinaiticus might have accidentally been recalling 2 Timothy 1:1.

1 Tim 1:1 “God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope” vs. “God our savior [i.e.] Jesus Christ our hope” (Roman edition Ethiopic 1548/49 and other late manuscripts so not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 1:2 “God (the) Father” vs. “God our Father” (only in later manuscripts, so 1 word not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 1:4 “administration/economy” vs. “building up”

1 Tim 1:4 “stewardship” vs. “stewardship” (same meaning different Greek word) (only original Claromontanus Irenaeus, and a few others so not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 1:12 empowering “me” vs. “us”

1 Tim 1:15 “faithful” (Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Claromontanus, Byzantine Lectionary, some Italic, Harclean Syriac, Philoxenian Syriac, Sahidic Coptic, Bohairic Coptic, Gothic, Armenian, some Augustine) vs. “human/humane” (some Italic, Ambrosiaster, some Augustine) so not counted in the totals.

1 Tim 1:16 “Christ Jesus” vs. “Jesus Christ” (only in Sinaiticus, possibly Vulgate, and Syriac, so 1 word not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 1:17 “incorruptible, invisible” (almost all other manuscripts, Eusebius, Chrysostom) vs. “immortal, invisible” (original Claromontanus, Harclean Syriac, Italic, Ethiopic, Tertullian) vs. “incorruptible, invisible, immortal” (no ancient manuscripts) so not counted in the totals

1 Tim 1:17 “God” (original Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, original Claromontanus, Italic, Vulgate, Philoxenian Syriac, Sahidic Coptic, Bohairic Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopic, Arabic) vs. “only wise God” (corrected Sinaiticus, corrected Claromontanus, Harclean Syriac, Gothic, Textus Receptus) so not counted in the totals

1 Tim 2:1 “I exhort” vs. “exhort” (imperative) (only in original Claromontanus, Hilary, and a few others, so 1 words not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 2:3 “this (is) good and acceptable” vs. “this (is) for good and acceptable” (only in Bezae Cantabrigiensis, Syriac, and later manuscripts, so 1 word not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 2:7 “I do not lie” vs. “in Christ I do not lie.” (2 words)

1 Tim 2:9 “Likewise also/and the women” vs. “Likewise the women”

1 Tim 3:1 “is true” vs. “is commonly accepted”

1 Tim 3:1 “faithful” vs. “human/humane”

1 Tim 3:3 “a striker” (Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Claromontanus, Italic, Philoxenian Syriac, Sahidic Coptic, Bohairic Coptic, Gothic, Armenian, Ethiopic, many others) vs. “a striker, not greedy of ill gain” (Textus Receptus and many miniscules) (2 words not counted in the totals) Bruce Metzger in A Textual Commentary of the New Testament p.573 says this gloss might be because the scribe was recalling Titus 1:7.

1 Tim 3:3 “not greedy for money” vs. “greedy for money” (NU according to the NKJV footnote)

1 Tim 3:7 “It behooves and also” vs. “It behooves him and also” (only in Bezae Cantabrigiensis, so 1 word not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 3:8 “Deacons likewise reverent, not double-tongued” vs. “Deacons likewise not double-tongued” (only in Sinaiticus, so 1 word not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 3:16 “God” vs. “which” vs. “who” vs. “He” vs. “that” (the corrected Sinaiticus, corrected Alexandrinus, the Byzantine Lectionary, and 98.5% of manuscripts have “God", while the original Sinaiticus, original Alexandrinus, Syriac, Gothic have “He”. Bezae Cantabrigiensis has “that”)

1 Tim 3:16 “godliness” vs. “God”

1 Tim 4:6 “Christ Jesus” vs. “Jesus Christ” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary volume 11 p.373 says the order of these two words is much confused in the manuscripts, due in part to copyists abbreviating them using only the first and last letters of each word. The last letters are the same, and the first letters look more similar in Greek than in English.

1 Tim 4:10 “labor and strive” vs. “labor and suffer reproach” (Aland, NRSV, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary) (The KJV, NKJV, and Green’s literal translation have “suffer reproach” following the Byzantine Lectionary, while the NASB, NIV, and NRSV follow Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus)

1 Tim 4:12 “love” (Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Claromontanus, Italic, Vulgate, Philoxenian Syriac, Harclean Syriac, Sahidic Coptic, Bohairic Coptic, Gothic, Armenian, Ethiopic) vs. “love in spirit” (Textus Receptus, most miniscules, John of Damascus, Theodoret) (so 2 words not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 4:12 “love” vs. love in [the] spirit” (only in later manuscripts so 2 words not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 5:4 “acceptable to/before God” vs. “good and acceptable to/before God”

1 Tim 5:5 “God” vs. “the God”

1 Tim 5:8a “especially family” vs. “especially the family” (only in Ephraemi Rescriptus, so 1 word not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 5:8b “But if anyone … (he) provides for” vs. “But if anyone … (they) provide for”

1 Tim 5:16 “believing man” vs. “believing man or believing woman”. (2 words)

1 Tim 5:18a “you shall not muzzle (φιμώσεις) an ox” vs. vs. “you shall not muzzle (κημώσεις) an ox” vs. “[absent] (See also 1 Cor 9:9). The first word for muzzle (Strong’s 5392) is only in Aristophanes, the Septuagint, 1 Tim 5:18 and many Greek manuscripts of 1 Cor 9:9) (4 words)

1 Tim 5:18b “of his hire/pay” (almost all manuscripts and many church fathers) vs. “of their hire/pay” (different Greek root) (only in original Sinaiticus, 9th century Ardmachanus Italic, Clement of Alexandria) (so 2 words not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 5:19 “receive, unless on two or three witnesses” vs. “receive” (absent from some lost Latin manuscripts known to Jerome) (so 8 words not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 5:20 “those sinning” vs. “those, rather, sinning”

1 Tim 5:21 “Christ Jesus” vs. “Jesus Christ” (only possibly in Bohairic Coptic and later witnesses, so 1 word not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 6:3 misspelling of “consents” proserxetai vs. prosexetai (1 letter not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 6:4a “of which comes envy” vs. “of which bears/gives birth to envy” (corrected Bezae Cantabrigiensis) vs. “of which envy” (original Bezae Cantabrigiensis, Bohairic Coptic) (1 word not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 6:4b “strife” vs. “strifes”

1 Tim 6:5 “constant wranglings” vs. “constant friction”

1 Tim 6:5 “gain.” vs. “gain. Withdraw from such” (2 words) (Aland, NRSV, NKJV)

1 Tim 6:7 “it is plain/certain that we cannot carry” vs. “we cannot carry” (3 words)

1 Tim 6:8 “foods and clothings” vs. “food and clothing”

1 Tim 6:9 “[a] snare” vs. “snares” ( 1 letter)

1 Tim 6:12 “which you were called” vs. “which also/and you were called” (only in Harclean Syriac, so 1 word not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 6:13a “I charge/enjoin you before God” vs. “I charge/enjoin before God”

1 Tim 6:13b “charge you (singular) before” vs. “charge before”

1 Tim 6:16 “immortality, light” vs. “immortality and light” (only in Italic b, Tertullian, and Ambrosiaster, so 1 word not counted in the totals)

1 Tim 6:17 “in God Living” vs. “in the God Living”

1 Tim 6:19 “real” vs. “everlasting”

1 Tim 6:21 “you” (plural) (original Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, some Bohairic Coptic) vs. “you” (singular) (original Claromontanus, Bohairic Coptic, Georgian, apparently Armenian, Pelagius) (2 words)

1 Tim 6:21a “amen” at the end (Bohairic Coptic, Georgian, Byzantine Lectionary, apparently Armenian, Ethiopic) vs. absent (original Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, apparently some Bohairic Coptic, original Claromontanus, apparently some Armenian, Pelagius, Sahidic Coptic, Chrysostom)

1 Tim 6:21b “to Timothy A” vs. “to Timothy first” vs. others. Not counted in the totals.

Bibliography for this question: The Greek New Testament Third Edition by Kurt Aland et al., The Greek New Testament Fourth Edition by Kurt Aland et al., Interlinear Greek-English New Testament by George Ricker Berry, the Interlinear Bible by Jay P. Green, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary volume 8, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament 2nd edition by Bruce M. Metzger, The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture by Bart Ehrman, The Complete Text of the Earliest New Testament Manuscripts edited by Philip W. Comfort and David P. Barrett, The Expositor’s Greek Testament edited by W. Robertson Nicoll, and footnotes in the NASB, NIV, NKJV, and NRSV Bible translations. Manuscripts of the Greek Bible : An Introduction to Paleography by Bruce M. Metzger also has interesting information on the characteristics and quality of the copying of each manuscript.

Postscript in some manuscripts:, “To Timothy first written from Laodicea, which is the chief city of Phrygia Pacatiana.”

 

Q: In 1 Tim, how do the early manuscripts compare with each other?

A: The table below shows each of the places in question, and the number says which variant is in each manuscript.

This chart shows variants of early writers and manuscripts of 1 Timothy. The darker the shading the later the writing. Shaded verses mean we are virtually certain of the correct reading. For each verse, the variant Aland et al. views as correct is labeled as “1”, the next choice “2”, and so on. Corrections to manuscripts by later scribes are not included. “A” after a choice simply means the choice with the fewest words. A question mark means it is probably but not certain the manuscript had these words. Parentheses means fragmentary or hard to read. Where there is more than one number, such as “1 /2?”, this means that one or more manuscripts in the family give the first choice, and one or more manuscripts are not clear, but appear to give the second choice. A parenthesis, such as (6), means that through translation or loss of letters are not sure, but it appears to support reading 6.

No Syriac Palestinian

Place of variant

words

A

C

D

I

048

Sahidic

Bohairic

Iren

Clem A

Tert

Origen

Cyp

Si

Hilary

Italic

Ital b

Ital d

Lucifer

Vulgate

Ambst

Chrysostom

Pelagius

Ethiopic

Armenian

Georgian

Syr Ph

Syr P

Syr H

Byzant.

1 Tim 1:1

1

1

-

1

1

-

1

1

-

-

 

-

-

2

-

1

1

1

-

1

 

1

1

1

1

-

 

1

1

1

1 Tim 1:2

1

1

 

1

1

 

2

1/ 2?

 

 

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

2?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 1:4a

1

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

2

-

 

-

-

1

-

1/ 2

-

-

-

1

 

2

-

-

2

(2)

 

1

1

2

1 Tim 1:4b

1

1

-

2

-

-

1

1

2

-

 

-

-

1

-

1/ 3

1

1

-

1

 

1

-

1

1

1

 

2

1

1

1 Tim 1:12

1

2

-

1

1

-

2

1

-

-

 

-

-

-

-

1

-

-

2

1

 

-

-

-

1

-

 

1

1

1

1 Tim 1:15

1

1

-

1

-

-

1

1

-

-

 

1

-

1

-

2

2

1

-

-

 

1

-

-

1

-

1

1

1

1

1 Tim 1:16

1 cj/jc

1

 

1

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

2?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 1:17a

1

1

-

2

-

-

1

1

-

-

 

-

-

1

-

2/ 3

-

-

-

2

 

1

2

2

1

1

 

1

1

1

1 Tim 1:17b

1

1

-

1

-

-

1

1

-

-

 

-

-

1

-

1

-

-

-

1

 

1

 

1

1

-

1

1

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 2:1

1

1

-

2

1

-

1

1

-

-

 

1

-

-

2

1/ 2

2

2

1

1/ 2?

 

1

1

1

1

1

 

1

1

1

1 Tim 2:3

1

1

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 2:7

2

1

-

1

-

-

1

1

-

-

 

-

-

2

-

1/ 2

1

1

-

1/ 2?

 

1

-

1

2

-

 

1

1

1/2

1 Tim 2:9

1 and

2A

 

1

 

 

2A?

2A?

 

 

 

 

 

2A

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 3:1

1

1

-

2

-

-

1

1

-

-

 

-

-

1

-

1/ 2

2

2

-

1

 

1

1

1

1

1

 

1

1

1

1 Tim 3:3

2

1

1

-

-

 

1

1

-

-

 

-

-

1

-

 

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

1

1

 

1

-

-

 

1 Tim 3:7

1

1

 

2

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 3:8

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2A

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 3:16

1

1

1

2

-

-

-

-

-

-

 

1

-

1

2

2

1

1

-

2/ 3?

 

3

2

1

-

-

 

-

-

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 4:6

1

1

2

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

 

-

-

-

-

 

-

-

-

-

 

-

-

-

-

-

 

-

-

-

1 Tim 4:10

1

1

1

2

-

-

2

2

-

-

 

-

-

1

-

2

2

2

-

2

 

2

-

2

2

2

 

2

2

2

1 Tim 4:12

2

1

1

1

1

-

-

-

-

1

 

-

-

1

-

 

 

 

-

-

 

-

-

-

-

-

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 5:5

1

(1)

1

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

 

 

3?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 5:8a

1 the

1

2

1

1

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 5:8b

1

1

1

2

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 5:16

2

1

1

-

-

-

1

1

-

-

 

-

-

1

-

1/2/3/4

3

3

-

1/2/3?/4?

 

3

-

-

-

-

 

2

2

3

1 Tim 5:18a

4

2

2

3

2

2

 

 

 

(1)

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

(1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 5:18b

2

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

-

2

 

1

-

2

-

1/(2)

1

1

-

1

 

1

-

1

1

1

 

1

1

1

1 Tim 5:20

1

2

-

2

-

1

-

-

-

-

 

-

-

1

-

 

 

 

1

1/ 2?

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 5:21

1 JC/CJ

1

-

1

-

-

-

2?

 

1

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 6:4a

1

1

-

2

-

1

1?

2

 

 

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

1

 

1 Tim 6:4b

1

1

-

2

-

1

1?/2?

2

 

 

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

2

 

1 Tim 6:5

2

1

-

1

-

1

1

1

2

-

 

-

2

1

-

1/ 2

2

1

2

1/ 2?

 

2

1

2

2

-

 

2

2

2

1 Tim 6:7

3

1

-

-

-

1

-

3

-

-

 

-

-

1

-

1/2/3

3

3

-

1/ 2?/3?

 

1?/2

2

-

-

2

 

2

2

2

1 Tim 6:8

1

1

 

2

 

2?

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

1

 

 

 

 

 

1/ 2?

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

1

 

1 Tim 6:9

1

1

 

 

-

-

1/2

1

-

-

 

-

2

1

-

1/ 3

3

3

-

1/ 3

 

1/ 3

3

-

1

1

 

2

1

1

1 Tim 6:12

1 and

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

 

1 Tim 6:13a

1 you

1

 

1

 

 

1/ 2?

1

 

 

1

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 6:13b

1

1

-

1

1

-

1/2

1

-

-

 

-

-

2

-

1/ 2

1

1

-

1

 

1

1

1

1

1

 

1

1

1

1 Tim 6:16

1 and

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Tim 6:17

1

2

-

-

1

-

-

4?

-

-

 

1/(2)

-

1

-

2/4

4

4

-

2/4

 

4

2

4

-

4

 

 

 

4

1 Tim 6:19

1

1

-

2

-

-

5

1/3/4

-

-

 

1

-

1

-

1

-

-

-

1/ 2?

 

2

1

4

2/4

1/ 2

 

1

1

4

1 Tim 6:21a

1 amen

1

 

2

-

1

5A

1?/2

-

-

 

-

-

1

-

1/ 2/4

2

2

-

2/4

 

5A

2

2

2?

1/ 2

 

4

4

2

1 Tim 6:21b

1

1

-

1

-

2?

1

1/2

-

-

 

-

-

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

 

-

-

2

1/2

2

 

1

1

2

Place of variant

words

A

C

D

I

048

Sahidic

Bohairic

Iren

Clem A

Tert

Origen

Cyp

Si

Hilary

Italic

Ital b

Ital d

Lucifer

Vulgate

Ambst

Chrysostom

Pelagius

Ethiopic

Armenian

Georgian

Syr pH

Syr P

Syr H

Byzant.

In 1 Tim 5:18 there is a difference of opinion in the best text in Aland et al. and Nestle-Aland.

by Steven M. Morrison, PhD.