Bible Query – Early Manuscripts of Jude
November 15, 2009
Q: In Jde, what are early New Testament
manuscripts we have preserved today?
A: Here are many of them.
p72 Bodmer 7
& 8 Papyrii 1 Peter 1:1-5:14, 2 Peter 1:1-3:18 and Jude 1-25. c.300 A.D. A
photograph of part of this manuscript (showing 2 Peter 1:16-2:2) is in The
Complete Text of the Earliest New Testament Manuscripts p.468. It says the
handwriting is written “in a documentary hand.”
p74 (=Bodmer 17)
Acts 1:2-5,7-11,13-15,18-19,22-25; 2:2-4; 2:6-3:26; 4:2-6,8-27; 4:29-27:25;
27:27-28:31; James 1:1-6,8-19,21-23,25,27; 2:1-3,5-15; 18-22, 25-26;
3:1,5-6,10-12,14,17-18; 4:8,11-14; 5:1-3,7-9,12-14,19-20; 1 Peter
1:1-2,7-8,13,19-20,25; 2:6-7,11-12,18,24; 3:4-5; 2 Peter 2:21; 3:4,11,16; 1
John 1:1,6; 2:1-2,7,13-14,18-19,25-26; 3:1-2,8,14,19-20;
4:1,6-7,12,16-17;5:3-4,9-10,17; 2 John 1,6-7,13; 3 John 6,12; Jude 3,7,12,18,24
(7th century)
7th
century - 1968 - The Text of the New Testament has James 2:4 and 1 Peter
1:12
7th
century - 1975 - Aland et al. Third Edition
6th century - 1998 - Aland et al. Fourth Revised Edition
p78 (=Papyrus
Oxyrhynchus 2684) c.300 A.D. Jude 4-5,7-8 The Complete Text of the Earliest
New Testament Manuscripts p.602 indicates this is not a very reliable text.
“in four verses it contains two unique and three rare readings, all of them in
disagreement with the earliest witness [p72].” (quoted from Grenfell and Hunt
Oxy. Pap., 34:4) Earlier is not always better.
Vaticanus
[B] 325-350 A.D. all of Jude
Sinaiticus
[Si] 340-350 A.D. all of Jude
Alexandrinus
[A] c.450 A.D all of Jude
Bohairic Coptic
[Boh] 3rd/4th century
Sahidic Coptic
[Sah] 3rd/4rth century
Ephraemi Rescriptus
5th century
Armenian
[Arm] from 5th century
Georgian
[Geo] from 5th century
Ethiopic
[Eth] from c.500 A.D.
Philoxenian
Syriac
507/508 A.D. Bishop Philoxenus of Mabug
Harclean
Syriac [Syr H] 616.A.D Thomas of Harkel
Q: In Jde, what are the manuscript variations with the Textus Receptus,
the basis for the KJV?
A: Jay P. Green, Sr. in the Interlinear Bible records
variations in 8 words between the Textus Receptus and the majority text. These
are in 8 places. He does not record any additional alternates.
A: The book of Jude has a total of 461 Greek words in 25
verses. This is the count in both Aland et al. 3rd edition and Aland et al. 4th
revised edition, including 3 words in brackets. You can see the text of
the 3rd edition on-line at http://www.greekbible.com. Jude has an
estimated word-for-word accuracy of 97.6%, with 11 words in question.
These are in 9 verses (10 places). Of these, 10 are single word and 1 is two
words.
Below are the variations with the primary
choice and the top alternate choice. Aland et al 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 the evidence for a particular reading is so strong that the
alternatives are very unlikely. See the next question for which manuscripts
support which variant.
Jude 1
“kept by” vs. “having been set apart”
Jude 1 “and having been kept” vs. absent (a few manuscripts,
so 4 word not counted in the totals)
Jude 3
“our” salvation” vs. “your salvation” vs. “salvation”
Jude 4a
“master” (p72, p78, Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus, Ephraemi Rescriptus,
some Byzantine Lectionary, Italic, Sahidic Coptic, Bohairic Coptic, Armenian,
Ethiopic, Georgian) vs. “master, God” (some Byzantine, Harclean Syriac,
Palestinian [Melchite] Syriac)
Jude 4b “our Jesus Christ” vs. other readings in later
manuscripts
Jude 5
“Lord” vs. “God” vs. “Jesus” vs. “Christ”
“Lord” is in original Sinaiticus, Athos (8th/9th century),
Ephraemi Rescriptus (5th century), Harclean Syriac),
“God” is in Philoxenian Syriac, one Italic, Armenian,
Georgian, 2nd corrector Ephraemi Rescriptus p72 (=Bodmer 7/8) ca.300 A.D.,
“Jesus” Vaticanus, Alexandrinus, many Italic, Ethiopic,
Origen, Jerome, Cyril, Bohairic Coptic (Sahidic Coptic) (parenthesis in Aland
et al.)
“Lord” Ephraem,
Jude 8
“lordship” vs. “lordships” (1 letter difference)
Jude 12
“fearlessly you” vs. “fearlessly us”
Jude 19
“dividing apart” vs. “dividing apart themselves” (only Ephraemi Rescriptus)
Jude 22
“mercy/compassion” vs. “rebuke” vs. “pity”
Jude 23
“save” vs. “save with fear” (2 words)
Jude 23
“mercy/compassion” vs. “pity”
Jude 25a “to God” vs. “to (the) only wise God” (only late
manuscripts so 1 word not counted I the totals)
Jude 25b “from all the ages” vs. (absent in some late
manuscripts) (4 words not counted in the totals)
Some manuscripts add the postscript, “Letter of Jude
general”
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.
A: The table below shows each of the places in question, and
the number says which variant is in each manuscript.
|
Place |
words |
p72 |
B |
Si |
A |
C |
Sah |
Boh |
ClemA |
Ital |
Vg |
Luc |
Eth |
Byz |
Arm |
Geo |
SyrPh |
Syr H |
|
Jde 1a |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
(1) |
2 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
|
Jde 1b |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
1 |
1/ 2 |
1 |
(1) |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
|
Jde 3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
- |
1 |
2 |
|
2 |
1?/2 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Jde 4a |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1/2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
Jde 4b |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
1 |
1/ 2? |
(1) |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Jde 5 |
1 |
7 |
5 |
9 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
1? |
4 |
2?/5/6? |
(1) |
(5) |
8 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
Jde 8 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
- |
2 |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Jde 12 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
3? |
1 |
1 |
|
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
- |
1 |
2 |
1 |
|
Jde 19 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
- |
- |
1? |
2 |
1/ 2 |
1 |
- |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
|
Jde 22 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
2/4 |
2/3? |
|
- |
3 |
- |
1 |
4 |
1 |
|
Jde 23 |
2 |
6 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
3 |
1? |
1/7 |
1 |
|
- |
5 |
(1) |
(1) |
(7) |
1 |
|
Jde 23 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
1? |
1 |
1 |
|
- |
4 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
|
Jde 25 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1? |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
|
- |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Place |
words |
p72 |
B |
Si |
A |
C |
Sah |
Boh |
ClemA |
Ital |
Vg |
Luc |
Eth |
Byz |
Arm |
Geo |
Syr Ph |
Syr H |