Josep Rius-Camps - Jenny Read-Heimerdinger, «The variant readings of the western text of the acts of the apostles (XIII)», Vol. 15 (2002) 111-132
Josep Rius-Camps continues his series of notes on the readings of Codex Bezae in the text of Acts, in collaboration with Jenny Read-Heimerdinger. The present section deals with the events following Stephen’s death, namely the persecution of the Jesus-believers and the ministry of Philip.
Having undertaken a joint project to publish in English a commentary comparing the message of the Bezan text of Acts with that of the Alexandrian
tradition, adopting as a basis the commentary in Catalan of Josep Rius-Camps, we will continue the series of notes on the Acts of the Apostles
in both our names using the format of the English publication (of which the first volume on Acts 1–5 has recently appeared).
The Variant Readings of the Western Text of the Acts of the Apostles (XIII) 113
Critical Apparatus
8:1 (διωγμὸς μέγας) καὶ θλῖψις D, et tribulatio d (h samss mae invert the
word order) ‖ om. B P74 ) rell.
A similar variant is found in 13:50 where D05 reads θλῖψιν μεγάλην
καὶ διωγμόν, a reading supported by d05 (tribulationem magnam et per-
secutionem) and partially by E08; B03 (with P74 ) rell), however, reads
simply διωγμόν. The dual construction is also found in Matt. 13:21; Mk
4:17 D05 (cf., e.g., Matt. 24:9, 21, 29; Mk 13:19, 24 where θλῖψις is used
alone to denote trouble arising out of persecution); MSS other than D05
read θλίψεως ἢ διωγμοῦ at Mk 4:17. The word θλῖψις reappears on its
own with reference to the persecution arising after Stephen’s death at
11:19.
πάντες δὲ (διεσπάÏησαν) B D P74 rell … πάντες τε A (t); Aug … καὶ πάντες
)c33. 323. 440. 927. 1270. 1837. 2344 … πάντες Î³á½±Ï 226, omnes enim d |
πάντες )*.
Both B03 and D05, with the connective δέ view the dispersion of the
believers as a development that is separate from the persecution. τε in
A02 links the two closely, as if the dispersion represents the height of the
persecution. The absence of connective in )01 intensifies the link even
further, assimilating the dispersion with the persecution3.
(κατὰ Ï„á½°Ï‚ χώÏας) τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ ΣαμαÏείας B P74 ) DC rell ‖ Ἰουδ.
κ. Σαμ. D*.
The single article before the pair of nouns in B03 has the effect of pre-
senting them as a unit, and a unit that is familiar or expected4. Indeed,
the narrator’s reference to Judaea and Samaria picks up the mention of
the regions from 1:8 where Jesus gives the apostles his command to wit-
ness in ‘Ierousalem, and Judaea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth’.
There, in both B03 and D05, a single article is used for the two names
(πάσῃ τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ καὶ ΣαμαÏείᾳ); but B03 furthermore identifies the
pair as a block by marking it off from the previous name, Ierousalem,
with the repetition of the preposition á¼Î½ (á¼Î½ τε ἸεÏουσαλὴμ καὶ á¼Î½ πάσῃ
τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ καὶ ΣαμαÏείᾳ). The effect in the B03 text is that Jesus’ com-
3
On the force of the different connectives, see J. Read-Heimerdinger, The Bezan Text of
Acts. A Contribution of Discourse Analysis to Textual Criticism (JSNTSup, 236; Sheffield:
Sheffield Academic Press, 2002), pp. 204-206; on asyndeton, pp. 246-48.
4
J. Heimerdinger and S.H. Levinsohn, ‘The Use of the Definite Article before Names of
People in the Greek Text of Acts with Particular Reference to Codex Bezae’, FN 5 (1992),
pp. 15-44 (29).
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