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).
128 Josep Rius-Camps and Jenny Read-Heimerdinger
particle τε joins the two imperfs. ὑπέστÏεφον ... εá½Î·Î³Î³ÎµÎ»á½·Î¶Î¿Î½Ï„ο). D05, on
the other hand, treats this information as parenthetical, making a point
of underlining the positive attitude of Peter and John.
8:26 ἀνάστηθι καὶ ποÏεύου B P74 ) rell … ἀνάστηθι καὶ ποÏεύθητι C 181.
257. 2401 pc ‖ ἀναστὰς ποÏεύθητι D P50, lac. d.
The expressions of B03 and D05 are practically equivalent, with the
emphasis in the former on the start of the movement (aor. followed by
pres. imper.) and in the latter on the act of going and the urgency of it
(aor. part. followed by aor. imper.). The pattern of D05 is echoed in the
fulfilment of the command, v. 27. Though ποÏεύθητι may be rare, it is
found again in the order of Jesus to Ananias29.
8:27 βασιλίσσης (Αἰθιόπων) B P50 ) A C Ds.m. E 81. 88. 1175 pc … τῆς βασ.
L H P Ψ 049. 056. 1. 33. 1739 M … βασ. τινός D* (t), lac. d.
The tone of B03 is, as often, purely narrative. Candace is the queen of
the Ethiopians. D05, with Luke’s typical marker of representativity, τις,
introduces her as a representative of foreigners far-removed from Israel.
γάζης αá½Ï„ῆς B P74 ) DB rell ‖ γα. αá½Ï„οῦ D*, lac. d.
Delebecque comments: ‘par négligence, le copiste de D écrit αá½Ï„οῦ
pour αá½Ï„ῆς’30. This would be undoubtedly true were it not that the word
γάζης could have a symbolic meaning by virtue of its assimilation with
the name of the town, Γάζαν(v. 26). The sense suggested is that the ‘trea-
sure’ that the eunuch is in charge of is in some way his own.
ὃς á¼Î»Î·Î»á½»Î¸ÎµÎ¹ B P50 )c C2 DB E H P (Ψ) 049. 056. 1. (33). 1739 M (it) ‖
á¼Î»Î·Î»á½»Î¸ÎµÎ¹ D* P74vid )* A C* 915. 1505 a p vg syp co, lac. d; Oecum.
With the relative pronoun, B03 minimizes the force of the verb, by giv-
ing it a subordinate role: καὶ ἰδοὺ ... ὃς á¼Î»Î·Î»á½»Î¸ÎµÎ¹. In contrast, D05 gives
it its full force by allowing it to stand without a connective at the head of
long sentence describing the eunuch’s return from Ierousalem. Thus the
pluperfect tense of the verb stands out as significant for the narrative (the
journey to Jerusalem is consigned to the past), rather than being a simple
descriptive element.
εἰς ἸεÏουσαλήμ B P74 ) rell … á¼Î½ ἸεÏ. DB L 1175 ‖ ἸεÏ. D*, lac. d.
D05 considers Ierousalem to be the object of worship. This synecdo-
che, if intentional, is an ironic comment on the status of Ierousalem as
29
Zerwick-Grosvenor, Analysis, Acts 9:11, p. 379.
30
Les deux Actes, p. 64.
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