Stephen W. Frary, «Who Was Manifested In The Flesh? A Consideration Of Internal Evidence In Support Of A Variant In 1 Tim 3:16A», Vol. 16 (2003) 3-18
1 Tim 3:16 contains a textual variant in the initial line of what is
considered to be a hymn fragment which is difficult if not impossible to
resolve based on external evidence. This verse thus provides an interesting
test case by which we might examine the differing and often contradictory
ways that the leading schools of textual criticism use the agreed canons
of their trade to arrive at the original reading from the internal evidence.
This paper outlines the difficulties in the external evidence, and considers
how answers to three key questions about the internal readings of the text
result in contradictory findings. The author concludes that thoroughgoing
eclecticism (consideration of internal evidence alone) cannot determine the
original text and thus only a reexamination of external evidence or the likely
transmissional history can resolve the question.
14 Stephen W. Frary
linguistic differences setting the hymn off from its context (confirming
that matching the author’s style is not as important in resolving variants
as is being consistent with the genre) and relative, i.e., pronominal style.
The following chart lists all passages identified as NT hymns by Charles
M. Mountain, W. Hulitt Gloer, Jack T. Sanders, or Janusz Frankowski
respectively. (See chart notes for particular work referenced.) Also listed
is the grammatical form of the first reference to Christ or God within the
hymn. (While by definition a Christ hymn should focus on the person or
work of Christ, Gloer also identifies “God hymnsâ€, which extol God the
Father, as another hymn type showing similar characteristics.)
Hymns in the New Testament and their Subjects
Verse39 CMM40 WHG41 JTS42 JF43 Christological / Antecedent
Theological Subject
Jn 1:1 X X X ὠλόγος NA
Jn 1:3-5 X αá½Ï„οῦ ὠλόγος
X X
Jn 1:9-11 X τὸ φῶς NA
X X
Jn 1:14 X ὠλόγος NA
X
Jn 1:1644 X αá½Ï„οῦ ὠλόγος
do. αá½Ï„οῦ Ἰησοῦ ΧÏιστοῦ
Rom 11:33-36 X θεοῦ NA
Eph 1:10 X ΧÏιστῷ NA
Eph 1:20-23 X 19-22 ΧÏιστῷ NA
Eph 2:14-16 X X Αá½Ï„ὸς ΧÏιστῷ Ἰησοῦ
Eph 3:10 X θεοῦ NA
Eph 5:14 X ὠΧÏιστός NA
6) Linguistic differences from the author of the main text.
7) Content marked by an excursive nature, containing the basic elements of the Christ
event emphasizing the nature of the events.
8) Parallelism
9) Rhythm
10) Chiasmus.
11) Antithesis
12) Participial style.
13) Relative style or use of relative clause in introduction.
14) Arrangement in strophes, verses, or stanzas.
15) Highly stylized construction including parison, homoeopton, homeooteleuton, or
isocolon.
16) The presence of different passages which contain the same basic form.
Verse ranges represent the most inclusive identified by any author. Restricted verse
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ranges are noted for each passage if an author disputes the limits given for the passage.
C.M. Mountain, “The New Testament Christ-Hymnâ€, Hymn 44 (1993) 20-8.
40
Gloer, “Homologies and Hymns,†115-32.
41
J.T. Sanders, The New Testament Christological Hymns (Cambridge 1971) 9-25.
42
Frankowski, “Early Christian Hymnsâ€, 183-94.
43
The “antecedent†in John 1:16 may in fact occur after the pronoun, hence the second
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set of data.
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