103 Son and Chosen. A Text-critical Study of John 1,34 I will first deal with readings (5) through (8), as they are minor vari- ants. Then I will proceed to study readings (1) through (4). The Variant Reading (5) The reading χριστ ς υ ς το θεο is a singular reading supported only by a minuscule 2680. This reading is found elsewhere in the Gospels, in Matt 16,16; 26,63; John 11,27; 20,31. It is also found as one of the variant reading in John 6,69 (with or without το ζ ντος) supported by C3 ∆ Θ ψ 0250 f1,13 33 565 1010 Byz it mss vg syr copbo-mss arm ethmss geo mss Tertullian. It fits the style of the Fourth Evangelist. How likely is it that this is the “original” reading? There seems to be only one way by which this reading could be “original”. It is possible only if a scribe altered χριστ ς to κλεκτ ς during the very early period of transmission, producing the reading (3), and then that reading was the basis for other readings by various second century scribal harmonisa- tions. This is highly improbable. Its presence here in John 1,34 is almost certainly a harmonisation to a confessional expression used elsewhere, which makes it a secondary variant without a good enough claim to origi- nality. Incidentally, John 6,69 demonstrates that some scribes were prone to harmonize readings within the Fourth Gospel. The phrase γιος το θεο , a unique expression in the Fourth Gospel, was changed to χριστ ς υ ς το θεο . One might also argue that χριστ ς υ ς το θεο in John 1,34 is a rewritten version of the reading (3), but this is less likely. The Variant Reading (6) The reading μονογεν ς υ ς το θεο is another singular supported by one syrpal-ms alone. Other Syriac witnesses read the equivalent of either υ ς το θεο or υ ς κλεκτ ς το θεο . The variant reading (6) is a unique expression in Scripture, but there is a close one in John 1,18. There is a variant reading μονογεν ς υ ς in John 1,18 read by A C3 K X Wsup ∆ Θ Π Ψ 063 0141 f1 f13 565 700 892 1241 Byz it vg syrc,h,pal copsa arm ethpp geo and most fathers. Some witnesses (q copsa Irlat 1/3 Ambr1/11vid) even add θεο 44. Thus, the variant reading (6) could be a harmonization to the variant reading found in John 1,18. It not only matches the texts, they also appear in the same immediate context and it is known that scribes often harmonized the text to its immediate context.45 It is possible 44 See P. McReynolds, “John 1:18 in Textual Variation and Translation”, in E.J. Epp and G.D. Fee (eds), New Testament Textual Criticism, 105-18, for a list of witnesses supporting μονογεν ς υ ς in John 1,18 – including an extensive treatment of the fathers. 45 Colwell, “Method in Evaluating Scribal Habits”, 112-14; Royse, “Scribal Tendencies in the Transmission of the Text of the New Testament”, 246.