Josep Rius-Camps, «The Variant Readings of the Western Text of the Acts of the Apostles (XIX) (Acts 13:13-43).», Vol. 20 (2007) 127-146
In Acts 13:13-43, Paul and Barnabas are seen continuing their missionary activity, notably in Antioch of Pisidia where Luke describes their visit to the synagogue. He recreates in some detail Paul’s first speech, which is noteworthy for the way in which he presents Jesus as the Messiah first and foremost for Israel, a perspective with which Luke is at odds in Codex Bezae. Paul’s overriding concern for his own people, the Jews, to accept his message is strongly in evidence. However, their negative reaction when he extends the message of Jesus to Gentiles causes him, together with Barnabas, to turn from the Jews to the Gentiles. In the Alexandrian text, their announcement of this fact refers to a change on a local scale within Antioch, but in the Bezan text they make a declaration that represents a radical decision and an event of momentous significance in the history of Israel: in view of the Jews’ hostility to the message of Jesus, they will no longer have privileged possession of the Word of God, the Torah that had originally been entrusted to Israel, since it is to be henceforth shared with the Gentiles. The idea of the sharing of the heritage of Israel with the Gentiles is one that will provoke opposition to Paul wherever he preaches to the Jews in future locations, and a theme that Luke will develop over the subsequent chapters.
140 Josep Rius-Camps and Jenny Read-Heimerdinger
13:27 (οἱ ἄÏχοντεϛ) αá½Ï„ῶν B P45.74 ) DF rell ‖ ΑΥΤ.Σ Dp.m. (= αá½Ï„ῆϛ D*),
eius d gig sin t vg.
The first hand of D05 is that of the original scribe; the reading of the
femi-nine pronoun refers to ἸεÏουσαλήμ whose rulers were the Temple
authorities.
τοῦτον ἀγνοήσαντεϛ B P45.74 ) (-οῦντεϛ DF) rell ‖ μὴ συνιέντεϛ D*vid, non
intellegentes d sin aeth.– καὶ Ï„á½°Ï› φωνὰϛ (τῶν Ï€Ïοφητῶν) B P45.74 ) DH
rell ‖ Ï„á½°Ï› γÏαφάϛ D*, scripturas d E sin syp.– καὶ (κÏίναντεϛ) D, et d ‖
om. B P45.74 ) rell.
B03 accounts for the condemnation of Jesus by the Jews of Ierousalem
on the grounds that they did not know or recognize (the verb ἀγνοέω
has a range of meanings) τοῦτον, which should probably be taken to
mean Jesus (v. 23, and the subject of á¼”Ïχομαι, v. 25) since he is also the
implied object of the following participle κÏίναντεϛ; it is not impossible
to take it as ‘the message’, ὠλόγοϛ, of the previous sentence. τὰϛ φωνὰϛ
τῶν Ï€Ïοφητῶν is apparently also the object of ἀγνοήσαντεϛ, with the
sense now of ‘not understand’ (cf. Lk. 9:45). On the basis of these two
failings, the Jews fulfilled the utterances of the Prophets in their act of
judging him. The sentence construction is far from easy because of the
apparently double object of ἀγνοήσαντεϛ, as well as the distant objects
of both κÏίναντεϛ and á¼Ï€Î»á½µÏωσαν.
D05 does not present any grounds of ignorance for the rulers of Je-
rusalem, either of Jesus or the Prophets. Instead, the focus is all on the
fulfilment of the prophetic writings: they are said to have fulfilled them
(which had to happen, cf. Peter, 2:23) without understanding them, and
this led them in turn to carry out an act of judgement. καί before the
final participle κÏίναντεϛ is construed as conjoining it to the participle
μὴ συνιέντεϛ in a relation of cause and effect.
13:28 (εὑÏόντεϛ) á¼Î½ αá½Ï„á¿· D, in eo d 614. 1611. 2412 lat syh** co ‖ om. B
P45.74 ) rell.– á¾Ï„ήσαντο (ᾔτησαν τὸν )* C*) Πιλᾶτον ἀναιÏηθῆναι αá½Ï„όν
B P45.74 )2 C2 (DF) rell ‖ κÏίναντεϛ αá½Ï„ὸν παÏέδωκαν Πιλάτῳ ἵνα εἰϛ
ἀναίÏεσιν D*, iudicantes autem eum tradiderunt Pilato ut interficeretur
d 181. 1838.
The B03 version of events is considerably toned down compared to
the D05 account: the leaders ask Pilate to execute Jesus even though they
can find no justification for it. D05 insists on the fact that the Jewish
leaders judged Jesus themselves and then handed him over to Pilate in
order for the sentence to be carried out. The presence of ἵνα without a
verb following has been explained by Delebecque (Les deux Actes, p. 87)
as due to the distraction of a scribe who wrote ἵνα in anticipation of a
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