Josep Rius-Camps - Jenny Read-Heimerdinger, «The Variant Readings of the Western Text of the Acts of the Apostles (XXIII) (Acts 16:1–40)», Vol. 24 (2011) 135-164
In Acts 16, Paul sets out again on his missionary journey but without Barnabas, Instead he is accompanied by Silas and Timothy, and in part by a group of companions referred to by Luke in the 1st person. His itinerary follows the leading given by successive divine interventions designed to move him westwards, towards Rome. Most of the action takes place in Philippi, his first stopping place after leaving Asia where he had worked previously. On his arrival there, Paul first seeks out the Jewish community. However, a conflictual encounter with local people leads to his imprisonment, when the jailor provides him with the opportunity to speak about the gospel to Gentiles. Paul’s failure to make the most of this opportunity occasions implicit ciriticism from the narrator of Codex Bezae.
The Variant Readings of the Western Text of the Acts of the Apostles 141
[c'] 9 And in a vision in the night the- 9 And a vision in the night appea-
re appeared to Paul like a man, a red to Paul: a certain Macedonian
certain Macedonian, standing befo- man was standing and beseeching
re his face, beseeching and saying, him and saying, ‘Cross over into
‘Cross over into Macedonia and Macedonia and help us’.
help us’.
[b'] 10a So when he got up he related to 10a When he saw the vision,
us the vision;
[a'] 10b and we understood that the 10b straightaway we sought to go
Lord had called us to evangelize the out to Macedonia, inferring that
people in Macedonia. God had called us to evangelize
them.
Critical Apparatus
16:5 (ἐστερεοῦντο) τῇ πίστει B P74 אrell || om. D d; Ephr.
B03 qualifies the manner in which the churches were strengthened,
namely in faith; D05 leaves the manner undefined and thus open to a
more general interpretation.
16:6 μηδενὶ (λαλῆσαι) D, nemini d gig; Ephr Spec || om. B P74 אrell.—
(τὸν λόγον) τοῦ θεοῦ D, dei d gig vgDΘO syp bo aeth; Ephr Spec || om. B
P74 אrell.
D05 has two details that are not included in B03: first, the refusal to
allow Paul and his companions to speak in Asia is more categorical since
they could speak to no one; and secondly, the contents of their speaking
is defined as the ‘word of God’.
16:7 ἐλθόντες (δέ) B P74 אrell || γενόμενοι (-ην D*) DH, cum venissent d.
The verb of B03, ἔρχομαι, expresses movement, whereas that of D05,
γίνομαι, expresses the state of being in a place. The original hand of D05
reads an erroneous feminine accusative.
ἐπείραζον B P74 אrell || ἤθελαν D, volebant d syp aeth.— εἰς τὴν Βιθυνίαν
B P74 אrell || εἰς Β. D 2298.— πορευθῆναι B אA E Ψ 69. 81. 1175. 1837.
2344 || -εσθαι D, abire d P74 C H L P 049. 056. 1739 M.
According to B03, Paul and his group would have actually attempted to
go to Bithynia, whereas according to D05 it said simply that they wished
to do so, where the form ἤθελαν represents the imperfect (ἤθελον) of the
verb θέλω (Scrivener, p. xlvi; Moulton and Howard, Grammar, p. 194).
The difference in the tense of the infinitive (aor. B03, pres. D05) arises
from the difference in the choice of the main verb preceding it, with B03
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