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.
160 Josep Rius-Camps and Jenny Read-Heimerdinger
16:33 ἔλουσεν (ἀπὸ τῶν πληγῶν) B P45.74 אDB rell || ἔλυσεν D*, solvit d.
It looks as if D05* uses λύω through phonetic confusion with λούω.
Given the noun πληγή, meaning ‘a blow’, and by extension ‘the wound
resulting from a blow’ (cf. Bailly, πληγή, I, 1; III), the verb of B03 makes
more sense. A figurative meaning is possible, however, given the underly-
ing symbolism of the account.
(καὶ) ἐβαπτίσθη αὐτός B P74 אrell || αὐ. ἐβ. D, ipse baptizatus est d.—
(καὶ) οἱ αὐτοῦ ἅπαντες B א614. 1243. 1505. 2147. 2412. 2495 pc || οἱ αὐ.
πάντες D, et eius omnes d P74 C E H L P Ψ 049. 056. 1739 M | ὁ οἶκος
αὐ. ὅλος P45 vgcl boms | οἱ οἴκιοι αὐ. πάντες A.
The position of the emphatic pronoun αὐτός before the verb sets the
baptism of the jailor in contrast with his action of treating the wounds of
Paul and Silas. Its position in B03 conjoins it directly with the members
of the household, οἱ αὐτοῦ ἅπαντες.
The pronoun ἅπαντες in B03 insists on the entirety; it arises seven
times in B03 as a vl for πᾶς in D05 (and twice in D05 against πᾶς in B03;
Read-Heimerdinger, ‘The Distinction between ἅπας and πᾶς in the Work
of Luke’, in Centre for the Dialogue between Science and Religion (ed.),
Biblical Studies (Craiova: Universitaria), pp. 147–158).
16:34 καὶ (ἀναγαγών τε) Dp.m., et d || om. B P74 אDs.m. rell.
καί ... τε as read by D05 is highly unusual, but it is not unknown in
classical Greek (examples from Thucydides are cited by Dennison, Greek
Particles, pp. 535–556). τε serves as the connective, while καί is adverbial,
here emphatic because the action of the jailor is exceptional (as high-
lighted again by a second adverbial καί in the following line, see below).
(εἰς τὸν οἶκον) αὐτοῦ D P74 אA E H L 049. 056. 614 M || om. B P45 C P
Ψ 81. 88. 547. 614. 945. 1241. 1270. 1505. 1646. 1739. 1891. 2412. 2495.
The possessive adjective in D05 is not necessary for the sense, but it
establishes a) the contrast between αὐτούς (Paul and Silas) and αὐτοῦ
(the jailor); b) the parallel with Lydia (cf. 16:15, εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου).
καὶ (παρέθηκεν) Dp.m., et d || om. B P74 אDs.m. rell.
The pattern of καί between a participle and a finite verb is a charac-
teristic of D05, which serves to underline the second action because it sig-
nals a moment of exceptional dramatic importance (Read-Heimerdinger,
The Bezan Text, pp. 208–210).
(καὶ) ἠγαλλιάσατο B P74 אA C E H L Ψ 049. 33. 81. 88. 104. 614. 945.
1175. 1241. 1270. 1505. 1611. 1646. 1739. 1891. 2147. 2344. 2412. 2495 ||
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