Josep Rius-Camps - Jenny Read-Heimerdinger, «The Variant Readings of the Western Text of the Acts of the Apostles (XXIV) (Acts 17:1–18:23).», Vol. 25 (2012) 119-160
In these final sequences of Part III of the Book of Acts, the second phase of Paul’s missionary journey continues through Macedonia before moving on to Greece where he spends a brief time in Athens before a more extended stay in Corinth. Despite the divine intervention in Philippi in the previous sequence, which focused attention on the evangelisation of the Gentiles, Paul fails to follow this up but reverts to his earlier practice of devoting his energy first and foremost to the Jews in the synagogues. In Athens, his wellknown attempt to speak to the Gentiles meets with little favour; it is only in Corinth, after fierce opposition from the synagogue, that Luke records more successful efforts to include the Gentiles as well as the Jews in his preaching activity.
154 Josep Rius-Camps and Jenny Read-Heimerdinger
d P74 a A E H L P Ψ 049. 056. 33. 1739c M (h).— τῷ Παύλῳ B P74 a rell
|| συλλαλήσαντεϛ μεθ’ ἑαυτῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Παύλον D, conloquentes inter
semet ipsos de Paulo d h.— (καὶ) ἐπιθέντεϛ τὰϛ χεῖραϛ D, (imponentes
manum d h syh** sa) || om. B P74 a rell.
τε read by D05 is assumed to have arisen through phonetic confusion
with δέ, since the fronting of Gallio clearly signals a new episode, which
Luke always connects with δέ to the previous one (Levinsohn, Discourse
Features, pp. 17–18).
The place of ὁμοθυμαδόν before the subject in D05 makes it clear that
it refers to the first verb and not the second (omitted by B03).
From a grammatical point of view, D05 has two examples in this verse
of a series of two verbs that have the same object, specified only once
despite the two verbs requiring different cases. Thus, D05 spells out four
actions on the part of the Jews: they launched a united attack on Paul
after conferring among themselves, and having seized him they took him
off to the court. B03 omits the second and the third of these actions. The
hostility of the Jews is accentuated in D05 compared with B03; a similar
comparison could be made with Paul’s letters where the denunciation of
the Jewish opposition to himself is even stronger than in D05 of Acts. Such
observations tell against the author of D05 writing from a Gentile point of
view or adding his anti-Judaic sentiments as a later revision of the original.
(ἤγαγον) ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα B D, ad tribunal d P74 rell || παρὰ τ. β. a.
With παρά in a01, βῆμα would be the platform in the Agora from
where justice was administered and to which Paul was taken. In the other
MSS that read the preposition ἐπί, βῆμα refers to the court overall, by
way of metonymy.
18:13 καταβοῶντεϛ καὶ (λέγοντεϛ) D, clamantes et d h || om. B P74 a
rell.—ἀναπείθει οὗτοϛ B P74 a A 33. 927. 945. 1270. 1739. 1837. 1891.
2344 || οὗτοϛ ἀν. D E (H) L P Ψ 049. 056. 614 M e gig vg.
καταβοάω in D05 is a New Testament hapax; the insistence on the
noise made by those opposing Paul is typical of Codex Bezae (cf. 16:22
D05.39b D05; 17:6).
οὗτοϛ in pre-verb position in D05 brings Paul into an emphatic posi-
tion and also aligns him more closely with the charge that he is acting
παρὰ τὸν νόμον.
18:14 ἄνδρεϛ (Ἰουδαῖοι) D, viri d h vg || om. B P74 a rell.
The form of address in D05 is found in other speeches in Acts (1:11;
2:14.22; 3:12; 5:35; 13:16.26; 15:7.13; 17:22). The presence of ἄνδρεϛ here
tempers any annoyance in Gallio’s response (a similar reading is found