Johannine Comma and Elijah Hixson - Revision history

Nick at 22:37, 30 September 2025

2025-09-30T22:37:40Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:37, 30 September 2025
Line 73:		Line 73:

	==4. 918 (date: probably 1573–1578)==		==4. 918 (date: probably 1573–1578)==
	:GA 918 is another manuscript with a Catholic provenance. It is one of three manuscripts (the other two are 61 and 429marg) that have a CJ in exactly the same form as Erasmus’ third edition, so Erasmus is likely the source of the CJ here. If that were not enough, Wachtel (Der byzantinische Text) places 918 in “Group 453”. It is the youngest member of that group by a couple of centuries and the only member to have the CJ, so per my remarks above, it’s beyond a reasonable doubt that the CJ is an addition derived from Erasmus. We might have expected the Complutensian Polyglot here given its Spanish Catholic provenance (see below), but there are a number of differences between Erasmus’ third edition and the Complutensian Polyglot in the CJ, and 918 matches Erasmus perfectly. Consequently, 918 is not a witness to a pre-Erasmian CJ.		:[[Minuscule 918\|GA 918]] is another manuscript with a Catholic provenance. It is one of three manuscripts (the other two are 61 and 429marg) that have a CJ in exactly the same form as Erasmus’ third edition, so Erasmus is likely the source of the CJ here. If that were not enough, Wachtel (Der byzantinische Text) places 918 in “Group 453”. It is the youngest member of that group by a couple of centuries and the only member to have the CJ, so per my remarks above, it’s beyond a reasonable doubt that the CJ is an addition derived from Erasmus. We might have expected the Complutensian Polyglot here given its Spanish Catholic provenance (see below), but there are a number of differences between Erasmus’ third edition and the Complutensian Polyglot in the CJ, and 918 matches Erasmus perfectly. Consequently, 918 is not a witness to a pre-Erasmian CJ.

	:We can say a bit more about 918. We know that the scribe is one Nicolás de la Torre (sometimes written as Νικόλαος Τουρριανός; see the reference in Ernst Gamillscheg and Dieter Harlfinger, Repertorium der griechischen Kopisten 800–1600). Nikolaos was born in Crete, but he worked for Philip II of Spain at the Library of El Escorial beginning in 1573. Nikolaos’ dated manuscripts have a range of 1562–1586, but given the ties to El Escorial (where the manuscript remains to this day), and given what we know about Nikolaos employment there and travels elsewhere, I would expect that he made the manuscript between 1573 and 1578.		:We can say a bit more about 918. We know that the scribe is one Nicolás de la Torre (sometimes written as Νικόλαος Τουρριανός; see the reference in Ernst Gamillscheg and Dieter Harlfinger, Repertorium der griechischen Kopisten 800–1600). Nikolaos was born in Crete, but he worked for Philip II of Spain at the Library of El Escorial beginning in 1573. Nikolaos’ dated manuscripts have a range of 1562–1586, but given the ties to El Escorial (where the manuscript remains to this day), and given what we know about Nikolaos employment there and travels elsewhere, I would expect that he made the manuscript between 1573 and 1578.

Nick: /* 1. GA 629 (1362–1363) */

2021-03-09T06:48:48Z

1. GA 629 (1362–1363)

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:48, 9 March 2021
Line 30:		Line 30:
	==1. GA 629 (1362–1363)==		==1. GA 629 (1362–1363)==
	[[Image:Elijah Hixson ETC Article ms. 639.jpg\|150px\|thumb\|right\|GA 629, f. 105v, images at https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Ott.gr.298]]		[[Image:Elijah Hixson ETC Article ms. 639.jpg\|150px\|thumb\|right\|GA 629, f. 105v, images at https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Ott.gr.298]]
	[[Elijah Hixson\|Elijah]] says of ms ~~635~~:		[[Elijah Hixson\|Elijah]] says of ms 629:
	:629 is dated 1362–1363 and is the earliest known Greek manuscript of the CJ. There are earlier manuscripts, than 629 but in those, the CJ is still later, so, say in the year 1400, those manuscripts themselves existed but they did not have the CJ yet, where as in the year 1400, 629 did.		:629 is dated 1362–1363 and is the earliest known Greek manuscript of the CJ. There are earlier manuscripts, than 629 but in those, the CJ is still later, so, say in the year 1400, those manuscripts themselves existed but they did not have the CJ yet, where as in the year 1400, 629 did.

Nick at 07:51, 4 June 2020

2020-06-04T07:51:55Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:51, 4 June 2020
Line 46:		Line 46:

	==2. Codex Montfortianus (GA 61)==		==2. Codex Montfortianus (GA 61)==
			[[Image:Elijah Hixson ETC Article GA 61.jpg\|150px\|thumb\|right\|Elijah Hixson ETC Article GA 61 He stated "...A 61, f. 439r, catalogue record [https://manuscripts.catalogue.tcd.ie/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=IE+TCD+MS+30 here]..."]]

	[[Elijah Hixson\|Hixson]] says:		[[Elijah Hixson\|Hixson]] says:

Line 53:		Line 55:

	:First, it has a Franciscan provenance. Even if the Franciscan Observant Francis Frowick was merely the earliest known owner of the manuscript and not its copyist, the manuscript was definitely copied by a Franciscan, probably in the window of 1495–1521 (date based on the watermarks of the paper and that Erasmus seems to have known about it by 1521). We know it is a Franciscan production because the copyist wrote “Jesus, Mary, Francis” in it, which is apparently a thing that Franciscans often did (it is on this basis that Ussher identified the manuscript as Franciscan according to Brown [p.44]).		:First, it has a Franciscan provenance. Even if the Franciscan Observant Francis Frowick was merely the earliest known owner of the manuscript and not its copyist, the manuscript was definitely copied by a Franciscan, probably in the window of 1495–1521 (date based on the watermarks of the paper and that Erasmus seems to have known about it by 1521). We know it is a Franciscan production because the copyist wrote “Jesus, Mary, Francis” in it, which is apparently a thing that Franciscans often did (it is on this basis that Ussher identified the manuscript as Franciscan according to Brown [p.44]).
			[[Image:Elijah Hixson ETC Article Jesus Mary Francis in 61, f198v.jpg\|150px\|thumb\|right\|Elijah Hixson ETC Article Jesus Mary Francis in 61, f198v..."]]

	:Also interestingly, we can tell that 61 is a copy of 326 in the Catholic Epistles. GA 326 doesn’t have the CJ, and there are a number of places where 61 diverges from the text of 326 to ‘Latinise’ the manuscript an introduce Vulgate-derived readings. Of course, that’s more what you would expect from a Western, Latin tradition making Greek manuscripts. Another piece of evidence that the 61 likely reflects a translation from Latin into Greek is that it also lacks definite articles here. I only count four differences between the CJ in 61 and the CJ in the TBT edition: three definite articles and the order of Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον, but four is still a lot for a length of text this size.		:Also interestingly, we can tell that 61 is a copy of 326 in the Catholic Epistles. GA 326 doesn’t have the CJ, and there are a number of places where 61 diverges from the text of 326 to ‘Latinise’ the manuscript an introduce Vulgate-derived readings. Of course, that’s more what you would expect from a Western, Latin tradition making Greek manuscripts. Another piece of evidence that the 61 likely reflects a translation from Latin into Greek is that it also lacks definite articles here. I only count four differences between the CJ in 61 and the CJ in the TBT edition: three definite articles and the order of Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον, but four is still a lot for a length of text this size.

Nick: /* 1. GA 629 (1362–1363) */

2020-06-04T07:44:00Z

1. GA 629 (1362–1363)

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:44, 4 June 2020
Line 38:		Line 38:
	:629 is a Latin-Greek diglot, which should raise suspicions about its witness to the CJ. After all, the contention is that the CJ was translated into Greek from Latin and that’s how it ended up in a few Greek manuscripts, and that looks exactly like what happened here. Notice above that there are no definite articles in the three heavenly witnesses, but Latin does not have definite articles like Greek, so the lack of articles here in Greek suggests that it is a translation from Latin. Also note that this manuscript is not a witness to the form of the CJ as it appears in the TR. In fact, in these 23–25 words, I count 8 differences between the CJ here and the CJ as it appears in the Trinitarian Bible Society’s textus receptus (at least according to the TBT TR on Bibleworks). They are απο του ουρανου, απο της γης, the article(3x), the order of Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον, οὗτοι in the TBT and εἰς τὸ in 629:		:629 is a Latin-Greek diglot, which should raise suspicions about its witness to the CJ. After all, the contention is that the CJ was translated into Greek from Latin and that’s how it ended up in a few Greek manuscripts, and that looks exactly like what happened here. Notice above that there are no definite articles in the three heavenly witnesses, but Latin does not have definite articles like Greek, so the lack of articles here in Greek suggests that it is a translation from Latin. Also note that this manuscript is not a witness to the form of the CJ as it appears in the TR. In fact, in these 23–25 words, I count 8 differences between the CJ here and the CJ as it appears in the Trinitarian Bible Society’s textus receptus (at least according to the TBT TR on Bibleworks). They are απο του ουρανου, απο της γης, the article(3x), the order of Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον, οὗτοι in the TBT and εἰς τὸ in 629:

	TBT:		:TBT:
	:ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ὁ πατήρ ὁ λόγος καὶ τὸ Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα καὶ οὗτοι οἱ τρεῖς ἕν εἰσι καὶ τρεῖς εἰσὶν οἱ μαρτυροῦντες ἐν τῇ γῇ		:ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ὁ πατήρ ὁ λόγος καὶ τὸ Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα καὶ οὗτοι οἱ τρεῖς ἕν εἰσι καὶ τρεῖς εἰσὶν οἱ μαρτυροῦντες ἐν τῇ γῇ

Nick: /* Conclusions */

2020-06-04T07:43:39Z

Conclusions

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:43, 4 June 2020
Line 122:		Line 122:

	:A few of the catalogues and sources I used (in case anyone wants to double-check my facts):		:A few of the catalogues and sources I used (in case anyone wants to double-check my facts):
	Aland, Kurt, and Barbara Aland, eds. Text und Textwert der griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments: IV. Die synoptischen Evangelien: 2. Das Markusevangelium: 1:2. Resultate der Kollation und Hauptliste. ANTF 27. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1998.
			:Aland, Kurt, and Barbara Aland, eds. Text und Textwert der griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments: IV. Die synoptischen Evangelien: 2. Das Markusevangelium: 1:2. Resultate der Kollation und Hauptliste. ANTF 27. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1998.

	:Brown, A. J. “Codex 61 (Montfortianus) and 1 John 5,7–8.” In Novum Testamentum Ab Erasmo Recognitum, IV, Epistolae Apostolicae (Secunda Pars) et Apocalypsis Iohannis, edited by A. J. Brown, 30–111. ASD, VI–4. Leiden: Brill, 2012.		:Brown, A. J. “Codex 61 (Montfortianus) and 1 John 5,7–8.” In Novum Testamentum Ab Erasmo Recognitum, IV, Epistolae Apostolicae (Secunda Pars) et Apocalypsis Iohannis, edited by A. J. Brown, 30–111. ASD, VI–4. Leiden: Brill, 2012.

Nick: /* Conclusions */

2020-06-04T07:42:57Z

Conclusions

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:42, 4 June 2020
Line 115:		Line 115:

	==Conclusions==		==Conclusions==
			:I wanted to give a survey of the manuscripts here that goes slightly beyond merely mentioning them. If you’re just dealing with numbers and vague generalities, it’s really easy to lose sight of the significance of what each manuscript is. To someone who doesn’t know how to evaluate evidence, 10 manuscripts of the CJ might look like it’s even more or better/stronger evidence than places where modern editions go with a reading that has fewer manuscripts in support, but when you are so focused on a big idea that you neglect to look at the evidence you are claiming to support your idea at specific points, you don’t see things like what I have pointed out here. More than that, a lot of people don’t want to just “trust the scholars”. That’s another discussion, but I wanted to lift the curtain a bit and show why the scholars can arrive at some of the conclusions we do. I’ve tried to walk through in a few cases why I think these are the reasonable observations about the manuscripts and from those, the reasonable conclusions about where the data leads (note: yes, data is a Latin neuter plural, but let’s not forget that in both Greek and Latin, a neuter plural subject can take a singular verb).

			:Maybe I have been reading too much from textus receptus advocates, but it struck me that some of the arguments I hear from them actually work against the textus receptus position once you take the time to step away from the grand claims and look at how the specifics about manuscripts fit in with those grand claims. I often hear from people who want to do away with modern textual criticism that the textus receptus is based on manuscripts with known provenance (and I think they mean “approved texts used by the Church”) whereas the Oxyrhynchus papyri were discarded as rubbish, etc. (Yet I don’t think I’ve ever seen any textus receptus advocate making this claim acknowledge the lectionary markings in Codex Bezae, which are as sure indicators of church use as anything.) In my experience, some of the manuscripts whose provenance we do know are the ones that should be most quickly rejected by people whose position on the text is derived from a particular reading of the Westminster Confession or London Baptist Confession. This is why I made all the references to Roman Catholic provenance in this post. If Protestants (specifically, those who actively align themselves with the Protestant Reformation and the Puritans and claim to have the correct view of the text based on confessional statements made in the 1600s) are citing the Greek manuscript evidence for the CJ, they are appealing to manuscripts produced by, owned by, and used by those whom their own theological predecessors rigorously opposed.

			:To bring the ‘Evangelical’ back into Evangelical Textual Criticism, one of the most liberating things to me is knowing that Jesus is powerful enough to save me—to grant forgiveness of my sins and reconcile me to God, and God’s promises to preserve his word are so strong that I am not powerful enough to screw it up. As a result, I don’t have to scramble to explain away things that are difficult for my position in order to try to preserve the integrity of my position, because that would be exhausting. When it comes to manuscripts, I can let the chips fall where they may because Jesus is king (and they’re his chips, after all!). As my dad always says, “The truth don’t hurt unless it ought to”. I can take rest and comfort in the knowledge that I must do my best with what I’ve been given, and if I make a mistake, well I’ve been wrong before (just ask anyone who was at my 2016 SBL paper! [EDIT: or ask the friend who found a typo in this very sentence before I updated the post just now to fix it]), and I’m sure I’ll be wrong again, but no matter what, Christ is enough, and I am not powerful enough to thwart his purposes.

			:A few of the catalogues and sources I used (in case anyone wants to double-check my facts):
			Aland, Kurt, and Barbara Aland, eds. Text und Textwert der griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments: IV. Die synoptischen Evangelien: 2. Das Markusevangelium: 1:2. Resultate der Kollation und Hauptliste. ANTF 27. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1998.

			:Brown, A. J. “Codex 61 (Montfortianus) and 1 John 5,7–8.” In Novum Testamentum Ab Erasmo Recognitum, IV, Epistolae Apostolicae (Secunda Pars) et Apocalypsis Iohannis, edited by A. J. Brown, 30–111. ASD, VI–4. Leiden: Brill, 2012.

			:Coxe, Henry. Catalogi codicum manuscriptorum bibliothecae Bodleianae: Pars tertia. Oxford: Typographeo Academico, 1854.

			:Gamillscheg, Ernst, and Dieter Harlfinger. Repertorium der griechischen Kopisten 800–1600: 1. Handschriften aus Bibliotheken Grossbritanniens: A. Verzeichnis der Kopisten. Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für Byzantinistik, III/1 A. Vienna: Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1981.

			:Litzica, Constantin. Biblioteca Academiei Románe: Catalogul Manuscriptelor Greceşti. Bucharest: Instit. de Arte Grafice “Carol Göbl” S-r I. St. Rasidescu, 1909.

			:McDonald, Grantley. Biblical Criticism in Early Modern Europe: Erasmus, the Johannine Comma and Trinitarian Debate. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016.

			:Mioni, Elpidius. Catalogus codicum graecorum Bibliothecae Nationalis Neapolitanae: Volumen 1, 1. Rome: Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato, 1992.

			:Pierleoni, Ginus. Catalogus codicum graecorum Bibliothecae Nationalis Neapolitanae: Volumen 1. Rome: Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato, 1962.

			:Wachtel, Klaus. Der byzantinische Text der katholischen Briefe: eine Untersuchung zur Entstehung der Koine des Neuen Testaments. ANTF 24. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1995.

	==External links==		==External links==

Nick: /* 9. 88marg */

2020-06-04T07:41:56Z

9. 88marg

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:41, 4 June 2020
Line 110:		Line 110:
	==9. 88marg==		==9. 88marg==
	:GA 88 itself is 12th century, but the hand of the note is later. We know that the manuscript came to the Biblioteca Nazionale in Naples (where it is Ms. II. A. 7) from the “Bibliotheca Farnesianae,” which would be the collection of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (not to be confused with another A. Farnes relevant to manuscript studies), would would become Pope Paul III (note: see Counter-Reformation). There is a Latin note on f. 2r of the manuscript that notes that the CJ is omitted and uses chapter/verse numbers, though it does not prove when the CJ was added. Still, it would not surprise me if the addition post-dates printed editions. The only ligature is κ(αί), and the letters are otherwise cleanly separated. I might expect more ligatures from a native Greek hand of a pre-printing press era. Also, the α in the marginal addition looks to me far more like a Latin a than a Greek α, but I could be wrong on that. More than that, there are interestingly no nomina sacra used, which is highly unusual except in a printed book. Though I can’t say much about its 12th-century provenance, 88 does have strong ties to Counter-Reformation Roman Catholicism by the time the CJ seems to have been written in it.		:GA 88 itself is 12th century, but the hand of the note is later. We know that the manuscript came to the Biblioteca Nazionale in Naples (where it is Ms. II. A. 7) from the “Bibliotheca Farnesianae,” which would be the collection of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (not to be confused with another A. Farnes relevant to manuscript studies), would would become Pope Paul III (note: see Counter-Reformation). There is a Latin note on f. 2r of the manuscript that notes that the CJ is omitted and uses chapter/verse numbers, though it does not prove when the CJ was added. Still, it would not surprise me if the addition post-dates printed editions. The only ligature is κ(αί), and the letters are otherwise cleanly separated. I might expect more ligatures from a native Greek hand of a pre-printing press era. Also, the α in the marginal addition looks to me far more like a Latin a than a Greek α, but I could be wrong on that. More than that, there are interestingly no nomina sacra used, which is highly unusual except in a printed book. Though I can’t say much about its 12th-century provenance, 88 does have strong ties to Counter-Reformation Roman Catholicism by the time the CJ seems to have been written in it.

			==10. GA 636==
			:GA 636 is a 15th-century manuscript, but again the CJ looks like a later hand. It lacks the definite articles, so it could be an independent translation of the Latin. It’s textually similar to Erasmus’ third edition except that it lacks οὗτοι, which Erasmus has. We know that the manuscript came to the Biblioteca Nazionale in Naples (where it is Ms. II. A. 9) from an Augustinian Monastery associated with what is today the Church of San Giovanni a Carbonara in Naples. That seems to give the manuscript itself a 15th-century Roman Catholic provenance, though it is unclear when the marginal addition was written. It does have numerous Greek and Latin notes, both in the margins and interlinearly, and an interesting study might be for someone to go through 636 and try to identify the source of these notes.

	==Conclusions==		==Conclusions==

Nick: /* 9. 88marg */

2020-06-04T07:40:33Z

9. 88marg

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:40, 4 June 2020
Line 109:		Line 109:

	==9. 88marg==		==9. 88marg==
			:GA 88 itself is 12th century, but the hand of the note is later. We know that the manuscript came to the Biblioteca Nazionale in Naples (where it is Ms. II. A. 7) from the “Bibliotheca Farnesianae,” which would be the collection of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (not to be confused with another A. Farnes relevant to manuscript studies), would would become Pope Paul III (note: see Counter-Reformation). There is a Latin note on f. 2r of the manuscript that notes that the CJ is omitted and uses chapter/verse numbers, though it does not prove when the CJ was added. Still, it would not surprise me if the addition post-dates printed editions. The only ligature is κ(αί), and the letters are otherwise cleanly separated. I might expect more ligatures from a native Greek hand of a pre-printing press era. Also, the α in the marginal addition looks to me far more like a Latin a than a Greek α, but I could be wrong on that. More than that, there are interestingly no nomina sacra used, which is highly unusual except in a printed book. Though I can’t say much about its 12th-century provenance, 88 does have strong ties to Counter-Reformation Roman Catholicism by the time the CJ seems to have been written in it.

	==Conclusions==		==Conclusions==

Nick: /* 8. 221marg (after c. 1850?) */

2020-06-04T07:39:47Z

8. 221marg (after c. 1850?)

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:39, 4 June 2020
Line 102:		Line 102:

	==8. 221marg (after c. 1850?)==		==8. 221marg (after c. 1850?)==
	GA 221 was also a complete surprise when I looked into it. It is the oldest manuscript (10th century) with the youngest CJ. It’s in Oxford, and Klaus Wachtel (Der byzantinische Text, 319–320) observed that Henry Coxe’s catalogue of manuscripts printed in 1854 explicitly states that this manuscript lacks 1 John 5:7.		:GA 221 was also a complete surprise when I looked into it. It is the oldest manuscript (10th century) with the youngest CJ. It’s in Oxford, and Klaus Wachtel (Der byzantinische Text, 319–320) observed that Henry Coxe’s catalogue of manuscripts printed in 1854 explicitly states that this manuscript lacks 1 John 5:7.

			:The implication of the note that 221 explicitly lacks the CJ is clear: the CJ looks to be added after that catalogue was prepared. The one published in 1854. I mean, for all I know Charles Spurgeon was alive in time to see this manuscript before somebody added in the CJ.
			:———
			:There are two more manuscripts with the CJ in the margins, but I couldn’t place the dates accurately other than that the CJ is added in later hands.

	==9. 88marg==		==9. 88marg==

Nick: /* 8. 221marg (after c. 1850?) */

2020-06-04T07:39:04Z

8. 221marg (after c. 1850?)

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:39, 4 June 2020
Line 102:		Line 102:

	==8. 221marg (after c. 1850?)==		==8. 221marg (after c. 1850?)==
			GA 221 was also a complete surprise when I looked into it. It is the oldest manuscript (10th century) with the youngest CJ. It’s in Oxford, and Klaus Wachtel (Der byzantinische Text, 319–320) observed that Henry Coxe’s catalogue of manuscripts printed in 1854 explicitly states that this manuscript lacks 1 John 5:7.

	==9. 88marg==		==9. 88marg==