TEXT
OF
THE
NEW
TESTAMENT
examined.
But
it
is
the
less
necessary,
because
by
far
the
greater
number
of
the
minuscule
MSS
contain
the
same
type
of
text,
that,
namely,
of
the
TR.
The
tact
that
at
least
95
out
of
every
100
minuscule
MSS
contain
substantially
the
TR
may
be
taken
as
universally
admitted,
whatever
may
be
the
inferences
drawn
from
it;
and
it
is
only
necessary
to
indicate
some
of
those
which
depart
most
notably
from
this
normal
standard,
and
ally
themselves
more
or
less
with
the
early
uncials.
Thus
in
the
Gospels
33
*
is
akin
to
the
text
found
in
BN;
so,
to
a
lesser
extent,
is
the
group
of
the
four
related
MSS,
1-118-131-209;
also
59,
157,
431,
496,
892;
while
the
tj;pe
of
text
found
in
D
and
in
the
Old
Latin
and
Old
Syriao
versions
has
left
its
mark
notably
upon
473,
and
more
or
leas
on
235,
431,
700,
1071,
and
on
a
group
of
related
MSS
(known
from
the
scholar
who
first
called
attention
to
it
as
the
'
Ferrar
group')
consisting
of
13,
69,
124,
346,
348,
543,
713,
788.
826,
828.
In
Acts
and
Cath.
Epp.,
61
and
31
are
the
moat
notable
adherents
of
B,
while
31,
with
137,
180,
216,
224,
also
shows
kinship
with
D.
A
group
consisting
of
Act.
15,
40,
83,
205,
317,
328,
329,
393
seems
to
represent
an
edition
of
Acts
prepared
by
Euthalius
of
Sulca
in
the
4th
century.
In
Paul,
the
moat
noteworthy
minuscules
are
1,
17,
31,
47,
108,
238;
the
EuthaUan
edition
is
found
in
81,
83,
93,
379,
381.
In
Apoo.
(where
uncials
are
scarce
and
minuscules
consequently
more
important)
the
beat
are
1,
7,
28,
35,
38,
68,
79,
87,
95,
96.
No
doubt,
as
the
minuscule
MSS
are
more
fully
examined,
more
will
be
dis-covered
which
posaeaa
individual
characteristics
of
interest;
but
with
the
large
number
of
uncials
of
earUer
date
on
the
one
hand,
and
the
general
uniformity
of
the
great
mass
of
minuscules
on
the
other,
it
ia
not
very
likely
that
much
important
textual
material
will
be
derived
from
them.
It
may
be
possible
to
establish
relationships
between
certain
MSS
(as
in
the
case
of
the
Ferrar
group),
and
to
connect
them
with
certain
localities
(as
the
Ferrar
group
appeara
to
be
connected
with
Calabria):
but
not
much
progress
has
yet
been
made
in
this
direction.
9.
One
other
class
of
MSS
remains
to
be
mentioned,
namely
the
Service-
Books
or
Lectionaries,
in
which
the
Gospels,
Acts,
and
Epistles
were
divided
into
portions
to
be
read
on
each
day
throughout
the
ecclesiastical
year.
These
books
fall
into
two
classes,
according
as
they
contain
the
lessons
from
the
Gospels
(Bvangelia
or
Evangdiaria
t)
or
from
the
Acts
and
Epistles
{Prax-apostoli).
Nearly
1100
MSS
of
the
former
class
are
known,
and
300
of
the
latter.
Over
100
of
these
are
uncials,
but
with
hardly
an
exception
they
are
of
rela-tively
late
date
(9th
cent,
or
later),
the
uncial
style
being
retained
later
for
these
liturgical
books
than
elsewhere.
Of
the
value
of
their
evidence
little
can
definitely
be
said,
since
few
of
them
have
been
properly
examined.
A
priori
they
might
be
of
considerable
value,
since
service-books
are
likely
to
be
conservative,
and
also
to
preserve
local
peculiarities.
They
might
be
expected,
therefore,
to
be
of
great
value
in
localizing
the
various
types
of
text
which
appear
in
the
MSS,
and
in
preserving
early
variants
from
a
period
before
the
establishment
of
a
general
uniformity.
As
a
matter
of
fact,
however,
these
claims
have
not
yet
been
sub-stantiated
by
any
actual
examination
of
lectionaries,
and
it
may
be
questioned
whether,
as
a
whole,
any
of
them
goes
back
to
a
period
before
the
extinction
of
the
local
and
divergent
texts.
The
standard
lists
of
NT
MSS
are
those
of
C.
R.
Gregory
(Prolegmnerui
to
Tischendorf'
s
NT
Grasce,
ed.
8,
1894,
re-producedin
(5erman,with
additions,
in
iiia
Textkritik
des
NT,
1900),
and
F.'H.
A.
Scrivener
(Introduction
to
the
Criticism
of
the
NT,
4th
ed.
by
E.
Miller.
1894).
The
new
list
of
H.
von
Soden
(Die
Schriften
des
NT,
vol.
i.
pt.
i.
1902)
con-
*
The
numeration
here
used
is
that
of
Gregory
(before
the
revision
mentioned
in
the
last
note).
That
of
Scrivener
coincides
as
far
aa
Evan.
449,
Act.
181,
Paul.
229,
Apoo.
101,
and
again
generally
from
Evan.
775,
Act.
265,
Paul.
342,
Apoc.
123
onwards.
t
The
Greek
term
for
a
Gospel
lectionary
is
Euangelia,
a
volume
containing
the
four
Gospels
being
called
a
Tetraeuan^eLion.
The
Latin
name
for
a
lectionary
iaSuonffeh'-arium.
Evangelistanum,
which
ia
sometimea
uaed,
means
properly
a
table
of
lections.
TEXT
OF
THE
NEW
TESTAMENT
tains
reotificationa
and
additions
to
Gregory's
list,
with
a
new
numeration.
For
Gregory's
revised
list.which,
it
may
be
hoped,
will
be
accepted
as
the
standard,
see
Die
griechischen
Handschriften
des
NT
(Leipzig,
1908).
10.
Versions.
—
The
second
class
of
authorities,
as
indicated
in
§
2,
is
that
of
Versions,
or
translations
of
the
NT
into
languages
other
than
Greek.
It
is
only
the
earlier
versions
that
can
be
of
service
in
recovering
the
original
text
of
the
NT;
modern
translations
are
of
importance
for
the
history
of
the
Bible
in
the
countries
to
which
they
belong,
but
contribute
nothing
to
textual
criticism.
The
early
Versions
may
be
divided
into
Eastern
(Syriac,
Coptic,
Armenian,
Arabic,
Ethioplc,
etc.
)
and
Western
(Latin
and
Gothic)
,
but
the
distinction
is
of
little
importance.
Age
is
a
more
important
factor
than
locality,
and
the
two
oldest
and,
on
the
whole,
most
important
(though
not
necessarily
the
most
trust-worthy)
are
the
Old
Latin
and
Old
Syriac
versions,
which,
moreover,
are
in
many
respects
akin
to
one
another.
Next
in
importance
are
the
Coptic
versions
and
the
Latin
Vulgate;
and
the
Armenian
and
the
later
Syriac
versions
are
also
of
considerable
value.
It
will
be
convenient
to
describe
the
several
versions
under
their
respective
countries
in
the
first
instance,
and
to
defer
the
discussion
of
their
characters
and
affinities
until
the
tale
of
our
authorities
is
complete.
A.
Syriac
Vekbions.
—
11.
The
Old
Syriac
Version
(OS).
—
The
evidence
for
the
character,
and
even
the
existence,
of
the
primitive
version
of
the
NT
in
Syriac
is
of
comparatively
recent
discovery.
Before
1842
the
earliest
extant
Syriac
version
was
the
Peshitta
(see
below),
to
which,
however,
a
much
higher
antiquity
was
assigned
than
is
now
generally
admitted.
In
that
year,
however.
Dr.
W.
Cureton
discovered,
among
the
manuscripts
brought
to
the
British
Museum
from
the
convent
of
S.
Maria
Deipara
in
the
Nitrian
desert
in
Egypt,
an
imperfect
Gospel
text
very
different
from
the
Peshitta.
This
(which
was
not
finally
published
by
Cureton
until
1858)
was
known
for
60
years
as
the
'Curetonian
Syriac,'
and
the
relative
age
of
it
and
the
Peshitta
was
a
matter
of
controversy
among
scholars.
In
1892
two
Cambridge
ladies,
Mrs.
Lewis
and
Mrs.
Gibson,
discovered
in
the
monastery
of
St.
Catherine
at
Sinai
a
palimpsest
MS,
which
was
subsequently
recognized
frpm
their
photo-graphs
as
containing
a
text
closely
akin
to
the
Curetonian.
Comparison
of
the
two
showed
that
they
represented
different
recensions
of
the
same
version,
the
Lewis
or
Sinaitic
MS
(Syr.-Sin.)
containing
the
earlier
form
of
it.
Neither
is
complete.
The
Curetonian
(Syr.-Cur.)
contains
nothing
of
Mk.
except
16"-2",
just
sufficient
to
show
that
the
last
twelve
verses
were
present
in
this
form
of
the
version,
though
they
are
absent
from
Sin.;
of
Jn.
it
has
only
about
five
chapters,
and
there
are
large
gaps
in
Mt.
and
Luke.
Sin.
contains
a
large
part
of
all
four
Gospels,
but
none
is
intact.
Both
MSS
are
assigned
to
the
5th
cent..
Sin.
being
probably
the
earlier;
but
the
version
which
they
represent
must
go
back
to
a
much
more
remote
age.
In
text
they
are
akin
to
the
Codex
Bezae
and
its
allies,
and
are
among
the
most
important
witnesses
to
this
type
of
text.
12.
The
Diatessaron.
—
The
question
of
the
age
of
this
version
is
complicated
by
that
of
its
relations
to
another
very
early
embodiment
of
the
Gospels
in
Syriac.
Tatian,
an
Assyrian
Christian
and
a
disciple
of
Justin
Martyr,
compiled
(probably
about
a.d.
170)
a
Harmony
of
the
four
Gospels
,
known
by
the
name
of
the
Diatessaron.
Whether
it
was
originally
composed
in
Greek
or
in
Syriac
is
uncertain.
The
Greek
name
which
it
bore,
and
the
fact
that
a
Latin
version
of
it
was
in
existence,
are
arguments
in
favour
of
a
Greek
origin;
on
the
other
hand,
Tatian's
activity
was
mainly
in
the
East,
the
Diatessaron
circulated
most
extensively
in
Syria,
where
it
was
almost
the
sole
form
of
the
Gospels
in
use
until
the
6th
cent.,
and
a
commentary
on
it
was
written
by
the
Syrian
Father
Ephraem.
It
was
certainly
in
Syria
