The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels: Being the Sequel to The Traditional Text of the Holy GospelsBurgon, John William
Religion
The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels: Being the Sequel to The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels
Burgon, John William
Bible. Gospels -- Criticism, Textual
The little handful of well-known authorities ([Symbol: Aleph]BDL, with a
few copies of the Old Latin, and one of the Egyptian Versions[186]),
conspire in omitting from St. John xvi. 16 the clause [Greek: hoti ego
hypago pros ton Patera]: for which reason Tischendorf, Tregelles,
Alford, Westcott and Hort omit those six words, and Lachmann puts them
into brackets. And yet, let the context be considered. Our Saviour had
said (ver. 16),--'A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a
little while, and ye shall see Me, because I go to the Father.' It
follows (ver. 17),--'Then said some of His disciples among themselves,
What is this that He saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see
Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me: and, _Because I go
to the_ Father?'--Now, the context here,--the general sequence of words
and ideas--in and by itself, creates a high degree of probability that
the clause is genuine. It must at all events be permitted to retain its
place in the Gospel, unless there is found to exist an overwhelming
amount of authority for its exclusion. What then are the facts? All the
other uncials, headed by A and I^{b} (_both_ of the fourth
century),--every known Cursive--all the Versions, (Latin, Syriac,
Gothic, Coptic, &c.)--are for retaining the clause. Add, that
Nonnus[187] (A.D. 400) recognizes it: that the texts of Chrysostom[188]
and of Cyril[189] do the same; and that both those Fathers (to say
nothing of Euthymius and Theophylact) in their Commentaries expressly
bear witness to its genuineness:--and, With what shew of reason can it
any longer be pretended that some Critics, including the Revisers, are
warranted in leaving out the words?... It were to trifle with the reader
to pursue this subject further. But how did the words ever come to be
omitted? Some early critic, I answer, who was unable to see the
exquisite proprieties of the entire passage, thought it desirable to
bring ver. 16 into conformity with ver. 19, where our Lord seems at
first sight to resyllable the matter. That is all!
Let it be observed--and then I will dismiss the matter--that the
selfsame thing has happened in the next verse but one (ver. 18), as
Tischendorf candidly acknowledges. The [Greek: touto ti hestin] of the
Evangelist has been tastelessly assimilated by BDLY to the [Greek: ti
estin touto] which went immediately before.
Sec. 4.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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