Scholarly input on manuscripts

[cguanaja]

Hi there,

 

When looking into variants on the NA28 (sigma) there are two of them found in Mark 11:13.

 

Just on the second variant - how is the below output (from the NA28 apparatus) interpreted? 

 

⸄ ου (ουπω ƒ1) γαρ ην (+ ο D W 700. 2542) καιρος (καρπος 0188) συκων A C2 D K N W Γ Θ 0188 ƒ1.13 28. 33. 565. 700. 1241. 1424. 2542. ℓ 844

[Rick Bennett]

The former professor in me thinks this sounds like a student question with a looming assignment due. 

 

I'll give you a quick answer, but it sounds like you would benefit from spending more time getting to know this resource in general, which is made much easier within Accordance.

 

The text under discussion in the second variant is: ⸄ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς οὐκ ἦν σύκων⸅. The words listed are variations of that phrase, with the supporting witnesses following. The witnesses listed after txt support the reading adopted by the editors in the text.

 

I hope this points you in the right direction.

[cguanaja]

Thank you Rick - appreciate the prompted response - on what you said and just following up - can you please see below and let me know your input?

 

- ου (ουπω ƒ1) - "ου" was replaced with "ουπω" and this in witness ƒ1

- καιρος (καρπος 0188) - "καιρος" was replaced with "καρπος" and this in witness 0188

- γαρ ην (+ ο D W 700. 2542) - "γαρ ην" replaced with "o" and this in witnesses D W 700. 2542

 

What is the go with the last one there?

 

- συκων A C2 D K N W Γ Θ0188 ƒ1.13 28. 33. 565. 700. 1241. 1424. 2542. ℓ 844  latt sy(s).h; Or ¦ - 579 ¦ txt ℵ B C✱ L Δ Ψ892 syp

 

I get what you said that on this last one - witnesses listed after txt support the reading adopted by the editors in the tex but - what was this reading adopted?  having which words in the phrase instead of the ones included in NA28 (⸄ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς οὐκ ἦν σύκων⸅.)? 

 

Appreciate your input

 

Thanks.

[Rick Bennett]

 

- γαρ ην (+ ο D W 700. 2542) - "γαρ ην" replaced with "o" and this in witnesses D W 700. 2542

 

 

The + means that the witnesses add ο, e.g. γαρ ην ο καιρος

 

 

- συκων A C2 D K N W Γ Θ0188 ƒ1.13 28. 33. 565. 700. 1241. 1424. 2542. ℓ 844  latt sy(s).h; Or ¦ - 579 ¦ txt ℵ B C✱ L Δ Ψ892 syp

 

I get what you said that on this last one - witnesses listed after txt support the reading adopted by the editors in the tex but - what was this reading adopted?  having which words in the phrase instead of the ones included in NA28 (⸄ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς οὐκ ἦν σύκων⸅.)? 

 

The adopted reading (aka txt) is the one found in the upper text.

[cguanaja]

Thank you Rick - so what can we say about the last entry and as per below? 

 

συκων A C2 D K N W Γ

 

Can we say that phrase was kind of constructed over time?  

 

What was the original phrase or word for this variant?

 

Many thanks  

[Rick Bennett]

Thank you Rick - so what can we say about the last entry and as per below? 

 

συκων A C2 D K N W Γ

 

Can we say that phrase was kind of constructed over time?  

 

What was the original phrase or word for this variant?

 

Many thanks  

 

There isn't really a straightforward answer to those questions. You may want to consult a textual commentary to see what others have said, and whether the questions you ask make sense for your passage.

[cguanaja]

Thanks Rick - just on the last entry for this variant then - can you go through it wholly without including the "txt" bit that you already mentioned?

 

συκων A C2 D K N W Γ Θ0188 ƒ1.13 28. 33. 565. 700. 1241. 1424. 2542. ℓ 844  latt sy(s).h; Or ¦ - 579 ¦ txt ℵ B C✱ L Δ Ψ892 syp

 

Many thanks. 

[Rick Bennett]

Thanks Rick - just on the last entry for this variant then - can you go through it wholly without including the "txt" bit that you already mentioned?

 

συκων A C2 D K N W Γ Θ0188 ƒ1.13 28. 33. 565. 700. 1241. 1424. 2542. ℓ 844  latt sy(s).h; Or ¦ - 579 ¦ txt ℵ B C✱ L Δ Ψ892 syp

 

Many thanks. 

 

I'm out of time today to chime in any further. Maybe others can assist.

 

Good luck in your research.

[Ιακοβ]

Not sure if you have not been adequately prepared for the task you are being asked to complete, or have not read the required reading/homework. I'll assume the former.

 

The printed version of the NA28 has an introductory section that explains how to read these things better. For a good answer to your question you need to consider two things. Internal and external evidence.

 

1. External evidence. Which of the above listed manuscripts do you trust more, consider including the age of each manuscript. And if you can, consider also the trustworthyness/accuracy of each manuscript. Although at your level, only a high/superficial level of this will be expected.

2. Internal evidence. Which variant is more likely. i.e. does it look like someone has tried to fix a grammatical mistake, or has made a mistake copying, etc... You will need to find a book or video on this to understand better how to do this.

 

Depending on how interested you are in this, If you are interested in understanding more about this I strongly recommend going to iTunes U, and searching for "The basics of new testament textual criticism" from "Centre for the study of new testament manuscripts" and watch the first few at least. They are video podcasts, where someone concisely explains all of these issues. Although he does assume some knowledge of some technical terms which mean the videos are most useful with someone who has already read about or sat through some lectures on this topic.

[Helen Brown]

Here is the link to the series, and I hope we'll add it to some other pages on the website.

 

The Metzger Textual Commentary is an excellent inexpensive source for explanations of the NA27 Apparatus.