joi, 22 decembrie 2016

Manuscris fara Ioan 21?


"The John manuscript 'without John 21'

"The first edition of a Coptic manuscript which is bound to generate a certain amount of discussion has now appeared. This manuscript could be seen as giving support to the scholars who have long suggested that ch. 21 is a later addition to the Fourth Gospel.

Publication details: Gesa Schenke, 'Das Erscheinen Jesu vor den Jüngern und der ungläubige Thomas: Johannes 20,19-31' in Louis Painchaud and Paul-Hubert Poirier, eds, Coptica - Gnostica - Manichaica: Mélanges offerts à Wolf-Peter Funk (Les presses de l'Université Laval / Peeters, 2006) pp. 893-904.

The article gives a basic description of the manuscript, a transcription, commentary and photos (which are not clear enough for me to be able to make any decision independent of the author).

The papyrus is in the Bodleian Library in Oxford and is registered as MS Copt.e.150(P) (perhaps some of our bloggers in Oxford, with their newly acquired palaeographical skills, can toddle along and give us more information based on autopsy). It is a single leaf, written on both sides and contains John 20:19-31 with some nice clean space under v. 31 showing that John 21 was not written thereunder. Hence Hans-Gebhard Bethge at the recent SNTS congress seemed pretty certain that this is part of a manuscript of John without the final chapter, demonstrating that the Gospel originally lacked ch. 21.

The handwriting is claimed to place the manuscript in the fourth century.

The papyrus was apparently known to Paul Kahle as far back as 1953 since he made a transcription of it.

A significant issue is how to reconstruct the opening of the page. If it really does begin with the opening word of v. 19 at the top of the page then the page beginning coincides precisely with a new pericope in John. This might lend support to the view that the papyrus is an extract from John (a position shared by Mink at INTF). The view that the first word of the page is also the first word of v. 19 appears to me to have much to commend it.

Clearly much work is to be done on the manuscript, but I would like to mention five preliminary reasons why this manuscript should not be held as evidence that John originally lacked ch. 21:

The manuscript lacks a subscriptio, which would be the most common way of ending a Gospel.

It is not very likely that the last leaf of a codex survives, while the rest is lost or perishes.

If this ms did come from a codex then the codex would have been of a non-standard size.

The final verse of the text is in a very confused state, without even the last letter of the last word being present. The space at the end of the page therefore needs to be interpreted with some caution.

If there really were manuscripts circulating as late as the fourth century without ch. 21 then we should expect some patristic evidence of this."
 http://evangelicaltextualcriticism.blogspot.ro/2006/09/john-manuscript-without-john-21.html


 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_21#cite_note-6

Recenzie negativa facuta de soferimi (ex. Numeri 11:15)

 C. D. Ginsburg, E. W. Bullinger, etc.Bullinger's Bible, Appendix 33.
Numeri 11:15. Decât să Te porţi aşa cu mine, mai bine omoară-mă, Te rog, dacă mai am vreo trecere înaintea Ta, ca să nu-mi mai văd nenorocirea." "și nu mă lăsa să văd răul tău. "

"And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness."
Originally:
"And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see thy evil."
Apparently, God should not be able to possess evil.

Let’s look next at some of the 18 emendations listed in Bullinger's Bible, Appendix 33.
 
1. Genesis 18:22 (KJV):
"And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD."
Originally:
"And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but the LORD stood yet before Abraham."
Apparently, it was demeaning to God to have Him stand before Abraham, so the Sopherim turned it around so that the lesser, Abraham, would stand before the greater, God.
 2. Numbers 11:15
"And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness."
Originally:
"And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see thy evil."
Apparently, God should not be able to possess evil.

3. 1 Samuel 3:13:
"For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not."
Originally:
"For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons cursed God, and he restrained them not."
This text was softened because it was a harsh thing to think of someone cursing God.
 
4. 2 Samuel 12:14:
"Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die."
Originally:
"Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast greatly blasphemed the LORD, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die."
How could King David be a blasphemer? A man after God’s own heart! So this was changed so that David would be the vehicle through which others -- enemies -- might blaspheme God. Yet, the original shows that God forgives blasphemy upon repentance, and that adultery and murder -- David’s sins in question here -- are considered blasphemy.
 
5. I Kings 12:16:
"So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents."
Originally:
"So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your gods, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents."

6. Job 7:20:
"I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?"
Originally:
"I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to thee?"
Could a mere mortal be a burden to God? The Sopherim thought not, but that is what Job said about himself.

7. Job 32:3:
"Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job."
Originally:
"Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned God."
But if Job’s three friends had only condemned Job, that wasn’t such a big deal. But if what they had said had condemned God, as it says in the original, we might want to study what they had said, so we can avoid condemning God ourselves!

8. Psalm 10:3:
"For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth."
Originally:
"For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and the covetous man blasphemeth, yea, abhoreth the LORD."
Here is another place where a derogatory reference to God was changed.

9. Psalm 106:20:
"Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass."
Originally:
"Thus they changed My glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass."
Again, a derogatory comment about God is altered.

10. Ezekiel 8:17:
"Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose."
Originally:
"Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to My nose."
It makes no sense that they would try to spite themselves. Whatever the phrase may mean, putting the branch to God’s nose is definitely an act of rebellion and mischief against God. But the Sopherim apparently felt that it was derogatory to God to refer to Him as having a nose, even when using hyperbole, as this verse does.

11. Hosea 4:7:
"As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame."
Originally:
"As they were increased, so they sinned against me: My glory have they changed into shame."
The real meaning of the verse is that when men sin, they bring shame to God’s glory.

12. Habbakuk 1:12:
"Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction."
Originally:
"Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One, who diest not? O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction."
The emendation transferred immortality from God to men. It makes no sense, and has no bearing on the context. In its original form, it glorifies God who is immortal.

13. Malachi 1:11-12:
"For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible."
Originally:
"But ye have profaned Me, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible."
The Sopherim wanted to protect God against men, and made it seem that men were profaning God’s name, rather than profaning God Himself.

14. Malachi 3:9:
"Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation."
Originally:
"Ye have cursed Me with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation."