The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels. John William Burgon
in this place. Tischendorf's assertion that the prolixity of the expression εφωνησεν εκ του μνημειου και ηγειρεν αυτον εκ νεκρων is inconsistent with 'οτε[101]—may surprise, but will never convince any one who is even moderately acquainted with St. John's peculiar manner.
The same mistake—of 'οτι for 'οτε—is met with at ver. 41 of the same chapter. 'These things said Isaiah because he saw His glory' (St. John xii. 41). And why not 'when he saw His glory'? which is what the Evangelist wrote according to the strongest attestation. True, that eleven manuscripts (beginning with [Symbol: Aleph]ABL) and the Egyptian versions exhibit 'οτι: also Nonnus, who lived in the Thebaid (A.D. 410): but all other MSS., the Latin, Peshitto, Gothic, Ethiopic, Georgian, and one Egyptian version:—Origen[102]—Eusebius in four places[103]—Basil[104]—Gregory of Nyssa twice[105]—Didymus three times[106]—Chrysostom twice[107]—Severianus of Gabala[108];—these twelve Versions and Fathers constitute a body of ancient evidence which is overwhelming. Cyril three times reads 'οτι[109], three times 'οτε[110]—and once 'ηνικα[111], which proves at least how he understood the place.
§ 2.
[A suggestive example[112] of the corruption introduced by a petty Itacism may be found in Rev. i. 5, where the beautiful expression which has found its way into so many tender passages relating to Christian devotion, 'Who hath washed[113] us from our sins in His own blood' (A.V.), is replaced in many critical editions (R.V.) by, 'Who hath loosed[114] us from our sins by His blood.' In early times a purist scribe, who had a dislike of anything that savoured of provincial retention of Aeolian or Dorian pronunciations, wrote from unconscious bias υ for ου, transcribing λυσαντι for λουσαντι (unless he were not Greek scholar enough to understand the difference): and he was followed by others, especially such as, whether from their own prejudices or owing to sympathy with the scruples of other people, but at all events under the influence of a slavish literalism, hesitated about a passage as to which they did not rise to the spiritual height of the precious meaning really conveyed therein. Accordingly the three uncials, which of those that give the Apocalypse date nearest to the period of corruption, adopt υ, followed by nine cursives, the Harkleian Syriac, and the Armenian versions. On the other side, two uncials—viz. B2 of the eighth century and P of the ninth—the Vulgate, Bohairic, and Ethiopic, write λουσαντι and—what is most important—all the other cursives except the handful just mentioned, so far as examination has yet gone, form a barrier which forbids intrusion.]
[An instance where an error from an Itacism has crept into the Textus Receptus may be seen in St. Luke xvi. 25. Some scribes needlessly changed 'ωδε into 'οδε, misinterpreting the letter which served often for both the long and the short ο, and thereby cast out some illustrative meaning, since Abraham meant to lay stress upon the enjoyment 'in his bosom' of comfort by Lazarus. The unanimity of the uncials, a majority of the cursives, the witness of the versions, that of the Fathers quote the place being uncertain, are sufficient to prove that 'ωδε is the genuine word.]
[Again, in St. John xiii. 25, 'ουτως has dropped out of many copies and so out of the Received Text because by an Itacism it was written ουτος in many manuscripts. Therefore εκεινος ουτος was thought to be a clear mistake, and the weaker word was accordingly omitted. No doubt Latins and others who did not understand Greek well considered also that 'ουτως was redundant, and this was the cause of its being omitted in the Vulgate. But really 'ουτως, being sufficiently authenticated[115], is exactly in consonance with Greek usage and St. John's style[116], and adds considerably to the graphic character of the sacred narrative. St. John was reclining (ανακειμενος) on his left arm over the bosom of the robe (εν τωι κολπωι) of the Saviour. When St. Peter beckoned to him he turned his head for the moment and sank (επιπεσων, not αναπεσων which has the testimony only of B and about twenty-five uncials, [Symbol: Aleph] and C being divided against themselves) on the breast of the Lord, being still in the general posture in which he was ('ουτωσ[117]), and asked Him in a whisper 'Lord, who is it?']
[Another case of confusion between ω and ο may be seen in St. Luke xv. 24, 32, where απολωλως has gained so strong a hold that it is found in the Received Text for απολωλος, which last being the better attested appears to be the right reading[118]. But the instance which requires the most attention is καθαριζον in St. Mark vii. 19, and all the more because in The Last Twelve Verses of St. Mark, the alteration into καθαριζων is advocated as being 'no part of the Divine discourse, but the Evangelist's inspired comment on the Saviour's words[119].' Such a question must be decided strictly by the testimony, not upon internal evidence—which in fact is in this case absolutely decisive neither way, for people must not be led by the attractive view opened by καθαριζων, and καθαριζον bears a very intelligible meaning. When we find that the uncial evidence is divided, there being eight against the change (ΦΣKMUVΓΠ), and eleven for it ([Symbol: Aleph]ABEFGHLSXΔ);—that not much is advanced by the versions, though the Peshitto, the Lewis Codex, the Harkleian (?), the Gothic, the Old Latin[120], the Vulgate, favour καθαριζον;—nor by the Fathers:—since Aphraates[121], Augustine (?)[122], and Novatian[123] are contradicted by Origen[124], Theophylact[125], and Gregory Thaumaturgus[126], we discover that we have not so far made much way towards a satisfactory conclusion. The only decided element of judgement, so far as present enquiries have reached, since suspicion is always aroused by the conjunction of [Symbol: Aleph]AB, is supplied by the cursives which with a large majority witness to the received reading. It is not therefore safe to alter it till a much larger examination of existing evidence is made than is now possible. If difficulty is felt in the meaning given by καθαριζον—and that there is such difficulty cannot candidly be denied—this is balanced by the grammatical difficulty introduced by καθαριζων, which would be made to agree in the same clause with a verb separated from it by thirty-five parenthetic words, including two interrogations and the closing sentence. Those people who form their judgement from the Revised Version should bear in mind that the Revisers, in order to make intelligible sense, were obliged to introduce three fresh English words that have nothing to correspond to them in the Greek; being a repetition of what the mind of the reader would hardly bear in memory. Let any reader who doubts this leave out the words in italics and try the effect for himself. The fact is that to make this reading satisfactory, another alteration is required. Καθαριζων παντα τα βρωματα ought either to be transferred to the 20th verse or to the beginning of the 18th. Then all would be clear enough, though destitute of a balance of authority: as it is now