From: Timster132@aol.com
Date: Fri Dec 01 1995 - 21:27:45 EST
Kenneth Litwak <kenneth@sybase.com> asks:
<< I'm wondering about a couple of textual problems I'm looking at in
Mark 7. The presence of "Sidon" in 7:24 and nai in 7:28 in many
important, Alexandrian-type witnesses, leads me to really wonder about the
rejection of these words in NA27. While Metzger has a point that these
could be due to harmonization with Matt 15, I wonder if that's reasonable
given the substantial evidence for their presence in both verses. In
7:28, the only major witnesses that omit nai are P45 W and Theta.
While P45 is important, I don't think we want to take it as superior to
Aleph, A, B, 33 etc without other reasons. Furthermore, I can't see how
the Alexandrian reading in v.28 could have arisen from the version in
P45. So in both of these instances, I am inclined to go against the
NA27, even though the issue in v.24 might be influenced by the dictum of
taking the shorter text. I would like to know what others think. Thanks.>>
In Metzger's Textual Commentary (2nd ed), he says of Mk 7:24:
"The words KAI SIDWNOS seems to be an assimilation to Mt 15:21 and Mk 7:31.
If they had been present originally, there is no reason why they should have
been deleted. The witnesses in supoort of the shorter text include
representatives of the Western textand other types of text."
It appears that in Mk 7:24 the committee is going with Lectio brevio. And
they considered the diversity of the text types of the mss that omit it--
that points to either a very early variant (pre-text type) or an original
reading. The P45 reading confirms this.
I can also see how a scribe who is used to hearing "and Sidon" would
harmonize this verse.
About 7:28, Metzger says that similar considerations apply in evaluating
the evidence for this verse. NAI is not found anywhere in Markan word (8x
in Mt, 4x in Lk). And it is harmonized from Mt 15:27.
The Alexandrian witnesses, as valuable as they are, have their share of
variants, such as harmonizations and especially itacisms.
Tim Staker
Timster132@aol.com
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