Hovis Kristi Hovis McClain RBLA 423 April 19, 2010 Textual Criticism According to UBS Categories: [B]

James 2:20 The original text is less defined than that of 1 John 5:7-8. The accepted text and the first alternative reading both show reasonable support for originality. External Evidence

The accepted text of UBS4 probably originated in the Alexandrian region, receiving most of its manuscript support from Alexandrian witnesses. A couple Byzantine minuscules and a handful of Western texts also show support. The alternative reading of ne,kra, covers an even wider geographical area than avrgh,, the preferred reading. Early church fathers and theologians cited both readings, lending credibility to the validity of both texts. The third reading is highly unlikely as original because it only appears in one Greek papyrus (P. 74), from which a later Old Latin version (the only other piece of support for kenh,) was probably translated. Internal Evidence Though nekra, is used in v. 17 and twice in v. 26, avrgh, is more likely original because it is the harder reading, and little possibility of a transcriptional error exists. The first reading may have developed from homoeoleuton, or the variation may have been intentionala scribe or scribes may have changed avrgh, to nekra, in order to increase continuity in James vocabulary and thus make the passage easier to understand. Kenh, certainly agrees with James

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theology and vocabularyJames uses the vocative form of keno,j in this very verse (O foolish person, w- a;nqrwpe kene,). This word also, however, could have been an improvement by a scribe or scribes. Taking both external and internal considerations into account, the third reading is definitely unoriginal. The originality of the accepted text and first alternative reading are not as easily discerned. External evidence is inconclusive, so the decision hangs on internal evidence. The editors of the UBS text chose avrgh, over nekra, on the basis of its being the harder reading, as discussed in Internal Evidence. This coupled with the possible homoeoleuton resulting in nekra, makes avrgh, most likely.

Hovis Works Cited Aland, Kurt, Barbara Aland, et al. The Greek New Testament. 4th rev. ed. New York: United Bible Societies, 2004.