Thu Jun 6 11:08:51 1996

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From: "Larry W. Hurtado" 
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Subject: Re: "Alexandrian" Text
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On Wed, 5 Jun 1996, Maurice Robinson wrote:
> 
> Another interesting point, which can be taken in two primary ways: either 
> the Byzantine Textform is a composite, pieced together from scattered 
> readings found in various texttypes or other minority groupings, by some 
> unknown method (since mere "conflation" will not account for all the 
> Byzantine readings, nor even a large percentage of them); or the presence 
> of Byzantine readings in nearly every other texttype or smaller group of 
> MSS implies an extremely strong Byzantine "influence", which is quite 
> difficult to explain without either imposing an official promulgation of 
> that text or an official revision which produced that text -- unless of 
> course, such Byzantine concurrence in non-Byzantine MSS and texttypes is 
> actually a result of preservation of the autograph text itself (which 
> latter I would naturally maintain).

Maurice (and others):  If you imagine that the only way "Byzantine 
readings" can have made their way into mss is through the "influence" of 
a "Byzantine text-type" (i.e., a relatively matured type of text such as 
we have in the primary Byzantine mss reps.), then, yes, readings in early 
mss would suggest that this text-form might be there.  But, if (as I see 
it) "text-types" are basically the result of scribal copying/transmission 
habits/tastes/objectives, etc. (shaped of course by ecclesiastical 
concerns etc.), then what becomes the "Byzantine text-type" is basically 
a matured form/degree (late, so the evidence) of scribal/editorial 
tendencies observable quite early in their initial operation.  So, the 
"Byzantine text" is basically an "ecclesiastical" text, that reflects a 
few centuries of transmission with readability, inoffensiveness, 
harmonization, etc. operational.  These tendencies began very early, so 
they show up ad hoc in such early witnesses as P45, P46, etc.  But a more 
programmatic operation of these tendencies gathers force over time.

Larry Hurtado, Religion, Univ. of Manitoba 

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