Subject: tc-list Comfort on P12

From: Jim West <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 15:41:39 -0400

P12- heb 1:1, consists of 3 lines of badly preserved text.  I have, on my
desk, the very excellent transcription of Toshio Hirunuma, "The Papyri
Bearing the New Testament Text" (Osaka Christian Bookshop: 1994) (by the by,
he offers photos and transcriptions of P1- P45 complete- only drawback- the
non greek text is in Japanese- but this is an EXCELLENT book!!!)

Anyway, this is the photo I am using to compare p12 in C/B.

On the second line, 15th letter, Hirunuma has "gamma" while C/B have "tau".
The photo, so far as I can tell using magnification, has "tau".  Gamma,
apparently, makes no sense here, whereas tau certainly does.

100% accurate transcription by C/B on P12.

Another sample for the database.

Best,

Jim

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jim West, ThD
email- [email-masked]
web page-  http://web.infoave.net/~jwest

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From: Nichael Lynn Cramer <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 16:01:31 -0400

Jim

Having not yet seen the book, let me ask a question (that I've asked about
three times before, but never recieved an answer):

Using this specific example, how does C/B signify this problematic reading
(i.e. gamma vs tau) in his transcription?

(You may well be correct that only "tau" make sense.  It is, however, as
you point out still a reconstructed reading and needs to be noted as such.)

Thanks
Nichael
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Nichael Cramer
[email-masked]                           nulla dies sine linea
http://www.sover.net/~nichael/

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From: M A Robinson <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 21:50:36 EDT

On Sat, 22 May 1999 15:41:39 -0400 Jim West <[email-masked]> writes:

>P12- heb 1:1, consists of 3 lines of badly preserved text.  I have, on 
>my desk, the very excellent transcription of Toshio Hirunuma
.......
>On the second line, 15th letter, Hirunuma has "gamma" while C/B have 
>"tau". The photo, so far as I can tell using magnification, has "tau".  
>Gamma, apparently, makes no sense here, whereas tau certainly does.

In this case I have neither a photo nor ready access to the Amherst
Papyri volumes or Hirunuma's book. Does Hirunuma's reconstruction of the
Greek text simply break off following the Gamma, without a suggested
continuation? 

There could be a logic behind the Gamma if GONEUSIN had been
unconsciously substituted by the scribe for PATRASIN, leaving out the
article in the process (the omission of TOIS still would be problematic,
however)..

A misreading by Hirunuma of a Tau as a Gamma is equally likely, of
course, especially if the letter is fragmentary or if the ink were faint
or flaked. But if so, then misreading by C/B would be equally possible. 

Of course a final possibility might simply be a typo in Hirunuma's book
in a place where C/B were correct. Any one of these three possibilities
is plausible.

I would not count this one either way without checking the _editio
princeps_ or other authoritative sources.

==============================================================
Maurice A. Robinson, Ph. D.
Professor of Greek and New Testament
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Wake Forest, North Carolina, USA