Subject: Re: tc-list "Western Text" - a correct denomination?

From: Jean Valentin <[email-masked]>
Date: Jeu, 8 Jul 99 13:42:42 +0200

Dear Mr Hurtado,

Which works of Mr Epp are you referring to and does he treat versions as 
well? Abandoning geographical terms for more descriptive ones sounds 
interesting indeed. Can you elaborate on the new terminology, or give me 
some bibliography?
And, what kind of denomination would you (or Epp) then propose for the 
Western text, including the versions? And, would you keep D and the 
versions under a single header, or would you split it into several types? 
And if scribal tendencies are what should be used to described the 
Western text or the versions and harmonies that are close to it, how 
would you briefly describe them?
Thank you for this interesting feedback - spending most of my time in the 
versions, I am not aware of the latest developments you refer to 
(specialization can be a handicap...), and they sound interesting.

Jean V.

>Respectfully, I must say that I think that "peripheral" is not a 
>heuristically helpful term.  It sounds like (and I think refers to) a 
>grab-bag of textual complexions and remains also tied to the 
>misleading earlier notion of "local" text-types and geographical 
>categories for text-types.  If new terms are to be developed, let us 
>attempt concise descriptor terms that give some idea of what it is 
>we're referring to, terms that give some idea of the *kind* of text 
>we're referring to.  Epp's attempts to categorize earliest text-types 
>on the basis of the available papyri point toward what I mean, 
>though his own work will likely need further refinements.  For many 
>years now I have been siding with the emergent voices who prefer 
>to think of "text-types" as representing *textual tendencies*, 
>constellations of scribal preferences, or some such category.

_______________________________________________________________
Jean Valentin - 34 rue du Berceau - 1000 Bruxelles - Belgique
tel. 32-2-280.01.37
e-mail : [email-masked]
_______________________________________________________________

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From: "Professor L.W. Hurtado" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1999 14:14:18 +000

Jean Valentin asks:
> well?
Two seminal essays are:
--E. C. COlwell, "Method in Establishing the Nature of Text-Types," 
in E. C. Colwell, _Studies in Methdology in Textual Criticism of the 
New Testament_ (Grand Rapids:  Eerdmans, 1969), pp. 45-55; and
--E. J. Epp, "The Significance of the Papyri for Determining the 
Nture of the New Testament Text in the Second Century:  A 
Dynamic View of Textual Transmission," in E. J. Epp and G. D. 
Fee, _Studies in the Theory and Method of New Testament Textual 
Criticism_ (Grand Rapids:  Eerdmans, 1993), pp. 274-97.

> Abandoning geographical terms for more descriptive ones sounds
See above items, esp. the Epp essay.
And, what kind of denomination would you (or Epp) then
> propose for the Western text, including the versions? 
See, e.g., Colwell (p. 53):  "the uncontrolled, popular text of the 
second century"; cf. Epp, p. 293-94.
And, would you keep
> D and the versions under a single header, or would you split it into
> several types? And if scribal tendencies are what should be used to
> described the Western text or the versions and harmonies that are close to
> it, how would you briefly describe them? 
I can't claim first-hand expertise with "Western" witnesses, but am 
heavily dependent upon others who have paid their dues here.  In 
addition to Colwell and Epp, David Parker would have some good 
observations to bring to bear on these matters.

Larry Hurtado

L. W. Hurtado
University of Edinburgh,
New College
Mound Place 
Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 2LX
Phone: 0131-650-8920
Fax: 0131-650-6579
E-mail:  [email-masked]

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From: "William L. Petersen" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 08 Jul 1999 13:17:31 -0400

Two brief comments:

(1) Epp's chapter,

"The Significance of the Papyri for Determining the 
Nature of the New Testament Text in the Second Century:  A 
Dynamic View of Textual Transmission," in E. J. Epp and G. D. 
Fee, _Studies in the Theory and Method of New Testament Textual 
Criticism_ (Grand Rapids:  Eerdmans, 1993), pp. 274-97,

originally appeared in *Gospel Traditions in the Second Century:  Origins,
Recensions, Text, and Transmission,*  Studies in Christianity and Judaism
in Antiquity, Vol. 3 (Notre Dame, Indiana:  Univ. of Notre Dame Press,
1989), pp. 71-103, which I edited.  The work cited (Epp and Fee) simply
contains a reprint of the original work.

(2) The terminology "Western" is, of course, something of a misnomer
today--and that is recognized by all (hence, the frequent use of quotation
marks around the word).  The term was first coined by I.S. Semler in 1766,
and reiterated a year later.  I give the original texts, the reasons for
the designation (what manuscripts were meant), and a discussion of the use
and suitability of the term in my *Tatian's Diatessaron,* pp. 141 (esp. nn.
220, 221, and 222), as well as 140-141, 143 n. 229, and 11 n. 7 (see in the
subject index, under "Western Text," then "origin of name"...).

--Petersen, Penn State Univ.