This is Part 2 of a 6 Part series on the text critical paper that I presented at the 2013 SBL Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD. Here is Part 1. I focused on the textual tendencies of the Ancient Greek manuscript called P46 which is the oldest extant manuscript that we have of Paul’s letters. For more information upon this manuscript see The University of Michigan’s Library andThe Chester Beatty Library.

SUMMARY OF P⁴⁶ TENDENCIES IN 2 CORINTHIANS

Now that I have examined all the singular readings, at this juncture, I will summarize the tendencies of P⁴⁶ throughout 2 Corinthians noting (1) its propensity to preserve the original text according to the NU, (2) the types of variants it prefers, and (3) its tendencies to agree and disagree with other MSS.

I. Summary of Preserving the Original

First, as regards P⁴⁶ preserving the original reading of 2 Corinthians, the NU apparati deem P⁴⁶ to be original among the variants 76 times out of the 139 variants observed here. This means that according to the NU 54.7% of the time P⁴⁶ preserves the original reading of 2 Corinthians among the variants. Here is a chart demonstrating this:

II. Summary of Types of Variants

Second, in regard to the types of variants, P⁴⁶ changes the original text 63 times among the variants of 2 Corinthians according to the NU. Of these, it tends to have three significant types of recurring variants. First, it changes the grammar and inflection most frequently, 24 times to be exact. Next, it omits words 18 times. Lastly, it substitutes words 12 times. Furthermore, P⁴⁶ has little propensity to omit phrases, make additions, and alter word order. Here is a chart summarizing the types of variants P⁴⁶ makes in 2 Corinthians:

III. Summary of Agreement with Other Manuscripts

Thirdly, with regard to its agreements and disagreements with other MSS, on the one hand, there are 4 MSS that tend to agree with P⁴⁶ more often than not, that is, they agree with it 50% of the time or more. On the other hand, there are 14 MSS that tend to disagree with P⁴⁶ more often than not, that is, they agree with it less than 50% of the time. Those MSS which agree 50% of the time or higher are ranked in this order: Coptic, OL, B, and Ambrosiaster. The MSS which agree less than 50% of the time are ranked in this order: Vulgate, 33, C, 1739, G, A, a, P, Syriac, F, D, 1881, Y, and Majority. Overall, one point is clear: most of the 18 MSS recorded here (77.8%) in this study disagree with P⁴⁶ far more often than they agree among the variants. Here is a chart that summarizes the agreements, disagreements, and the percentage of agreement that P⁴⁶ has with other MSS in 2 Corinthians:[1]

Here is another chart that orders this data from the highest percentage agreements to least from top to bottom:

Now as this relates to textual families, P⁴⁶ is all over the map. Of the 4 MSS that agree with it most often, there are 2 from the Alexandrian witness, more specifically “proto-Alexandrian,” namely, the Copt. and B.[2] In contrast, there are 2 MSS from the Western type, namely, the OL and Ambrosiaster. So already with those MSS that agree 50% of the time or more, P⁴⁶ does not consistently align with a certain textual family. Now among the 14 MSS that disagree with P⁴⁶ most often, 1 is proto-Alexandrian, namely, 1739, and 5 are Alexandrian, namely, 33, C, A, a, and Y. In contrast, 7 are Western, namely, Vg., G, Syr., F, D, 1881, and Majority. While there is certainly more of a stronger dislike of the Western type among those MSS that disagree, all of this data indicates that P⁴⁶ does not tend to prefer one textual family over the other, but rather would suggest that P⁴⁶ is inconsistent concerning its agreement with the various textual families.