Josep Rius-Camps, «The Variant Readings of the Western Text of the Acts of the Apostles (XX) (Acts 13:44-52)», Vol. 21 (2008) 139-146
In Acts 13:44-52, Luke narrates the events in Antioch of Pisidia that follow his speech in the synagogue. A series of critical variant readings arise in the text of Codex Bezae that alter significantly the perspective of the narrative. While the Alexandrian text presents the incidents, and the response of Paul and Barnabas to them, as being of local relevance and importance, Codex Bezae indicates that they also relate to a wider dimension involving the whole history of Israel, and their relationship as a people with God and with the Gentiles. Indeed, in the face of the hostile reaction of the Jews to their message about Jesus, Paul and Barnabas declare that the time has come for the gifts that had hitherto been their privilege to be shared on a universal scale with non-Jews. Thus, this passage is a key text for understanding the on-going relationship between Paul and the Jews throughout the rest of his mission.
142 Josep Rius-Camps and Jenny Read-Heimerdinger
(ἀκοῦσαι) τòν λóγoν τοῦ θεοῦ B* C E H5 L P Ψ 049. 056 M vgcl sy bo | τ.
λ. Ï„. κυÏÃoÏ… B2 P74 ) A 33. 81. 323. 945. 1175. 1739. 1837. 2344 al gig vgst
sa || Παύλου πολῦν τε λόγον ποιησαμένου πεÏὶ τοῦ κυÏίου D, (audire)
Paulum multum verbum faciens de domino d (mae).
According to the reading of B03, the people assembled simply to hear
the word of God, whereas in the other readings it was the message about
Jesus that they came to hear. D05 has them come specifically to hear Paul
who, the narrator pointedly comments, made much talk about the Lord.
The use of τε to highlight a narrative comment is unusual in Greek but is
found elsewhere in Acts (1.15 B03; 2.46; 4.13 B03).
13.45 ἰδόντες δέ B P74 ) rell || καὶ ἰδ. D, et cum vidissent d.— τοὺς
ὄχλους B P74 ) rell || τὸ πλῆθος D (turbam d sa mae).
B03 starts a new development at the point when the Jews react to
the gathering of the crowds, using ὄχλος in the plural. D05, on the other
hand, views the Jews’ zeal as part of the same narrative development,
and uses the noun τὸ πλῆθος. The word appears frequently in Luke’s
work (Lk. × 8 [– 1 D05]; Acts × 17 [+ 2 D05]), and in the New Testament
otherwise only in Mk × 2 (– 1 D05) and Jn × 2. It denotes a gathering of
people or things that have a common identity, unlike ὄχλος, which sig-
nifies a more disparate crowd, especially in the plural (cf. 14.11, 13, 18).
Here, it corresponds to the idea that the whole city (cf. ὅλη ἡ πόλις, v. 44
D05; cf. v. 43b D05) had gathered for the express purpose of hearing Paul.
τοῖς (+ λόγοις τοῖς E) ὑπὸ (+ τοῦ E) Παύλου λαλουμένοις B ) A E
Ψ (33). 81. 326. 1837. 2344 pc || τοῖς λόγοις (+ τοῖς DF) ὑπὸ τοῦ Π.
λεγομένοις D*, sermonibus quae a Paulo dicebantur d | τοῖς ὑπο τ. Π.
λεγ. P74 C L H5 P 049. 056. 097. 1739 M | τοῖς ὑπὸ Π. λεγ. 614. 2147.
2412.
The dative article in B03 qualifies the passive participle λαλουμένοις
and so is neuter; in D05, the article qualifies λόγοις as the subject of the
participle λεγομένοις. This is the second additional mention of λόγος in
D05 (cf. v. 44).
The absence of the article before Paul in B03 singles out Paul as speaker,
as distinct from Barnabas with whom he had previously been named in
13.43a. The article could also have been omitted because ὑπὸ Παύλου is
sandwiched in the articular phrase τοῖς ... λαλουμένοις, where another
article may have been felt to be too heavy. In D05, Paul has already been
identified as the speaker (cf. 13.44), without the article to distinguish
him from Barnabas, so that the reference to him here is anaphoric (see
Read-Heimerdinger, The Bezan Text, pp. 139–43).
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