60

p.186.

of course, the problem is of precisely

minor
agreement on the 2-document
proportions:
hypothesis becomes an instance where Mark has chosen to ignore
the common witness of both his sources on the Griesbach hypothesis;
a common omission by Matthew and Luke becomes an addition by Mark
to them. Either way an explanation is required.

90.

the

Ibid.

fact,
a

p.201.

91.

Ibid.

92.

Usually

Introduction

93.

In

same

for

reasons

similar to those

Wilke, op.cit.

Kümmel,

p.443.

TEXTUAL VARIANTS AND THEOLOGY:

PAPYRUS 46

Howard

given by

pp.58-60.

A STUDY OF THE GALATIANS TEXT OF

Eshbaugh

Hillcrest United Presbyterian Church

15 Church Street

Burgettstown, Pennsylvania

15021

Several recent studies have shown the theological significance of textual variants.
By a comparison of the Galatian
text of P46 (the earliest extant witness of the Pauline
corpus) with other witnesses, several variants (3:19, 17;
4:6,7; 1:6; 2:20) have been found to be theologically significant.

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61

The primary task of textual criticism has been the quest of

the original text. Hence variant readings have been explained as
the result of scribal error, a slip of the pen, or harmonization
with another text/1/. Consensus seems to be that textual criticism is atheological, a safe discipline that is purely scientific.
My own introduction to the mass of variants in the Nestle text was
cushioned by the word of assurance from the intructor that none of
these variants made any theological difference. While that scholar
today would deny the validity of this claim, there are many who
still affirm it: &dquo;There is no essential1 historical or theological1
point that is determined one way or another by textual variants/2/.
Such thinking is challenged by K.W. Clark,who pictures the early
scribe as a theologian:
The earliest stage of transmission was marked by an
attitude of freedom in theological interpretation.
Dogmatic purposes were in view and constituted the
basic attitude in the use of the gospel text/3/.
Clark documents this problem of the relationship of textual criticism and exegesis by showing specific instances within the Pauline
letters where variant readings make a theological difference:
Rom. 8:28; 1 Cor. 2:1; 6:20; 7:5; 10:19; 11:29; 13:3; 14:38; and

15:51/4/.
A monongraph by Eldon J. Epp further explores the relationship of textual criticism and exegesis by examining a larger block
of scripture, the book of Acts, noting the differences between the
Western and Neutral texts. Epp finds that the Western text has an
anti-Judaic tendency that is shown by a threefold thrust: (1) In

the Western text the Jews and their leaders

Jesus, and they

are

assigned

are more

hostile to

greater responsibility for his

death; (2) the Western text minimizes the response of the Jews and
the importance of Judaism to the new faith; and (3) the Western
text portrays the Jews, and especially their leaders, as more hostile towards the apostles and as persecuting them more vigorously

/5/.
Another contribution to the study of the theological importance of textual variants is a doctoral dissertation by M.R. Pelt,
In this work, 175
written under the supervision of K.W. Clark.
New Testament passages have been selected &dquo;in which an important
difference of theological interpretation rests upon the choice
between two or more variant readinqs/6/. The variants have been
discussed under the headings: God, Jesus Christ, and the Life of
the Christian Community.

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62

A recent addition to the study of textual variants and theolis

a doctoral dissertation written by G.E. Rice under the
ogy
supervision of E.J. Epp. Rice has examined the text of Luke in
Codex Bezae, and identified as emphases of this manuscript: (1)The
exaltation of Jesus, and (2) an anti-Judaic bias/7/.

My own work, also under the supervision of E.J. Epp, was an

examination of the Western text (primarily Codex Vaticanus) and
the Western text (primarily Codex Claramontanus) of the Pauline
epistles/8/. The number of theologically significant variants was
quite small (24, comprisinq only about 50 words). Several reasons
may account for this relatively small number of theological variants :
(1) The genre of the epistles: narrative is easier to
alter/9/; (2) the relatively pure state of the Pauline text/10/;
and (3) a conservative methodology/11/.
Several conclusions were drawn from this study:
(1) The
Western theological variants are concerned with many of the significant theological problems that confronted the early church;
(2) the Western theological variants as a whole do not show any
pattern supporting one particular type of theology; and (3) it is
impossible to discern whether a Western reading is the source or
the result of theological conflict.
This paper is a further effort to show the theological significance of textual criticism by the study of P46. This papyrus
is the earliest extant witness of Paul, dating about 200 AD/12/.
This initial study will examine variant readings in Galatians.

This verse introduces the story of law (3:19-25). Woven into

this story are the origin, function, and limitation of the law.
The entire passage is regarded by G.S. Duncan as a &dquo;depreciatory
On the other hand, some, e.o. R.T. Stamm,
account of the Law/14/.
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63

find this text to be obscure, and that this obscurity has produced
the textual chanqes/15/.
In the UBS reading of 3:19 the use of the verb form &dquo;it was
added&dquo; has been interpreted as showing that the law &dquo;is a mere addition to the main stream of Gods purpose/16/. The lack of a verb
in P46 and the verb of the Western uncials, &dquo;was established,&dquo;
makes interpretation of the law as an insignificant, parenthetical
afterthought less likely, if not impossible. Deletion of the verb
&dquo;was added&dquo; also makes this passage more in harmony with 3:15 that
states &dquo;no one annuls even a mans will, or adds to it/17/.

The UBS
in two ways:

has been interpreted

xapjv iTpo,:7Ere~Tl
The law was added in order that man miqht know
what sin is, to define sin by recognizing its sinfulness/18/. (2)
The law was added in order that man might sin, to make him more
sinful/19/. The reading of P46, &dquo;the law of deeds,&dquo; also may be interpreted in two ways: (1) The law was established as a result of
evil deeds in order to check and restrain them/20/. (2) The law
was established in order that good deeds might be accomplished. The
law in this latter interpretation does not have any negative function in relation to sin, but has the positive function of hringing
about good. Ambrosiaster, whose text is the same as the Latin of
Claromontanus (d), states that this &dquo;law of deeds&dquo; was established
Some of the specific deeds
to instruct the people how to fear God.
mentioned by Ambrosiaster are sacrifice, primogeniture, and the
tithe/21/. The items on this list of good deeds in Ambrosiaster
are some of the traditions of Israel, and Ambrosiasters commentary
could also serve as an exposition of the Greek text of D.

phrase

(1)

While it is possible to interpret the UBS text as a disparagelaw, it is impossible to do so with the text of P46 and its
supporting manuscripts. The law in P46 is either to contain and
check evil deeds or to produce good deeds. This latter interpretation is supported by the Greek text of Claromontanus. This positive interpretation of the law is also found elsewhere in the Pauline corpus:
&dquo;The law is good&dquo; (Rom. 7:12, 16b); and the law is one
of the privileged possessions given to Israel by God (Rom.9:5).

ment of

Gal. 3:17

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64

In 3:15-18, Paul applies to the prior covenant in Abraham

a human illustration about the irrevocable nature of a mans
will. Paul asserts that Christ is the seed of Abraham to whom the
promises are addressed (3:16). The law is shown temporally to be
after the promise to Abraham and, therefore, as a codicil, incapable of negating the prior promise (3:17). Paul concludes that
the inheritance is by promise and not by law (3:18).

(3:15)

The basic intent of either of the readings of 3:17 is to show

that the law was established after the covenant with Abraham. For
Paul, in contrast to the rabbis/22/, the law has no pre-existence
The text of P46 and the text of UBS presents the fact without any
Christological reference, but the other text (a Western reading)
relates Christ to the prior covenant with Abraham/23/. This text
indicates the pre-existence of Christ and shows him as acting in
history prior to the incarnation.

God has
In Gal. 4:1-6 Paul explains the benefits of sonship.
bestowed a twofold gift upon his people: the sending of his son,
and the sending of the Spirit. The consensus text, by use of a
genitive phrase, clearly indicates that this &dquo;Spirit&dquo; is the
&dquo;Spirit&dquo; of his Son.&dquo; This passage from the UBS text along with
John 15:26 are the classical proof texts for the doctrine that the
Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (filioque)/24/. This
doctrine has been a continuing focal point for theological controversy throughout the history of the church/25/.
II

In contrast the text of P46 states merely that God has sent
his Spirit.
If P46 is a secondary text, its deletion may imply
that this was done to show that the Spirit proceeds only from the
Father. However, if it is original, it may imply: (1) The Spirit
does not come from the Son; or (2) the origin of the Spirit has not
yet been considered a theological problem.

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65

Here as in 3:17 P46 is in agreement with the UBS text. The

other readings are not well attested and are generally considered
to be secondary.
However, theologically it must be noted that some
of them indicate that Christ has some role in the bestowal of the
inheritance. This is in contrast to the reading of P46 which
states that it is through God alone that the inheritance is bestowed.

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66

In Galatians Paul often shows Christ to be the aqent of

blessing: freedom in Christ (2:4), justified in Christ
(2:17); Christ redeemed us (3:13), Abrahams blessing comes upon
us in Christ, and in Christ all are sons of God (3:26).
Hence,
it seems strange that in 4:7 there is no reference to the agency
of Christ and that God alone bestows the inheritance. P46 here is

Christs

Christologically barren.

Paul begins the main portion of this letter by stating his

that the Galatians have abandoned the gospel. Textual variation occurs in the second
The UBS text modifies grace by
&dquo;of
Similarly D 326 sy modify grace by &dquo;of Jesus Christ,&dquo;
and cop
Jerome use of &dquo;of Christ Jesus.&dquo; These readings have
been interpreted in several ways:
(1) Christ is the object of the
preposition &dquo;from.&dquo; The Galatians have turned from Christ, and it
is Christ who has called them by grace
; (2) &dquo;In the qrace of
Christ&dquo; is instrumental; (3) The phrase is elliptical and stands
for the one who called you to be in the grace of Christ; (4) Paul
stands in Christs grace when he (Paul) called the Galatians/26/.
concern

Chri~t.&dquo;

phrahe.

Each of these interpretations has a specific Christological

reference. In contrast to the UBS text and its cognates, some
minuscule manuscripts modify grace by &dquo;of God.&dquo; This reading
specifically precludes any Christological interpretation. God

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67

alone here appears to be the actor and agent.

Since the text of P46 has no genitive modifier, it is poson the basis of a pre-understanding of what grace is, to
interpret &dquo;grace&dquo; as &dquo;the grace of Christ&dquo;/27/. However, the silence of P46 makes it more probably that the text of P46 has no
Christological reference. Thus 1:6 as well as 3:17; 4:6; and 4:7
are not Christologically oriented.

sible

Gal. 2:20

In 2:15-20 Paul presents the heart of his argument to the

Galatians. He does not argue abstractly but relates his own personal experience. V.20 summarizes this experience: &dquo;I have to be
crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who
lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God (in God and Christ), who loved me and gave himself for me.&dquo;
11

Both readings are unique. While Paul many times speaks about
&dquo;faith in Christ&dquo; and its cognates, he never elsewhere uses the
II
The P46 reading &dquo;faith in God
phrase &dquo;faith in the Son of God.&dquo;
and Christ&dquo; is the sole occurrence of a double object of faith.
statement that &dquo;Paul1 nowhere else expressly
the object of a Christians faith&dquo;/29/ is true,
there is the possibility that the reading of P46 is a subjective
genitive and should be translated &dquo;I live by the faith (fulness)
of God and Christ/30/.

While

Metzgers

speaks of God

as

These readinqs,like those considered above, show a

logical difference. The UBS text by its use of &dquo;Son of
a higher, more formalized Christology than the P46 text
God as well as Christ the object (subject) of faith.

ChristoGod&dquo; shows
which makes

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CHRISTOLOGICAL VARIANTS IN P46

This paper has attempted to show the

of readinas in P46 without noting whether

theological significance
they

or

the texts with

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68

While this
are compared are the original readings/31/.
quest is beyond the scope of this investigation, some perspective
on the theological significance may be gained by viewing the Christoloqical variants in P46, as a whole, first as secondary and then

which they

as

original readings.

If P46 is a secondary text, these variants suggest that P46

has a subordinationist Christology. 4:6 speaks of the sending of
the Spirit. In P46 this Spirit is Gods Spirit not the Spirit of
the Son/32/. In 4:7, P46 makes no declaration of the agency of
Christ. The inheritance has come through the agency of God alone.
Similarly in 1:6, P46 does not speak of &dquo;the grace of Christ.&dquo; In
2:20, P46 has changed the genitiveI phrase &dquo;faith in the Son of God&dquo;
to read &dquo;faith in God and Christ.&dquo; The addition of the phrase &dquo;inn
God&dquo; suggests that the scribe-theologian/33/ saw a need for a role
3:17 makes
of God in this passage to support the work of Christ.
no mention of the agency of Christ in establishment of the covenant of Abraham. Together these readings suggest subordinationist

Christology.
On the other hand if P46 is the original text, the other text
has embellished these readings and established a broader, higher
Christology. In 4:6 the scribe-theologian has added the phrase
&dquo;of his Son.&dquo; 4:7 shows the agency of Christ. In 1:6 it is the
grace &dquo;of Christ.&dquo; 2:20 has the Son alone as the object of faith
In 3:17 Christ is not only pre-existhat enables Paul to live.
tent but works in history before the incarnation. Thus, if P46 is
original, this later text has added material in order to present
II

higher Christology/34/.

Where does P46 fit into church history? Some scholars have
The Nestle text (25th ed.) cona relationship with Marcion.
jectures that Marcion utilized the reading of P46 that omits the
phrase &dquo;of his Son&dquo; in 4:6. Harnack, as cited by Blackman,&dquo;probably&dquo;lists 1:6 as found in P46 as a Marcionite tendentious emendation/35/. However, no explanation is given for this omission.
On the other hand, Schlier and others have noted that 3:19 of P46
is probably a reaction to the theology of Marcion/36/.

noted

CONCLUSION
This paper is the beginning of a complete study of the signiGalatians was chosen at random
ficance of textual variants in P46.
as a starting point, and some theologically significant readings
have been found. Whether other letters will be as fruitful remains
to be discovered.

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69

In such

study the problem of

precise methodology

must be

resolved. What should be the basis of comparison? 4Jhat is the

relationship of P46 and text-types? How are text types defined/37/?
I believe that study of variant readings in P46 and other manuscripts is useful to both the exegete and the church historian. The
exegete will gain some insight on the text as the variant shows how
some scribe-theologian wrote how he thought the text was to be understood/38/. These variants whould also help the church historian
as they show areas of theological controversy.

NOTES

/1/ Note the frequency of "accidentally" in B.M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (New York, 1971,passim.
/2/ H.C. Kee, F.W. Young, and K. Froelich, Understanding the New
Testament (Englewood Cliffs, 1963), "Introduction (n.p.). Others
one (variant) affecting the subVaganay, An Introduction to the
Textual Criticism of the New Testament, cited by K.W. Clark,

similarly state: "There is not

L.
stance of Christian dogma."

"Theological Relevance of Textual Variation in Current Criticism

Journal of Biblical Literature, 85
of the Greek New Testament, "
(1966), 3: and "There is no essential historical or theological
point that is determined one way or another by textual variants.",
J.H. Greenlee, Introduction to Textual Criticism (Grand Rapids,
1964), p. 68.
/3/ "Theological Relevance,"7.
/4/ "Textual Criticism and Doctrine," Studia Paulina (Haarlem,

1953),

pp. 69-80.

/5/ The Theological Tendency of Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis in

Acts

(Cambridge, 1966),

p.

165.

/6/ "Textual Variation in Relation to Theological Interpretation in

the New Testament" (Ph.D. dissertation, Duke University, 1966)
/7/ "The Alteration of Lukes Tradition by the Textual Variants
in Codex Bezae" (Ph.D. dissertation, Case Western Reserve Univer-

sity, 1974), p. 262.

/8/ "Theological Variants in the Western Text of the Pauline Corpus"
(Ph.D. dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 1975).
/9/ W. Sanday and A.C. Headlam, Romans (6th ed.; Edinburgh, 1964),
p. lxxi.
Only 27 of Pelts 175 variants are from Paul.

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70

Epistles (London, 1953), p. 263.

In order to qualify as a Western reading the variant had to
appear in one of the bilingual codices (Dd, Ff, Gg) and have
attestation by a Western Father. This excluded about 75 readings.
/12/ B.M. Metzger, The Text of the New Testament (New York, 1964),
/10/
/11/

G. Zuntz, The Text of the

p. 252.

/13/ The Greek New Testament of the United Bible Societies, ed. K.
Aland, M. Black, B.M. Metzger, and A. Wikgren (Stuttgart, 1969)
will be used for comparison with P46. When P46 agrees with the
consensus text of the UBS, other manuscripts will be used for comparison. Such a methodology will be employed in this preliminary
If a complete study of the theological textual variants
paper.
is carried out, a more reasoned methodology, probably utilizing
text types, will be used.

/14/ The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians (London, 1934), p. 115.

/15/ "Exegesis of Galatians," The Interpreters Bible, ed. G.A.
Buttrick, et
. (New York, 1953), Vol. X, p. 513.
al
/16/ G.S. Duncan, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians, p.115.
/17/ E.D. Burton, The Epistle to the Edinburgh,
Galatians ( 1921),
p. 168.

/18/ J.B. Lightfoot, The Epistle of St. Paul

(London, 1896),

to the Galatians

p. 144.

/19/ R. Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, trans. K. Grobel

(New York, 1951), Vol. I, p. 265.
/20/ This is similar to Lightfoots first interpretation "to check
transgressions" (p. 144). Lightfoot gives no Pauline support but
lists Clem. Hom. XI. 16.

/21/ Ambrosiastri qui Dicitur Commentarius in Epistulas Paulinas,

ed. H.J. Vogels (Vindobonae, 1966 , Vol. I, p. 38.

/22/ Sifre Deut. #37:76a; Gen. R. 8,2; ABN 31.

/23/ There are two grammatical possibilities for the phrase
ϵι&sfgr; χριστ&ogr;ν: (1) The phrase could be taken temporally,
that is, the law is only to exist until the coming of Christ.
While this interpretation is a grammatical possibility, its weakness is that it places the covenant on the same temporal level as
the law.

argument.

This

diminishes the thrust of Pauls

mean that Christ is the agent
This is based upon the fact that in Koine Greek

interpretation

(2)

ϵις

of the covenant.

χριστ&ogr;ν could

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71

preposition ϵι&sfgr; can have the same meaning as the preposition ϵν. Hence, it is possible that the phrase ϵι&sfgr; χριστ&ogr;ν
shows Christ as a personal agent. This interpretation is shared
by the Latin witnesses of the western text, for the Latin preposition in also can show agency. This alternative is taken as more
probable because of the united testimony of the Greek and Latin
witnesses.
the

"Confession of Faith," The Constitution of the Presbyterian

Church in the United States of America, 1919 (Philadelphia), p.20,

/24/
n.q.

W. Walker, A History of the Christian Church

(New York, 1950):
The Third Council of Toledo added the phrase to the Nicene Creed in
589 (p.180).

/25/

/26/ Bligh, Galatians in Greek (Detroit, 1966), p. 80

/27/ H. Schlier, Der Brief an die Galater, 12ed. (Göttingen, 1962,
p.

37, n.2.

well as many commentators make this phrase an objective genitive. Some as H. Ljungman, Pistis: A Study of Its
Presuppositions and Its Meaning in Pauline Use (Lund, 1964), p. 38;
and M. Barth, "Galatians" (unpublished, Pittsburgh), p. 421 take
this to be a subjective genitive and translate the phrase as "by
the faithfulness of the Son of God." The possibility that the text
of P46 is a subjective genitive will be discussed below.

/28/ The RSV

as

/29/ A Textual Commentary

1971),

on

the Greek New Testament

(New York,

p. 593

/30/ See Rom. 3:3 for this usage (the faithfulness of God).
/31/ In 3:17 the UBS text is the same as P46 and other mss.
used for

are

comparison.

/32/ P46 may have done this to keep from confusing the persons of
the Trinity.
E.g., The Shepherd of Hermas, Sim. 5,5,2 and 9,9,1
equates the Spirit and the Son.
/33/ The dual function was suggested by K.W. Clark.
/34/ Further research must be carried out in order to see if this
pattern exists elsewhere in the Pauline corpus. If it does not
exist in the corpus as a whole, it may be indicative that each
letter has had its own textual history.

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