Codex Δ
(037, Sangallensis), which we described in the previous post, is possibly the
most important Greek-Latin Gospels-manuscripts produced in medieval
Europe. Bruce
Metzger, in his handbook
The Text of the New Testament, concisely described its text in
Matthew, Luke, and John as Byzantine, and its text in Mark as Alexandrian. This would make it a “
block-mixed”
manuscript, that is, a manuscript in which at least one portion echoes an
ancestry not shared by the rest.
That is,
however, a somewhat oversimplified description of Codex Δ’s text.
The easiest way to show this is to drag you,
patient reader, through lists of some of the readings in the manuscript.
First, let’s take a look at some of Δ’s
non-Byzantine readings in the first 10 chapters of Matthew, Luke, and John:
Matthew
2:9 – Δ reads αυτοις, agreeing with L.
3:16 – Δ is missing the first two words of the verse.
4:18 – Δ includes ο Ις near the beginning of the
verse.
5:34 – Δ does not have τω before Κω, agreeing with L.
6:10 – Δ reads ελθατω instead of ελθετω agreeing with À, D,
and W)
7:29 – Δ includes αυτων at the end of the verse (agreeing
with À
Β Κ Π).
8:16 – Δ adds ακαθαρτος (so as to emphasize that Jesus cast
out the unclean spirits).
9:23 – Δ omits τους before αυλητας.
10:5 – Δ reads εισελθητε instead of απελθητε, and then απελθητε
instead of εισελθητε.
10:9 – Δ reads χαλικον instead of χαλκον.
10:33 – Δ omits (via h.t.)
this verse; it is added by a corrector.
Luke
1:17 – Δ reads Κυ instead of αυτου after ενωπιον.
1:28 – Δ moves ο αγγελος to a location between αυτην and
ειπεν (agreeing with À 69 579 700).
1:70 – Δ does not include των after αγιων.
2:15 – Δ does not include και οι ανθρωποι (agreeing with À B L
W)
2:21 – Δ reads αυτον instead of το παιδίον (agreeing with À B A
K L W Π).
2:36 – Δ reads μετα ανδρος ετη επτα (agreeing with À B* L
N W).
3:4 – Δ does not include λεγοντος (agreeing with À B D
L W)
6:1 – Δ does not include των before σπορίμων (agreeing with À* B A
L W).
6:10 – Δ does not include υγιης but includes ως η αλλη
(agreeing with A K Π).
7:6 – Δ does not include ο εκατοντάρχος.
8:21 – Δ does not include αυτον after ποιουντες (agreeing
with P75 B A D L W).
8:36 – Δ does not include και after αυτοις (agreeing with
P75 À
B L).
9:20 – Δ reads αυτους instead of αυτοις.
9:33 – Δ reads υπ’ instead of απ’ (agreeing with L).
9:50 – Δ reads υμων instead of ημων after καθ’ (agreeing
with P75 B À*
D K L).
10:22 – Δ reads επιγινωσκει instead of γινωσκει (agreeing
with C 33 700).
John
1:20 – Δ reads Εγω ουκ ειμι instead of Ουκ ειμι εγω
(agreeing with P66 P75 B À A L).
1:22 – Δ reads ειπαν instead of ειπον (agreeing with P66 P75
B).
1:34 – Δ reads εωρακα instead of εορακα (agreeing with P66 B
À
A C L M N).
2:3 – Δ inserts (but a corrector removes) τοις καθημενοις
before του Ιυ.
2:4 – Δ does not include ο Ις.
3:8 – Δ reads αλλα instead of αλλ’ (agreeing with B 579
700).
4:8 – Δ does not include την before πολιν.
4:14 – Δ reads διψει instead of διψήση (or διψήσει)
4:21 – Δ does not have μοι after πιστευσον.
4:31 – Δ does not include αυτον.
4:37 – Δ does not have ο before αληθινος (agreeing with B L
N 33).
5:25 – Δ does not have υμιν after λεγω.
5:28 – Δ does not have ωρα after ερχεται.
5:28 – Δ reads ακουσωσιν instead of ακουσουσιν or ακουσονται
(agreeing with P66c À
L)
6:5 – Δ does not include τον before Φιλιππον (agreeing with
P66 B À
D L 33)
6:16 – Δ does not include το before πλοιον (agreeing with
P75 B À
L 33 700)
6:22 – Δ reads ειδον instead of ιδων (agreeing with P75 B A
33)
6:44 – Δ reads με instead of εμε after προς (agreeing with B
E M Θ U)
6:55 – Δ does not include μου after αιμα.
8:14 – Δ does not include the last phrase (from after υμεις
– via h.t.).
8:24 – Δ reads πιστευσηται instead of πιστευσητε (agreeing
with P66 L W)
8:39 – Δ reads εποιειτε αν (agreeing with L K M N Π 33).
9:1 – Δ does not include ο Ις.
9:27 – Δ reads μαθηται αυτου instead of αυτου μαθηται
(agreeing with P66 À
L D 33 157).
9:32 – Δc reads ηνεωξεν (agreeing with B N W), corrected
from ενεωξεν.
9:39 – Δ reads κρισιν instead of κριμα.
10:26 – Δ reads αλλα instead of αλλ (agreeing with P66 P75 B
À
A L W 33).
10:30 – Δ reads μου after πατηρ (agreeing with W 700).
10:34 – Δ reads ειπον instead of ειπα (agreeing with A D M S
U 33).
10:39 – Δ reads ουν after Εζητουν (agreeing with P66 À A K
L W 33).
These samples show that when the text
of Δ drifts away from the Byzantine Text in Matthew, Luke, and John, it is
often in quirky ways that can be attributed to the copyist – and
when this explanation fails, the departure is often toward the Alexandrian Text
– but the detour is always brief. Once itacisms,
variations in names, and obvious blunders are filtered out, the real mixture in
the text of Δ in Matthew, Luke, and John is minimal. It would be misleading to describe this
manuscript’s Greek text in these three books as anything but Byzantine.
Now let’s look at the text of Mark
in Δ. It is quite different!
In Mark, the text of Δ is much more Alexandrian – it supports “in Isaiah the prophet” in Mark 1:2, for
instance – but not as much as some concise descriptions of the manuscript have
led readers to believe. Its text agrees with the Byzantine text at the end of Mark 1:2 (including εμπροσθεν σου), at
the end of 1:5, at the beginning of 1:8 (including μεν), at the end of 1:9,
1:10 (επ not εις), at the beginning of 1:13 (Δ includes εκει), at the beginning
of 1:14 (Μετα δε, not Και μετα), at the beginning of 1:16 (Περιπατων δε, not
Και παραγων), and near the beginning of 1:19 (Δ includes εκειθεν before
ολιγον).
By the time Mark 1:20 is reached,
the reader of Codex Δ has also encountered several readings which are neither
Alexandrian nor Byzantine. So should Δ’s
text in Mark be considered an poorly transcribed form of the Alexandrian
Text, or is it a Mixed Text (combining Alexandrian and Byzantine
readings)? The only sure way to find out
is to sift through the text itself.
Let’s investigate some sample-passages and see whether Δ is allied more
closely with B (representing the Alexandrian Text – using the readings it displayed when it left the scriptorium) or with A (representing the
Byzantine Text), setting aside variant-units where Δ agrees with neither B nor
A.
● Mark 2:1-12:
1 – Δ reads εισηλθεν (agreeing with A, not with B)
1 – Δ reads Καφαρναουμ (agreeing
with B, not with A)
1 – Δ includes και (agreeing with
A, not with B)
1 – Δ reads εις οικον (agreeing
with A, not with B)
2 – Δ includes ευθεως (agreeing
with A, not with B)
3 – Δ’s word-order agrees with A,
not with B)
4 – Δ reads προσεγγίσαι (agreeing
with A, not with B)
4 – Δ reads εφ ω (agreeing with A,
not with B)
5 – Δ reads Ιδων δε, agreeing with
A, not with B)
5 – Δ does not include σου
(agreeing with B, not with A)
7 – Δ reads βλασφημιας (agreeing
with A, not with B)
8 – Δ reads ευθεως (agreeing with
A, not with B)
8 – Δ includes ουτως αυτοι
(agreeing with A, not with B)
8 – Δ includes αυτοις (agreeing
with A, not with B)
9 – Δ reads αφίωνται (agreeing with
A, not with B)
9 – Δ reads σοι (agreeing with A,
not with B)
11 – Δ includes και (agreeing with
A, not with B)
12 – Δ reads ευθεως και (agreeing
with A, not with B)
12 - Δ reads εναντιον (agreeing
with A, not with B)
12 – Δ includes λεγοντας (agreeing
with A, not with B)
12 – Δ’s word-order agrees with A,
not with B
That’s a score of 19 agreements with A, and 2
agreements with B.
● Mark 4:1-12
1 – Δ reads συνάγεται (agreeing with
B, not with A)
1 – Δ reads πλειστος (agreeing with
B, not with A)
2 – Δ reads ησαν (agreeing with B,
not with A)
3 – Δ includes του (agreeing with
A, not with B)
5 – Δ reads ευθυς (agreeing with B,
not with A)
5 – Δ does not include της
(agreeing with A, not with B)
6 – Δ begins the verse with και ότε
(agreeing with B, not with A)
6 – Δ reads ο ηλιος (agreeing with
B, not with A)
6 – Δ reads εκαυματίσθη (agreeing
with A, not with B)
8 – Δ reads αλλο (agreeing with A,
not with B)
8 – Δ reads αυξανόμενον (agreeing
with A, not with B)
8 – Δ reads εις (before εφερεν)
(agreeing with B, not with A)
9 – Δ reads Ος εχει (agreeing with
B, not with A)
10 – Δ reads Και οτε (agreeing with
B, not with A)
10 – Δ reads τας παραβολας
(agreeing with B, not with A)
11 – Δ’s word-order agrees with A,
not with B [although Δ has γνωναι]
12 – Δ reads γινεται (agreeing with
B, not with A)
12 – Δ reads αφεθη (agreeing with
B, not with A)
Codex Δ agrees with B against A twelve times,
twice as much as it agrees with A against B.
● Mark 6:14-29
14 – Δ reads ελεγεν (agreeing with
A, not with B)
14 – Δ reads εγηγερται (agreeing
with B, not with A)
14 – Δ reads Ιάννης (agreeing with
A, not with B)
14 – Δ’s word-order agrees with B,
not with A
15 – Δ reads Ηλιας, agreeing with
A, not with B
15 – Δ does not include εστιν
(agreeing with B, not with A)
16 – Δ reads ειπεν (agreeing with
A, not with B)
16 – Δ reads οτι (agreeing with A,
not with B)
16 – Δ does not include αυτος
(agreeing with B, not with A)
16 – Δ does not include εκ νεκρων
(agreeing with B, not with A)
17 – Δ reads γαρ (agreeing with B,
not with A)
17 – Δ reads Ιάννης (agreeing with
A, not with B)
17 – Δ’s word-order agrees with B,
not with A
18 – Δ reads Ιάννης (agreeing with
A, not with B)
19 – Δ reads εδυνατο (agreeing with
A, not with B)
20 – Δ reads Ιάννην (agreeing with
A, not with B)
20 – Δ includes και (agreeing with
A, not with B)
21 – Δ reads εποίησεν (agreeing
with B, not with A)
21 – Δ reads Γαλιλαίας (agreeing
with A, not with B)
22 – Δ reads αυτου (agreeing with
B, not with A)
22 – Δ includes και (agreeing with
A, not with B)
22 – Δ’s word-order agrees with A,
not with B
23 – Δ does not include ο (after ο
τι) (agreeing with B, not with A)
23 – Δ does not include με
(agreeing with B, not with A)
24 – Δ reads και (agreeing with B,
not with A)
24 – Δ reads Ιωάννου (agreeing with
A, not with B)
24 – Δ reads βαπτιζοντος (agreeing
with B, not with A)
25 – Δ reads ευθυς (agreeing with
B, not with A)
25 – Δ’s word-order agrees with B,
not with A
25 – Δ reads Ιωάννου (agreeing with
A, not with B)
26 – Δ reads ανακειμένους (agreeing
with B, not with A)
26 – Δ’s word-order agrees with B,
not with A
27 – Δ reads ευθυς (agreeing with
B, not with A)
27 – Δ reads ενεγκαι (agreeing with
B, not with A)
27 – Δ reads και (agreeing with B,
not with A)
29 – Δ reads ηλθον (agreeing with
A, not with B)
Thus in this section there are 16
agreements with A and 20 agreements with B.
Half of those agreements with A, however, involve the orthography of
proper names, so if the effects of the unusual spelling employed by B’s copyist
are withdrawn from the equation, it is clear that in this passage, Δ favors the Alexandrian Text about two-thirds of the time. (Also, a reading of Δ in verse 19 that disagrees with B and A resembles the reading in B far more than the reading in A.)
● Mark 8:1-10
1 – Δ reads παλιν πολλου (agreeing
with B, not with A)
2 – Δ reads τρεις (agreeing with A,
not with B)
2 – Δ includes μοι (agreeing with
A, not with B)
3 – Δ reads και τινες (agreeing
with B, not with A)
3 – Δ reads εισιν (agreeing with B,
not with A)
4 – Δ includes οτι (agreeing with
B, not with A)
4 – Δ reads ερημίας (agreeing with
B, not with A)
5 – Δ reads ηρωτα (agreeing with B,
not with A)
6 – Δ reads παραγγέλλει (agreeing
with B, not with A)
6 – Δ reads παρατιθωσιν (agreeing with
B, not with A)
7 – Δ reads ειχαν (agreeing with B,
not with A)
7 – Δ reads και ταυτα παρατιθέναι
(agreeing with B, not with A)
9 – Δ reads και εφαγον (agreeing
with B, not with A)
9 – Δ does not include οι φάγοντες
(agreeing with B, not with A)
10 – Δ does not include αυτος
(agreeing with A, not with B)
10 – Δ reads Δαλμανουθα (agreeing
with A, not with B)
Thus in this section, Δ allies with
B against A 12 times, while joining A against B only four times. In all of those four places, B’s reading is
also opposed by À
L 33. So, if we consider an agreement of
À
and L and 33 to represent the Alexandrian Text better than B at points where B
sings a solo (or at least a solo among the uncials), then Codex Δ never
agrees with A against the Alexandrian Text in this passage. Here, Δ is solidly Alexandrian.
Let’s take one more sample:
Mark 14:1-9.
2 – Δ reads δε (agreeing with A,
not with B)
3 – Δ reads ελθεν (agreeing with A,
not with B)
3 – Δ includes και (agreeing with
A, not with B)
3 – Δ reads την (agreeing with B,
not with A)
3 – Δ does not include κατα
(agreeing with B, not with A)
4 – Δ includes και λέγοντες
(agreeing with A, not with B)
5 – Δ reads ενεβριμωντο (agreeing
with A, not with B)
6 – Δ reads ειργάσατο (agreeing
with A, not with B)
7 – Δ reads αυτοις (agreeing with
B, not with A)
7 – Δ does not include παντοτε
(agreeing with A, not B)
8 – Δ includes αυτη (transposed)
(agreeing with A, not with B)
8 – Δ’s word-order (μου το σωμα) agrees
with A, not with B
9 – Δ includes δε (agreeing with B,
not with A)
9 – Δ includes τουτο (agreeing with
A, not with B)
In these nine verses, Δ agrees ten
times with A against B, and only four times with B against A. In verse 9, the Byzantine Text includes δε,
thus disagreeing with A. This passage is
much more Byzantine than it is Alexandrian.
Exactly how the text of Mark in
Codex Δ obtained its unique mixture of Alexandrian and Byzantine readings is an
unanswered question. Perhaps the creator
of Δ’s exemplar possessed two Greek copies of Mark – an early Byzantine
Gospels-manuscript and a manuscript with a strongly Alexandrian text – and
created an eclectic Greek text by selecting, from both manuscripts, whatever
reading seemed to better confirm the copyist’s native Latin text.
Adding to the mystery is the
occasional appearance of readings with strange allies, such as Δ’s bare ειπεν
in 6:25 (allied with family-1), and its non-inclusion of κλασμάτων in 8:8
(allied with W – see also their shared non-inclusion of και Σιδωνος in 7:24). We do not have to solve this question,
however, to notice the implications of the data: Codex Δ does not simply have an Alexandrian
Text in Mark; the text of Mark in Codex
Δ is heavily mixed throughout, and at any given point its reading is almost
as likely to be Byzantine as it is likely to be Alexandrian.
Notably, Codex Δ includes Mark
16:9-20 (without any notes or asterisks, and with Eusebian section-number 234
given to the final section, beginning at 16:13) – and there, too, the text is
mixed.
There are non-Byzantine readings
in verses 11 (υπ’ αυτης εθεαθη, a transposition), 14 (Δ includes εκ νεκρων –
cf.
Justin
Martyr’s First Apology chapter 50),
16 (Δ has ο before βαπτισθεις, agreeing with L), 17 (καιναις is omitted,
agreeing with C* L Ψ), 18 (Και εν ταις χερσιν is included in Δ, agreeing with C
L Ψ 1 1582 33 579), and 19 (
Κς Ις, agreeing with Irenaeus’
quotation of the verse and with C* K L 33 579, rather than just
Κς – and
εν δεξια rather than εκ δεξιων).
As one can see by a close examination of the text of Mark 16:17-18 in Codex Δ, the interlinear Latin text is not derived from the Greek text that it accompanies; in Mark 16:17-18, the Greek text lacks καιναις but the Latin text has novis; the Greek text has “And in their hands” (Και εν ταις χερσιν) but this is not reflected in the Latin text. This might provoke a curious observer to look a little more closely into the Latin text. Is it all a normal Vulgate text? We shall look into that question in the next post.
[Readers are invited to double-check the data in this post.]
