A Textual Commentary On The Greek NT

1 Peter 5:2

1 Peter 5:2 @evpiskopou/ntej# mh. avnagkastw/j avlla. e`kousi,wj kata. qeo,n {C}

It is difficult to decide whether one should follow the authority of such important witnesses as a* B al and regard the inclusion of evpiskopou/ntej in î⁷² a² A and most other witnesses as an exegetical expansion (made perhaps in accordance with 1 Peter 2:25), or whether the shorter text is the result of deliberate excision, prompted either by stylistic considerations (namely, that after poima,nate the word is redundant) or by ecclesiastical conviction (namely, that Peter could never have admonished presbyters [ver. 1 Peter 5:1] to exercise the function of bishops). In order to represent the balance of external evidence and of transcriptional probabilities, the Committee decided to include the word (which tallies very well with the author’s fondness for participles), but to enclose it within square brackets to indicate a certain doubt that it belongs in the text. The phrase kata. qeo,n, which is read by a variety of witnesses representing several text types (î⁷² a A P Y 33 81 1739 it^{h, r} vg syr^h cop^{sa, bo} arm eth (Speculum)), is omitted by B K L most minuscules syr^p, perhaps because copyists found difficulty in understanding its precise import (i.e. “according to [the will of] God”).

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A Textual Commentary On The Greek NT

1 Peter 5:2

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