A Textual Commentary On The Greek NT

Acts 1:7

Acts 1:7 Ouvc u`mw/n evstin gnw/nai

Lake and Cadbury render the verse, “And he [Jesus] said to them, ‘No one can know times or seasons which the Father fixed by his own authority,’” and comment on No one can know: “This is the Western reading; the Neutral and later text is ‘it is not yours to know.’ The Western reading is preferable because the paraphrast is unlikely to have ascribed ignorance to Jesus.” ⁵⁶ The expression “the Western reading” is used here in a rather deceptive manner. No New Testament manuscript in any language contains this reading; only Cyprian (Test. iii, 89) and Augustine (Ep. 197) quote the form, “Nemo potest cognoscere tempus.” Moreover, in a reply to Augustine, Hesychius, Bishop of Salona in Dalmatia (Ep. 198, 2), corrects Augustine’s quotation, pointing out that “in the most ancient books of the churches it is not written, ‘No one can,’ but it is written, ‘It is not yours to know times and seasons, which the Father put in his own power.’” ⁵⁷

In support of the reading involving the second person plural, Hesychius appropriately draws Augustine’s attention to the continuation of the passage in Acts, which reads, “But you will be witnesses …” In his subsequent reply to Hesychius (Ep. 199, 1 ff.), the Bishop of Hippo tacitly accepts the correction and henceforth quotes the passage, “It is not for you to know …”

In view of such slender evidence it is better, with Haenchen, to regard the text quoted by Cyprian and Augustine as simply a reproduction of Mark 13:32, and not as testimony for the existence of a similar reading in Acts.

⁵⁶ The Beginnings of Christianity, vol. IV, p. 8.

⁵⁷ Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, vol. LVII, p. 236, lines 6—11.

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A Textual Commentary On The Greek NT

Acts 1:7

Old Testament

New Testament