A Textual Commentary On The Greek NT

Acts 4:13-16

The Western text, preserved most fully in it^h and cop^G67, rewrites the account, emphasizing the perplexity of the Sanhedrin:

“Now when they all heard the firmness of Peter and John, convinced that they were uneducated and common men, they were amazed; (14) but seeing the lame man standing with them, cured, they could make no opposition in deed or word (cop^G67 omits: in deed or word). But some of them recognized that they had been with Jesus. (Then they talked with each other [cop^G67]).”

Codex Bezae stands between the full-blown Western form of text and the text of most of the old uncials. The scribe of D omits kai. ivdiw/tai (ver. Acts 4:13), perhaps because the double expression avgra,mmatoi, eivsin kai. ivdiw/tai seemed to depreciate the apostles too much. In order to heighten the Sanhedrin’s inability to cope with the situation, D inserts poih/sai h; after ei=con, “they had nothing to do or say in opposition” (ver. Acts 4:14). For the more neutral, “When they [the Sanhedrin] commanded them to go aside (avpelqei/n) out of the council,” Bezae substitutes a more picturesque word, “… commanded that they should be led (avpacqh/nai) out of the council” (ver. Acts 4:15). Instead of saying simply that “it is clear” (fanero,n) that a notable sign had been performed through the apostles, D enhances the account by using the comparative fanero,teron (instead of fanerw,teron) in the elative sense, “it is all too clear” (ver. Acts 4:16).

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A Textual Commentary On The Greek NT

Acts 4:13-16

Old Testament

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