Orthodox Bible for Beginner, Study notes of Law

Download Orthodox Bible for Beginner and more Study notes Law in PDF only on Docsity!

THE EASTERN / GREEK

ORTHODOX BIBLE

NEW TESTAMENT

Presented to

Presented by

Date - Occasion

THE EASTERN / GREEK

ORTHODOX BIBLE

BASED ON THE SEPTUAGINT

AND THE PATRIARCHAL TEXT

NEW TESTAMENT

ALSO KNOWN AS

THE CHRISTIAN GREEK

SCRIPTURES

With extensive introductory and supplemental material

Theophany: The Lord’s Baptism

By the hand of Julia Hayes

ABBREVIATIONS AND CODES

[ ]

Indicates words added for clarity and accuracy but which may not be in the Greek text. For public reading, these words can be included or skipped

{ } Indicates words added for theological clarity and accuracy. For public reading, these words should be skipped

< >

Indicates words that may have been added in the Byzantine textual tradition for the purpose of clarification, harmonization or liturgical use and which are present in PT, but which may not have been part of the original manuscripts

ANF/PNF Ante-Nicene Fathers / Post-Nicene Fathers

BAC Being as Communion , John Zizioulas

CCC Catechism of the Catholic Church

CT Modern “eclectic” texts or reconstructed "critical texts" (United Bible Societies Text (UBS) or the Nestle-Aland Text (NA))

CTC Called to Communion , Joseph Ratzinger

EBC Eucharist, Bishop, Church , John Zizioulas

EOB Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible

HBB His Broken Body , Laurent Cleenewerck

HE Ecclesiastical History (Eusebius) (Paul Maier’s edition)

KJV King James Version (sometimes called Authorized Version )

LXX Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint which is the basis for the main English text of the EOB/OT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• ABBREVIATIONS AND CODES
• THE GREEK ALPHABET .........................................................................................
• MANUSCRIPT CODES ..............................................................................................
• ABOUT THE EOB NEW TESTAMENT ..............................................................
• INTRODUCTION TO THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS AND ACTS ................. THE GOSPELS
• (ACCORDING TO) MATTHEW (ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΤΘΑΙΟΝ)..................................
• (ACCORDING TO) MARK (ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΡΚΟΝ)...............................................
• (ACCORDING TO) LUKE (ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ) ................................................
• INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL OF JOHN .............................................
• (ACCORDING TO) JOHN (ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ)...............................................
• ACTS OF THE APOSTLES (ΠΡΑΞΕΙΣ ΤΩΝ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΩΝ) ....................
• INTRODUCTION TO THE PAULINE EPISTLES......................................... THE EPISTLES AND REVELATION
• ROMANS (ΠΡΟΣ ΡΩΜΑΙΟΥΣ) ............................................................................
• 1 CORINTHIANS (ΠΡΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΟΥΣ Α).....................................................
• 2 CORINTHIANS (ΠΡΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΟΥΣ Β).....................................................
• GALATIANS (ΠΡΟΣ ΓΑΛΑΤΑΣ) ........................................................................
• EPHESIANS (ΠΡΟΣ ΕΦΕΣΙΟΥΣ) ........................................................................
• PHILIPPIANS (ΠΡΟΣ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΗΣΙΟΥΣ) ..........................................................
• COLOSSIANS (ΠΡΟΣ ΚΟΛOΣΣΑΕΙΣ)................................................................
• 1 THESSALONIANS (ΠΡΟΣ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΕΙΣ Α) ......................................
• 2 THESSALONIANS (ΠΡΟΣ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΕΙΣ Β).......................................
• 1 TIMOTHY (ΠΡΟΣ ΤΙΜΟΘΕΟΝ Α) .................................................................
• 2 TIMOTHY (ΠΡΟΣ ΤΙΜΟΘΕΟΝ B) .................................................................
• TITUS (ΠΡΟΣ ΤΙΤΟΝ)............................................................................................
• PHILEMON (ΠΡΟΣ ΦΙΛΗΜΟΝΑ)......................................................................
• HEBREWS (ΠΡΟΣ ΕΒΡΑΙΟΥΣ)...........................................................................
• INTRODUCTION TO THE OTHER EPISTLES.............................................
• JAMES (ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΙΑΚΩΒΟΥ).........................................................................
• 1 PETER (ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΠΕΤΡΟΥ Α)....................................................................
• 2 PETER (ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΠΕΤΡΟΥ B)....................................................................
• 1 JOHN (ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ Α) ...................................................................
• 2 JOHN (ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ B)....................................................................
• 3 JOHN (ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ Γ) ....................................................................
• JUDE (ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΙΟΥΔΑ) ..................................................................................
• INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF JOHN .................................
• REVELATION (ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ ΑΠΟΚΑΛΥΨΙΣ) ..................................................
• APPENDIX A: ACTS 20:28 - PRESBYTERS AND BISHOPS....................... APPENDICES
• APPENDIX B: MATTHEW 16:18 – CHURCH AND APOSTLES ..............
• APPENDIX C: JOHN 1:1,18 – JESUS AS ‘GOD’................................................
• APPENDIX D: JOHN 15:26 - THE FILIOQUE CONTROVERSY..............
• APPENDIX E: MARK 6:3 - THE ‘BROTHERS’ OF THE LORD.................

THE EASTERN / GREEK ORTHODOX BIBLE (EOB) – NEW TESTAMENT 14

MANUSCRIPT CODES

Code / Symbol Type / Name / Date

(א) 01 Codex Sinaiticus / 4th cent.

A (02) Codex Alexandrinus / 5th cent.

B (03) Codex Vaticanus / 4th cent.

C (04) Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus / 5th cent.

D (05) Codex Bezae (Bezae Cantabrigiensis) / 5th cent.

it Itala (old Latin) / 4th cent.

P45 Papyrus Chester Beatty I / 2nd^ cent.

P46 Papyrus Chester Beatty II / 2nd^ cent.

P52 Papyrus John Rylands P457 / 2 nd^ cent.

P66 Papyrus Bodmer II / 2nd^ cent.

P75 Papyrus Bodmer XIV, XV / 2 nd^ cent.

PT Patriarchal Text

W (032) Codex Washingtonensis / Freer Gospels / 5th cent.

Δ (Delta, 037) Sangallensis / 8th-9^ th^ cent.

Φ (Phi, 043) Codex Beratinus / 5th-6^ th^ cent.

Θ (Theta, 038) Codex Koridethianus / 7 th-9 th^ cent.

Ψ (Psi, 044) Athos Laura B' 52 / 8th-9^ th^ cent.

INTRODUCTION

ABOUT THE EOB NEW TESTAMENT

PURPOSE

The EOB New Testament was prepared for personal study and liturgical use in English-speaking Orthodox Christian communities. Its format and font are designed to make both activities accessible and rewarding. Every attempt has been made to offer an accurate and scholarly translation of the Greek text, free of the theological bias that has affected most other translations of the New Testament, including the NIV (2 Thess. 2:15) and NAB (Matt. 5:32).

Another intention of this translation is to foster interest in learning the Greek language (biblical, patristic and modern), which is why many footnotes make reference to the underlying Greek vocabulary.

The purpose of this edition is also to make the reader aware of possible textual variants by footnoting all significant instances where the Patriarchal Text (PT) may not agree with the Textus Receptus (TR), the Majority Text (MT) or the Critical Text (CT). In several instances, the footnotes will provide references to specific manuscripts.

Until the publication of the EOB, the King James and New King James versions have been the preferred translations, partly because they are based on the Textus Receptus (TR) which is a Byzantine-type text that is close to the normative ecclesiastical text of the Greek-speaking Orthodox Churches.

The Textus Receptus (Latin: “received text”) is the name subsequently given to the succession of printed Greek texts of the New Testament which constituted the translation base for Luther’s original German Bible. The TR was also used for the translation of the New Testament into English by William Tyndale, for the King James Version, and for most other Reformation-era New Testament translations throughout Western and Central Europe.

This series of printed texts originated with the first printed Greek New Testament to be published. This project was undertaken in Basel in 1516 by Desiderius Erasmus, a Dutch Roman Catholic scholar and humanist. This first TR was assembled on the basis of six manuscripts

INTRODUCTION

and for liturgical use. Moreover, Orthodox Christians are invited to submit their suggestions so that the published text may be regularly updated and improved.

EOB FOOTNOTES

Unlike the Orthodox Study Bible (OSB) , the EOB footnotes focus on textual and translation issues, and refrain from providing extensive theological or doctrinal interpretations. Hence, the goal of the main text is to provide the reader with a clear sense of what the Scriptures say with possible nuances, not how they should be interpreted.

There are two reasons for this philosophy. The first one is that footnote commentaries are often perceived as “authoritative” by the reader – almost on the level of Scripture or official commentary. Hence, the reader’s attention is directed to particular explanation, at the risk of not letting the inspired text speak for itself. The second reason is that a few of the explanatory footnotes of the OSB may be debated among Orthodox theologians, as in the case of Acts 1:20 and Revelation 17:1 among others. Please refer to the introductions and appendices for appropriate explanations.

PRIMARY GREEK TEXT(S)

The translation of the New Testament included in the EOB is based on the official Greek text published by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1904 ( Patriarchal Text or PT ). During the Turkish occupation of the Greek lands, various editions of the NT had been published with significant variants. In 1902, in order to ensure ecclesiastical harmony, the Ecumenical Patriarchate appointed a committee whose task was to publish a common and official text. This committee retired to Mount Athos and studied about 20 major Byzantine manuscripts from which they adopted one, yet taking into consideration significant variants from other manuscripts. This text, which is very close to the so- called Majority Text (MT), was published for the first time in 1904. It has since then been adopted by all Greek-speaking Orthodox Churches (Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Greece, Cyprus, and Crete). Its purpose is not to offer an always speculative reconstruction of the original autographs but to provide a uniform ecclesiastical text which is a reliable and accurate witness to the truth of the Christian faith.

This Greek text was prepared more than a hundred years ago, hence before the discovery of new manuscripts and before the development of textual criticism. For this reason, even though the Patriarchal text is primary for the main body of the EOB/NT, constant reference has been made to so- called Critical Text (CT) published by the United Bible Society

THE EASTERN / GREEK ORTHODOX BIBLE (EOB) – NEW TESTAMENT 18

(UBS/NA27 4 th^ edition). In the process of comparing the differences between the Patriarchal Text and the Critical Text, special attention has been given to patristic quotations. All significant variants between PT/MT/TR and CT have been studied and footnoted to provide variant readings.

The Byzantine text-type (also called Majority, Traditional, Ecclesiastical, Constantinopolitan, or Syrian) is one of several text- types used in textual criticism to describe the textual character of certain Greek New Testament manuscripts. It is the form found in the largest number of surviving manuscripts. The New Testament text of the Greek Orthodox Churches, the Patriarchal edition of 1904 (PT), is based on this text-type. This textual tradition also underlies the Textus Receptus Greek text. A synthetic Greek New Testament text based on these majority readings – hence the name “Majority Text” - has been produced by Zane C. Hodges and Arthur L. Farstad, although this text does not correspond to any one particular manuscript. There are only six manuscripts earlier than the 9th century which conform to the Byzantine text-type; of which the 5th century Codex Alexandrinus, (the oldest), is Byzantine only in the Gospels with the rest of the New Testament being Alexandrian. By comparison, the Alexandrian text-type is witnessed by nine surviving uncials earlier than the ninth century (including the Codex Alexandrinus outside the Gospels); and is also usually considered to be demonstrated in three earlier papyri. Modern critical editions of the New Testament tend to conform most often to Alexandrian witnesses — especially Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus (see below). The earliest of the Church Fathers who is considered to be a consistent witness to a Byzantine text-type in NT quotations is St. John Chrysostom.

Orthodox Christians should be aware that the foundational Greek text used by most modern translations such as the New International Version and (New) Revised Standard Version is the Critical Text (CT). By contrast, the foundational text for the King James and New King James versions is the Textus Receptus (TR). Moreover, many use the dynamic- equivalency translation approach as opposed to formal-equivalency. Due to doctrinal bias and other aberrations, these translations are generally prohibited for ecclesiastical use by Orthodox hierarchs.

The EOB/NT was translated using the formal-equivalency approach, although like the King James Version, it sometimes adopts dynamic- equivalent readings. Also, and for the purpose of easier readability and comprehension, long Greek sentences have been broken down into smaller

THE EASTERN / GREEK ORTHODOX BIBLE (EOB) – NEW TESTAMENT 20

recently published edition of the Septuagint, his monastic guests expressed interest and appreciation. Tischendorf writes:

On the afternoon of this day, I was taking a walk with the steward of the convent in the neighborhood, and as we returned, towards sunset, he begged me to take some refreshment with him in his cell. Scarcely had he entered the room, when, resuming our former subject of conversation, he said: “And I, too, have read a Septuagint” - i.e. a copy of the Greek translation made by the Seventy. And so saying, he took down from the corner of the room a bulky kind of volume, wrapped up in a red cloth, and laid it before me. I unrolled the cover, and discovered, to my great surprise, not only those very fragments which, fifteen years before, I had taken out of the basket, but also other parts of the Old Testament, the New Testament complete, and, in addition, the Epistle of Barnabas and a part of the Pastor of Hermas.a

Tsar Alexander II, who had commissioned Tischendorf’s expedition, sent the monastery 9,000 rubles to compensate the monastery for the ‘loss’ of the manuscript. It should be noted that Tischendorf had promised that the codex would be returned to the monastery, but this never materialized. Instead, this ancient treasure was long kept by the Russian National Library and in 1933, the Soviet Union sold it to the British Library for £100,000.

Hence, Codex Sinaiticus is not only one of the oldest manuscripts available today (330-350), it is also Orthodox in origin and was not itself ‘discovered in a trash can’ as many mistakenly believe. On the other hand, the codex is heavily corrected and may not be as reliable as modern textual critics often claim.

Codex Vaticanus (Vatican Library, Gregory-Aland no. B or 03) is also one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Bible. Its origins are not known, but it has been suggested that Codex Vaticanus was among the fifty bibles commissioned by Emperor St. Constantine I to Eusebius of Caesarea. The EOB/OT and Brenton’s LXX are primarily based on this manuscript (except for 1-4 Maccabees and the Prayer of Manasseh which are absent).

Codex Alexandrinus (British Library, Gregory-Aland no. A or 02) is a 5th century manuscript containing the majority of the Septuagint and the New Testament. It is also considered as one of the earliest and most complete manuscripts of the Bible. It is named after the See of Alexandria where it resided for a number of years until the 17th century when Patriarch Cyril Lukaris offered it to the British Crown.

In general, the Critical Text follows Sinaiticus and Vaticanus when they agree, which is rarer than one would expect. The Critical Text also tends

a (^) Quoted in A History of the Textual Criticism of the New Testament by Marvin Richardson Vincent, p. 16

INTRODUCTION

to follow Sinaiticus or Vaticanus when either one agrees with ancient papyri and pre-Nicene quotations.

Inasmuch as the debate still rages among biblical scholars regarding the relative merits of the Majority (Byzantine) Text versus the so-called Critical/Alexandrian Text, the EOB always follows the Patriarchal Text with textual signs such as footnotes, [ ], <>, and {}.

Although there are good scholarly arguments both for and against using the Byzantine Majority Text over the Critical Text, many Orthodox hierarchs and theologians take the following into consideration: ƒ When a scribe had a choice of manuscripts to copy, he would normally copy the one that he trusted the most, thus causing the most trusted text to be copied more often; ƒ The Holy Spirit takes an active interest in preserving what He has inspired and in what the Church has used for her liturgical life. At the very least, the Byzantine textual tradition reflects ‘the life of the Spirit in the Church’ and can be considered ‘the ecclesiastical text’ and an assured witness.

It is important to note that no doctrine is ever at stake on account of these variant readings. Moreover, if ancient writers such as Origen, Irenaeus, Basil or Chrysostom supported a non-Byzantine variant reading of significance, this will be mentioned in a footnote. Again, it is important to note that the main in-page wording of the EOB New Testament follows the Patriarchal/ecclesiastical text.

FOUNDATIONAL ENGLISH TEXT

The EOB/NT project began as a revision of the WEB ( World English Bible ) which is a fairly accurate, easy-to-read and well-respected public- domain translation based on the Majority Text. The WEB does not suffer from the constraints and occasional biases of other translations such as the NIV (New International Version). It is primarily an update of the 1901 edition of the ASV (American Standard Version) using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia , (also called The Stuttgart Bible), in the Old Testament, a^ and the Byzantine Majority Text (MT) in the New.

During the process of verifying, correcting and retranslating the WEB text for the EOB/NT edition, the Patriarchal Text of 1904 and the UBS/NA Critical Text were systematically consulted. In addition, recent scholarly studies have been taken into consideration, notably Jesus as God: The New Testament Use of Theos in Reference to Jesus (Murray J. Harris); Truth in

a (^) For the EOB, this only applies to the including of Job, Esther and Jeremiah according the Masoretic text.