Textual variants in the Book of Revelation

Textual variants in the Book of Revelation are the subject of the study called textual criticism of the New Testament. Textual variants in manuscripts arise when a copyist makes deliberate or inadvertent alterations to a text that is being reproduced. An abbreviated list of textual variants in this particular book is given in this article below.

Revelation 1:4-7 in 𝔓18

Most of the variations are not significant and some common alterations include the deletion, rearrangement, repetition, or replacement of one or more words when the copyist's eye returns to a similar word in the wrong location of the original text. If their eye skips to an earlier word, they may create a repetition (error of dittography). If their eye skips to a later word, they may create an omission. They may resort to performing a rearranging of words to retain the overall meaning without compromising the context. In other instances, the copyist may add text from memory from a similar or parallel text in another location. Otherwise, they may also replace some text of the original with an alternative reading. Spellings occasionally change. Synonyms may be substituted. A pronoun may be changed into a proper noun (such as "he said" becoming "Jesus said"). John Mill's 1707 Greek New Testament was estimated to contain some 30,000 variants in its accompanying textual apparatus[1] which was based on "nearly 100 [Greek] manuscripts."[2] Peter J. Gurry puts the number of non-spelling variants among New Testament manuscripts around 500,000, though he acknowledges his estimate is higher than all previous ones.[3]

Legend

A guide to the symbols used in the body of this article.

Notable manuscripts

Notable textual variants

Revelation 1:5

λυσαντι ημας εκ (freed us from) – 𝔓18, אc, A, C, 2020, 2081, 2814
λουσαντι ημας απο (washed us from) – P, 046, 94, 1006, 1859, 2042, 2065, 2073, 2138, 2432

Revelation 1:6

βασιλειαν (kingdom) – א, A, 046, 1854, 2050, 2351
βασιλεις (kings) – P, ByzA

Revelation 5:9

ἠγόρασας τῷ θεῷ (redeemed to God) – A, eth
ἠγόρασας τῷ θεῷ ἡμας (redeemed to God us) – 046, 1006, 1611, 1859, 2020, 2042, 2053, 2065, 2081, 2138, 2432, copbo א
ἠγόρασας ἡμας τῷ θεῷ (redeemed us to God) – 94, 1828, 2073, 2344, copsa
ἠγόρασας ἡμας (redeemed us) – 2065*, 2814, Cyprian

Revelation 8:13

αετου – א, A, P115, 046, 1424, 1841, 1862, 93, 456, 627, 920, 1611, 2329, 2351, Byz, Philoxenian, Harklean, Vulgate, Old Latin, Boharic, Sahidic, Ethiopic, Georgian, Ansbert, Bede, Oikoumenios, Primasius, Caesarius, Tyconius
αγγελου – P, 2074, 104, 241, 256, 2059, 2081, 620, 922, 2186, 2286, 2814, ByzA, Armenian, Slavonic, Andreas, Victorious
αγγελου ως αετου — 42, Oikoumenioscomm

Revelation 11:17

ο ων και ο ην και ο ερχομενος — Boharic, Tyconius, Beatus, 1841, 051, 2074, 35, 1006, 911/2040, 1740, 469, 757
ο ων και ο ην και — P47, Sinaiticus, 0308, C, 2344
ο ων και ο ην — Byz, 2814


Revelation 11:18 in Uncial 0308, the reading "Servants and prophets"

Revelation 11:18

τοις δουλοις σου και τοις προφηταις (thy servants and prophets) – 𝔓47, א, 0308
τοις δουλοις σου τοις προφηταις (thy servants prophets) – A, Byz

Revelation 13:18

εξακοσιοι εξηκοντα εξ (six hundred sixty-six) – א A P 046, most minuscules, Byzpt lat syr cop arm eth Irenaeus Hippolytus Origen Victorinus Gregory Primasius Andrew Beatus Arethas
χξϲ (666) – 𝔓47 051 Byzpt
εξακοσιοι εξηκοντα πεντε (six hundred sixty-five) – 2344
εξακοσιοι τεσσαρακοντα εξ (six hundred forty-six) – itar
εξακοσιοι δεκα εξ (six hundred sixteen) – C vgms Irenaeusmss Tyconiuspt Caesarius
χιϲ (616) – 𝔓115

Revelation 18:20

αγιοι αποστολοι — C, 051, 2329, 35, 2059, 2081, 2344, 2186, 2286, 2814, VgCl, itgig, ByzA

αγιοι και οι αποστολοι — Sinaiticus, A, P, 046, 1424, 1841, 1862, 82, 93, 456, 627, 920, 1611, 2074, 2053, 2062, Byz

αγγελου και οι αποστολοι — Hippolytus, syrhar

Revelation 22:14

ποιουντες τας εντολας αυτου (those who do His commandments) – 046 94 205 209 1611supp 1854 1859 2030 2042 2065 2073 2138 2329 2377 2432 2814 Byz itgig syr copbo (Tertullian) Cyprian Tyconius (Caesarius) Andrew (Beatus) Arethas
τηρουντες τας εντολας αυτου (those who keep His commandments) – arm
πλυνοντες τας στολας αυτων (those who wash their robes) – א A 1006 1841 2020 (2050) 2053 2062 itmss vg copsa eth Ambrose Apringius Fulgentius (Primasius) Haymo

See also

References
  1. Adam Fox, John Mill and Richard Bentley: A Study of the Textual Criticism of the New Testament 1675–1729 (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1954), pp. 105–115; John Mill, Novum Testamentum Graecum, cum lectionibus variantibus MSS (Oxford 1707)
  2. Metzger and Ehrman (2005), p.154
  3. Peter J. Gurry, "The Number of Variants in the Greek New Testament: A Proposed Estimate" New Testament Studies 62.1 (2016), p. 113

Further reading
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