Richard Simon Critical History of the Text of the New Testament New Testament Tools, Studies and Documents New Testament Tools, Studies, and Documents (NTTSD) combines two series, New Testament Tools and Studies (NTTS) and Studies and Documents (SD). The former was founded by Bruce M. Metzger in 1965 and edited by him until 1993, when Bart D. Ehrman joined him as co-editor. The latter series was founded by Kirsopp and Silva Lake in 1935, edited by them until the death of Kirsopp Lake in 1946, then briey by Silva Lake and Carsten Høeg (1955), followed by Jacob Geerlings (until 1969), by Irving Alan Sparks (until 1993), and nally by Eldon Jay Epp (until 2007). The new series will promote the publication of primary sources, reference tools, and critical studies that advance the understanding of the New Testament and other early Christian writings and writers into the fourth century. Emphases of the two predecessor series will be retained, including the textual history and transmission of the New Testament and related literature, relevant manuscripts in various languages, methodologies for research in early Christianity. The series will also publish a broader range of studies pertinent to early Christianity and its writings. Editors Bart D. Ehrman, Ph.D., James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Eldon J. Epp, Ph.D., Harkness Professor of Biblical Literature Emeritus and Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences Emeritus, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio VOLUME 43 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/ntts Richard Simon Critical History of the Text of the New Testament Wherein is Established the Truth of the Acts on which the Christian Religion is Based Translated, Introduced and Annotated by Andrew Hunwick LEIDEN • BOSTON 2013 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Simon, Richard, 1638-1712. [Histoire critique du texte du Nouveau Testament. English] Richard Simon critical history of the text of the New Testament : wherein is established the truth of the acts on which the Christian religion is based / translated, introduced, and annotated by Andrew Hunwick. pages cm. – (New Testament tools, studies, and documents, ISSN 0077-8842 ; v. 43) Includes index. ISBN 978-90-04-24420-7 (hardback : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-90-04-24421-4 (e-book) 1. Bible. N.T.–Criticism, Textual–History–17th century. I. Hunwick, Andrew. II. Title. III. Title: Critical history of the text of the New Testament. BS2325.S5613 2013 225.4'86–dc23 2012044189 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface. ISSN 0077-8842 ISBN 978-90-04-24420-7 (hardback) ISBN 978-90-04-24421-4 (e-book) Copyright 2013 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers and Martinus Nijhof Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper. CONTENTS Acknowledgments . xi Abbreviations. xiii Preface................................................................ xv Richard Simon (1638–1712): Sketch of Life and Career . xxv 1. Disproof of Early Heretics’ Arguments against the Validity of the Books in the New Testament. Remarks on the Premise Applied by Church Fathers to Prove the Books’ Genuineness . 1 2. Titles Heading the Gospels and Other Books in the New Testament. Whether the Titles Are by the Authors of Those Books or Whether They Were Added . 11 3. Books Published in the Name of Jesus Christ and the Apostles. Of Several Forgeries by Early Heretics. Remarks on This Whole Question. 19 4. The First Fathers Did Not Produce the Originals of the New Testament in Their Disputes with Heretics. Discussion of Evidence Used to Show That Churches Retained Such Originals . 33 5. The Books of the New Testament Starting with the Gospel of St Matthew. The Original of This Gospel Was Written in the Hebrew Spoken by the Jews in Jerusalem at That Time. Rejoinder to Reasons Contrary to This View . 41 6. In the Time of Jesus Christ and the Apostles, Jews in the Area of Jerusalem Spoke Chaldaic or Syriac. Mr Voss’s Arguments against This View. Clari cation of Problems Pertaining to This Question . 51 7. The Nazarene Sect and Their Hebrew or Chaldaic Version of the Gospel of St Matthew. 63 vi contents 8. The Ebionites. Their Version of the Gospel of St Matthew. Other Early Heretics Who Used This Gospel . 75 9. The Greek Text of St Matthew. Its Status. Comparison with the Hebrew or Chaldaic Text. Rejoinders to Heretics’ Objections to This Gospel . 81 10. The Dates and Order of the Gospels. Greek Manuscript Copies of St Mark Cited in This Regard. His Gospel Generally Believed to Be the Second. His Role as St Peter’s Interpreter. 87 11. In Which Language Did St Mark Write His Gospel? The Last Twelve Verses of His Gospel Are Lacking in Several Greek Manuscripts . 97 12. The Gospel of St Luke. What Made Him Publish It, Given the Existence of Two Others Published before His. Of Marcion and His Text of the Gospel of St Luke. The Catholics also Made Some Alterations to This Gospel . 107 13. The Gospel of St John. Heretics by Whom It Was Rejected. Their Reasons. Response to Those Reasons. Discussion of the Twelve Verses from This Gospel Which Are Absent from Some Early Manuscripts. Several Greek Manuscripts Cited to Overcome This Di culty. Critics Who Falsely Believed That the Final Chapter of This Gospel is Not by St John . 119 14. Acts of the Apostles as Accepted within the Church. Acts Ascribed to Other Apostles Are of Doubtful Authenticity . 131 15. St Paul’s Epistles in General. Marcion and His Text of Those Epistles. Forged Letters Ascribed to St Paul. 137 16. The Epistle to the Hebrews: Is It by St. Paul, and Is It Canonical? Views of the Early Eastern and Western Churches; Views on This Epistle from More Recent Times . 147 17. The Catholic or Canonical Epistles in General and in Detail: Clari cation of Problems Pertaining Thereto. 159 contents vii 18. Exegetic Discussion of 1John 5:7, Not Present in Most Greek Manuscripts or Other Western Texts, nor in the Earliest Latin Manuscripts. The Preface to the Canonical Epistles Ascribed to St Jerome in Certain Latin Bibles is Not by Him. The Impossibility of Proving That the Text of St Cyprian Contained the Self-Same Passage from the First Epistle of St John . 173 19. Revelation: Early Views on This Book; Heretics Who Rejected It; Their Reasons; Discussion of Their Reasons. Learned Catholics in the Early Church also Ascribed It to Cerinthus. Modern Views on This Book . 187 20. Objections Raised to the Books of the New Testament by the Jews and Other Enemies of the Christian Religion. Did the Evangelists and the Apostles Use the Greek Septuagint When Quoting the Old Testament? St Jerome’s View on the Matter. His Misplaced Preference for the Jewish Hebrew Text over the Septuagint . 197 21. Discussion of Further Doubts about the Books of the New Testament. Part of the Evangelists’ and Apostles’ Interpretative Method Was to Apply Passages of the Old Testament to the Messiah, a Common Jewish Practice. This, and an Accepted Jewish Tradition, Provide the Only Possible Explanation for Various Words Having a Wider Meaning in the New Testament Than the Old . 207 22. Analysis of Various Old Testament Passages Seemingly Quoted by the Apostles in an Incorrect Sense. Veri cation of Criticisms Made of Their Writings. Establishment of Basic Principles for Refuting the Jews and the Emperor Julian . 217 23. Were the Books in the New Testament Inspired? Refutation of the Opinions of Grotius and Spinoza. Cardinal Du Perron’s Mistaken Explanation of the Words Referring to Inspiration in 2Timothy 3:16. Quarrel on the Subject of Inspiration between the Jesuits and the Theologians of Louvain. Three Jesuits’ Propositions Condemned by the Doctors of Louvain and Douai. Defence of the Propositions against Their Censuring by Those Theologians . 231 viii contents 24. Analysis of the Arguments Put Forward by Louvain and Douai Scholars in Censuring the Propositions of the Louvain Jesuits Concerning Scriptural Inspiration. One Learned Paris Theologian’s Highly Independent View of the Matter . 243 25. Spinoza’s Arguments against Inspiration in the Books of the New Testament . 251 26. The Evangelists’ and Apostles’ Styles. Views Held on This Subject by Modern Writers and Early Church Scholars, Followed by Critical Observations . 257 27. The Hellenistic Language: Is There Such a Thing? Most Disagreements on the Matter Are Purely Nominal. The Arguments Adduced by Claude Saumaise to Disprove the Existence of This Language Serve Rather to Substantiate It. The Greek in the New Testament Can Be Described As “Synagogical” Greek. The Hellenistic Jews, Like All Other Jews, Used the Hebrew Bible in Their Congregations . 267 28. A Fuller Discussion of Saumaise’s Arguments against the “Hellenistic” Language, with Incidental Explanations of Various Problems Pertaining to the Subject . 277 29. Overall View of Greek Manuscripts, Including Sources Already Mentioned. Compilations of the Diverse Readings Found in Those Manuscripts.