AN ANALYSIS OF THE TEXT OF THE FOURTH GOSPEL IN THE WRITINGS OF ORIGEN Jared Anderson A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Religious Studies. Chapel Hill 2008 Approved by: Bart Ehrman Joel Marcus Zlatko Plese © 2008 Jared Anderson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Jared Anderson: An Analysis of the Text of the Fourth Gospel in the Writings of Origen (Under the direction of Bart Ehrman) This thesis provides an analysis of the text of the Gospel of John in the writings of Origen of Alexandria (ca. 185-254). Two types of textual analyses, Quantitative and Group Profile, make up the core of this study. Such methods enable scholars to trace the history of transmission of the NT text, and this study confirms that Origen’s text of John is a strong representative of the “Primary Alexandrian” text type, the purest form of the New Testament text. This thesis also provides a history of research of Origen’s text of the New Testament, refines the critical methods used, and models the use of computer programs that increase the accuracy and efficiency of such studies. Finally, the conclusion places these data into historical context and answers several important questions, such as whether Origen changed his manuscripts of John upon relocation from Alexandria to Caesarea in 231. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All academic enterprises build up on previous scholarly endeavors, but this principle holds true in regard to this project to an unusual degree. This thesis represents one stop along a scholarly journey that has already spanned twenty years. In 1992, Bart Ehrman, Gordon Fee, and Michael Holmes published their reconstruction of Origen’s text of the Fourth Gospel.1 At that time, they anticipated a “forthcoming second volume” that would “provide a detailed analysis and evaluation of these data” (p. ix). In the subsequent years, Ehrman began research for the second volume and Bruce Morrill of Kansas State University ran the Quantitative Analysis as well as organizing the data in the first volume. Such represented the state of the project when Bart Ehrman and I discussed possibilities for my Master’s thesis. I am deeply indebted to each of these scholars’ work, which literally made this study possible. Immersing myself in the work of Gordon Fee, Eldon Epp, Bart Ehrman and others who have gone before me has provided a pleasurable and valuable training, and I hope to be able to continue their scholarly legacy to the extent I am able. Bruce Morrill provided me the material that I have revised into what are now the appendices. I have incorporated those changes affecting the analyses. I appreciate Bruce’s help in explaining these data, as well as emailing me information at a crucial time. The significance of his role cannot be overstated, as the format in which he sent me the data made all the analysis I did possible. 1 The Text of the Fourth Gospel in the Writings of Origen (New Testament in the Greek Fathers 3; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992). iv One contribution of this study is the manner in which I was able to use Microsoft Excel to reduce dramatically the time and effort required to count agreements between manuscripts, as well as reducing the human error involved in such an endeavor. I am grateful again to Bruce for these documents, to Douglas Criger and especially to Arnie Aldridge, who answered my questions regarding the mysteries of Excel and the world of statistics. Computers hold the key to the future of all studies such as this, and I am thankful to them for teaching me some basics and opening my eyes to the beginning of what is possible. I would like to express my appreciation to my advisor Bart Ehrman, who trusted me with this project and who has provided a helpful balance of guidance and confidence in my ability to finish it. I have learned much from his example of scholarship that manages to be simultaneously meticulous and engaging. I am grateful also to my readers Zlatko Plese and Joel Marcus, whose feedback not only improved this thesis, but also provided an important learning opportunity and saved me from numerous errors. Joel’s comments in particular not only improved my writing and pushed me to greater clarity of expression and precision of language, but provided a template I hope to follow in giving written feedback. Finally, I am grateful for the support of my wife Katrina, who has believed in my ability to finish this project. She also proofread several chapters, converted fonts to Greek in Appendix 2, and acted as a sounding board, learning more than should be expected about textual criticism and Group Profiles in the process. The journey of completing this project has been immeasurably more enjoyable because she has been with me. v To my father, Kim Anderson— For what might have been, For what finally was, For what he passed on to me vi TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables………………………………………………………………...……….ix Chapter I. Origen’s Life and Literature………………………………..…………1 A Literary Life………………………………………..……….2 Origen’s Citation of Scripture…………………………………7 Manuscripts Used in this Study……………….………………9 II. The Tracking of Origen’s Texts and Travels…………...……………20 From Johann Griesbach to B. H. Streeter…………………....21 K. W. Kim to Gordon Fee……………………………………30 Gordon Fee…………………………………………………...37 Scholarship since Fee……………………………...…………43 III. Origen’s Text of John: Quantitative Analysis……………………….59 IV. Origen’s Text of John: Group Profiles ………………………...…….83 Breakdown of Verses for Profiles One and Three………...…98 V. Summary and Conclusions………………………………………… 110 Origen’s Manuscripts of John………………………………113 Origen and Heracleon’s Text of John………………............122 Origen and the “Caesarean Text” in John………..…………125 Origen and the History of the Alexandrian Text………..….126 vii Appendix 1: Textual Variation in John………………………………..…………………....129 Appendix 2: Key to Textual Variation in John………..……………………………………145 Bibliography……………………………………………..…………………………………280 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Correspondence between Books of the Gospel of John and Origen’s Commentary…………………………………………………………….…………7 2. Witnesses Ranked According to Proportional Agreement with Origen in Genetically Significant Variations in John………………..…………………..68 3. Witnesses Ranked According to Proportional Agreement with Origen in John Arranged by Textual Group ……………………………...……………..73 4. Proportional Agreement with Leading Alexandrian Witnesses (and 1241)………………………………………………………………………..76 5. Proportional Agreement with Leading Western Witnesses a)……………………………………………………..……………………78א and) 6. Proportional Agreement with Leading “Caesarean” Witnesses (and P45)……………………………………………………………...…………..80 7. Group Profiles Analysis………………………………………………...………..90 8. Witnesses Ranked According to Proportional Agreement with the Uniform and Predominant Early Alexandrian Text in John……………………………….95 9. Comparative Percentages of Agreement with Origen in John 4 and 1-21…………………………………………………………...……………121 ix Chapter I ORIGEN’S LIFE AND LITERATURE In the history of New Testament textual criticism, Patristic citations have occupied an awkward and paradoxical place. On one hand, their witness is earlier and can be located more precisely than Greek manuscripts or New Testament translations. On the other hand, the task of accessing their texts is fraught with factors that imperil accuracy, and many scholars have been daunted in this quest, leading to neglect of these important witnesses to the early New Testament text. Fortunately, advances in methodology of the past decades have enabled scholars to access these valuable witnesses with unprecedented accuracy, illuminating vistas along the convoluted transmission of the New Testament writings.1 Champion among the Church Fathers stands Origen of Alexandria, the most prolific and arguably the most brilliant of early Christian writers. The aim of the present study is to provide an analysis of the text of the Fourth Gospel in the writings of Origen, elucidating Origen’s textual alignments and exploring the historical significance of these conclusions.2 1 Gordon Fee has accomplished the greatest advancement in analyzing Patristic citations, shaping their study over the past decades. The volume of his essays collected with those of Eldon Epp (Studies in the Theory and Method of New Testament Textual Criticism. [Studies and Documents 45; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1993]) is the most convenient source for these studies; see the three chapters categorized under “Method and Use of Patristic Evidence,” 299-359: “The Text of John in Origen and Cyril of Alexandria: A Contribution to Methodology in the Recovery and Analysis of Patristic Citations”; “The Text of John in The Jerusalem Bible: A Critique of the Use of Patristic Citations in New Testament Textual Criticism”; and especially “The Use of Greek Patristic Citations in New Testament Textual Criticism: The State of the Question;” repr. from ANRW II.26.1, 246-65. 2 See the Acknowledgements for the somewhat complicated background of this study. This first chapter will provide background for an investigation of Origen’s textual affinities—a brief biography, focusing on his writings and approach to scripture, as well as an overview of the manuscripts that will be used in this study. Chapter two provides a history of research into Origen’s text of the New Testament that contextualizes the two chapters of analysis that make up the heart of this work. Chapter three uses Quantitative Analysis to explore the contours of agreement between representative witnesses from differing textual traditions in order to discern where Origen’s own textual affinities lie. Chapter four then uses the Group Profiles developed by Bart Ehrman to clarify more precisely those affinities. Finally, the conclusion summarizes the findings and contributions of this study, discusses key historical points relating to these data, especially where Origen fits within the Alexandrian textual tradition of John, and suggests directions for further research. Two substantial appendices conclude the work, which present in efficient form all the textual variants among the representative witnesses and Origen, as well as patterns among those variants.