Textual variants in the Epistle to the Hebrews

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Textual variants in the Epistle to the Hebrews 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.

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]

A guide to the sigla (symbols and abbreviations) most frequently used in the body of this article.^[4][5]

Textual variants in the Epistle to the Hebrews

1 Textual variants in Hebrews 1

Hebrews 1:3

φερων τε τα παντα τω ρηματι της δυναμεως αυτου upholding the universe by his word of power – rest of the manuscripts

φανερων τε τα παντα τω ρηματι της δυναμεως αυτου revealed the universe by his word of power – Codex Vaticanus

1 Textual variants in Hebrews 2

Hebrews 2:9

χάριτι θεοῦ (by the grace of God) – 𝔓⁴⁶, א, A, B, C, D, K, P, Ψ, 33, 81, 88, 104, 181, 326, 330, 424, 436, 451, 614, 629, 630, 1241, 1877, 1881, 1962, 1984, 1985, 2127, 2492, 2495, Byz, Lect, it, cop, arm, eth, Origen, Eusebius, Athanasius, Cyril of Alexandria.

χωρὶς θεοῦ (apart from God) – 0121b, 424^c, 1739, mss, Peshitta, Origen, Theodore of Mopsuestia, St. Ambrose of Milan, St. Jerome, Fulgentius, Theodoret.

1 Textual variants in Hebrews 3

Hebrews 3:6

κατασχωμεν – 𝔓¹³, 𝔓⁴⁶, B, cop^sa

μεχρι τελους βεβαιαν κατασχωμεν – א, A, B, C, D, Ψ, 0121b, (323), Byz

0 Textual variants in Hebrews 4

Hebrews 4:1

0 Textual variants in Hebrews 5

Hebrews 5:1

0 Textual variants in Hebrews 6

Hebrews 6:1

1 Textual variants in Hebrews 7

Hebrews 7:9

χαριτι θεου – 𝔓⁴⁶, א, A, B, C, D, K, P, Ψ, 33, 81, 88, 104, 181, 326, 330, 424, 436, 451, 614, 629, 630, 1241, Byz, Lect

χωρις θεου – 0121b, 424^c, 1739

2 Textual variants in Hebrews 8

Hebrews 8:2

ουρανοις – rest of mss

ουρανιοις – 365 pc

υψηλοις – 33 vg^mss

Hebrews 8:11

πολιτην – 𝔓⁴⁶, א, A, B, D, K, 33, 88, 181, 330, 451, 614, 1241, 1739, 1877, 1881, 1962, 1984, 1985, 2127, 2492, 2495, Byz, Lect

πλησιον – P 81 104 436 629 630 1985

πλησιον αυτου και εκαστος τον πολιτην – 326

0 Textual variants in Hebrews 9

Hebrews 9:1

1 Textual variants in Hebrews 10

Hebrews 10:11

ιερευς – 𝔓⁴⁶, א, D, K, Ψ, 33, 81, 326, 330, 629, 1241, 1739, 1881, 1984, 2495, Byz, Lect

αρχιερευς – A, C, P, 88, 104, 181, 436, 451, 614, 630, 1877, 1962, 2127, 2492, syr, cop, arm, eth

0 Textual variants in Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11:1

0 Textual variants in Hebrews 12

Hebrews 12:1

1 Textual variants in Hebrews 13

Hebrews 13:21

παντι αγαθω – א, D, Ψ, it

εργω αγαθω – arm

παντι εργω αγαθω – C D^c K P 0121b 33 81 88 104 181 326 330 436 451 614 629 630 1241 1739 1877 1881 Byz

παντι εργω και λογω αγαθω – A

• Alexandrian text-type
• Biblical inerrancy
• Byzantine text-type
• Caesarean text-type
• Categories of New Testament manuscripts
• Comparison of codices Sinaiticus and Vaticanus
• List of New Testament verses not included in modern English translations
• Textual variants in the New Testament
• Western text-type

• Novum Testamentum Graece et Latine, ed. E. Nestle, K. Aland, Stuttgart 1981.
• Bruce M. Metzger & Bart D. Ehrman, "The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration", OUP New York, Oxford, 4 edition, 2005
• Bart D. Ehrman, "The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture. The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament", Oxford University Press, New York - Oxford, 1996, pp. 223–227.
• Bruce M. Metzger, "A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament: A Companion Volume to the United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament", 1994, United Bible Societies, London & New York.

• The Comparative Critical Greek New Testament
• Variantes textuais (in Portuguese)
• Varianten Textus receptus versus Nestle-Aland