John William Burgon

The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels John William Burgon

Excerpt: ..."Admin" and "Adam" instead of Aminadab: or again, in defiance of authority, to leave a name out,-as when A omits Mainan and Pharez; or to put a name in,-as when Verona Lat. (b) inserts "Joaram" after Aram:-with all such instances of licence the "old Uncials" have made us abundantly familiar. But we are not prepared to find that in place of the first 18 names which follow those of "Jesus " and "Joseph" in St. Luke's genealogy (viz. Heli to Rhesa inclusive), D introduces the 9 immediate ancestors of Joseph (viz. Abiud to Jacob) as enumerated by St. Matthew,-thus abbreviating St. Luke's genealogy by 9 names. Next,- "Zorobabel" and "Salathiel" being common to both genealogies,-in place of the 20 names found in St. Luke between Salathiel and David (viz. Neri to Nathan inclusive), Cod. D presents us with the 15 royal descendants of David enumerated by pg 182 St. Matthew (viz. Solomon to Jehoiachin 261 inclusive);-infelicitously inventing an imaginary generation, by styling Jehoiakim "the son of Eliakim," -being not aware that "Jehoiakim" and "Eliakim" are one and the same person: and, in defiance of the first Evangelist, supplying the names of the 3 kings omitted by St. Matthew (i. 8), viz. Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah. Only 34 names follow in Cod. D; the second "Cainan" being omitted. In this way, the number of St. Luke's names is reduced from 77 to 66. A more flagrant instance of that licentious handling of the deposit which was a common phenomenon in Western Christendom is seldom to be met with 262 . This particular fabrication is happily the peculiar property of Cod. D; and we are tempted to ask, whether it assists in recommending that singular monument of injudicious and arbitrary textual revision to the favour of one of the modern schools of Critics. § 4. We repeat that the ill treatment which the deposit has experienced at the hands of those who fabricated the text of Cod. D is only to...