A Commentary on the Manuscripts and Text of the New Testament, by Phillip Wesley Comfort
A Commentary on the
Manuscripts and Text of the New Testament, by Philip Wesley Comfort is an
interesting and a potentially helpful resource in studying the NT. I appreciate that summaries are given about
the various manuscripts that are referred to in the commentary, including their
symbols, which are what Comfort uses to refer to the different manuscripts as
he comments on the different readings of any particular verse.
Most of the variants
appear to be rather small and do not appear to change the meaning of a verse
much, for instance some manuscripts saying 'Jesus Christ' in a certain variant
and others reading simply "Christ",
whichever reading a Bible translator chooses to use doesn't make a major
difference as either way we know to Whom it refers. Comfort mentions a variant of Romans 8:28
which I found interesting, he translates the variant as, "God turns
everything to good" which of course is different from "all things
work together for good." He says
that "this is the original wording
according to three early MSS….It is God who turns everything to good; it is not
just that everything works out for the good."* But I don't think that that concept is
lost by using "all things work together for good" because God's being
the One working all things together for good is evidenced by the verses that
follow (and by realizing the sovereignty of God that is taught throughout the
Bible). It is an interesting variant
though.
Comfort's
eschatological views are evidenced in his commentary on the number of the beast
in Revelation, "A variant reading is 'his
number is 616…Either reading could be original…whichever one John wrote, they
both symbolize Caesar Nero…"
I take it that Mr. Comfort is not premillennial. Also, I disagree with some of his commentary
on the variants of 1 Cor. 14:33, " 'For God
is not the author of discord but of
harmony, as in all the gatherings of the saints.' This reflects the reading of the three
earliest MSS…contra NA…which join this phrase with the beginning of 14:34. The difference in meaning is
significant: harmony is the rule of God
for all the gatherings of the believers…"…Paul was not saying that women
should be silent in all the Christian gatherings, only in Corinth, which must
have been experiencing problems with women speaking out of turn during the
prophesying." But even if
the statement, "as in all the gatherings of the saints" doesn't
connect with vs. 34 that doesn't imply that the command about women not
speaking in the assembly only applied to the Corinthians church. I don't see that implication at all. Paul says, "It is shameful for a woman to speak in the Church." That sounds like a very general
statement that encompasses all church gatherings. Besides, what about Paul's telling
Timothy that women shouldn't teach or hold authority over men but should remain
quiet while learning (1 Tim 2:11-15)?
Was he referring only to the women of the Corinthian church? I think not.
But, I do like the book overall, and really
appreciate Mr. Comfort's work in putting this book together enabling one to
learn about the different variants of the NT even if one doesn't agree with all
of Mr. Comfort's comments on them.
Many thanks to Kregel Academic for sending me a free copy
of this book to review!
One of the places where this book may be purchased is at Amazon.com
*I omit certain parts of quotations as they are
mostly symbols of various manuscripts referred to that I don't know how to
replicate in type.
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