The Gospels in the Second Century / An Examination of the Critical Part of a Work Entitled 'Supernatural Religion' - W. Sanday

The Epistle to the Ephesians is found also in the Syriac version. The last quotation from Isaiah, which is however not introduced with any express marks of reference, is very freely given. The original is, [Greek: tade legei kurios, di' humas dia pantos to onoma mou blasphaemeitai en tois ethnesi], for which Ignatius has, [Greek: ouai gar di' ou epi mataiotaeti to onoma mou epi tinon blasphaemeitai].

The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians and the Martyrium S.
Ignatii contain the following quotations:—

Exact. | _Slightly | Variant. | Remarks.
| variant._ | |
| | |
Polycarp, | 2. Ps. 2.11. | |
Ad. Phil. | | |
| | |
10. Tob. 4.11. | | |}
12. Ps. 4.4; | | |}in Latin
but through | | |} version only.
Eph. 4.26. | | |}
| | |
Mart. S. Ign. | | |
| |2. Lev. 26.12. |
6. Prov. 10.24. | | |

The quotation from Leviticus differs widely from the original, [Greek: Kai emperipataeso en humin kai esomai humon theos kai humeis esesthe moi laos], for which we read, [Greek: [gegraptai gar] Enoikaeso en autois kai emperipataeso].

The quotations from the Clementine Homilies may be thus presented:—

Exact. | _Slightly | Variant. | Remarks.
| | |
Hom. 3. | |18. Deut. 32.7. |
|39. +Gen. 18.21. | |
| Gen. 3.22. | |
39. Gen 6.6. | | |
| Gen. 8.21. | |omission.
| Gen. 22.1. | |
| |42. Gen. 3.3. |
43. Gen. 6.6. | | |
|43. Gen. 22.1. | |not quite as above.
| +Gen. 18.21. | |as above.
Gen. 15.13-16. | | |v.l. comp. text
| | | of A; note for
| | | exactness.
44. Gen. 18.21. | | |as LXX.
| |45. Num. 11.34 |[Greek: bounoun
| | (al.) | epithumion] for
| | | [Greek: mnaemata
| | | taes epithumas].
|47. Deut. 34.4,5.| |
|49. Gen. 49.10. | |cf. Credner,
| | | Beit. 2.53.
Hom. 11. | | |
22. Gen. 1.1. | | |
Hom. 16. | | |
6. Gen. 3.22. | | |twice with slightly
| | | different order.
Gen. 3.5. | | |
|6. Ex. 22.28. | |
| |6. Deut. 4.34. |?mem. [Greek:
| | | allothi tou
| | | gegraptai].
Jer. 10.11. | | |
| | Deut. 13.6. |?mem. [Greek:
| | | allae pou].
| | Josh. 23.7. |
| Deut. 10.17. | |
Ps. 35.10. | | |
Ps. 50.1. | | |
Ps. 82.1. | | |
| Deut. 10.14. | |
| Deut. 4.39. | |
| Deut. 10.17. | |repeated as above.
| | Deut. 10.17. |very paraphrastic.
| | |
Hom. 16. | |6. Deut. 4.39. |
7. Deut. 6.13. | | |
Deut. 6.4. | | |
| |8. Josh. 23.7. |as above.
8. Exod. 22.18 + | | |
Jer. 10.11. | | |
Gen. 1.1. | | |
Ps. 19.2. | | |
|8. Ps. 102.26. | |
Gen. 1.26. | | |
| |13. Deut. 13.1-3, |very free.
| | 9, 5, 3. |
Hom. 17. | |18. Num. 12.6. |}paraphrastic
| | Ex. 33.11. |} combination.
Hom. 18. | |17. Is. 40.26,27. |free quotation.
| | Deut. 30.13. |ditto.
18. Is. 1.3. | | |
Is. 1.4. | | |

The example of the Clementine Homilies shows conspicuously the extremely deceptive character of the argument from silence. All the quotations from the Old Testament found in them are taken from five Homilies (iii, xi, xvi, xvii, xviii) out of nineteen, although the Homilies are lengthy compositions, filling, with the translation and various readings, four hundred and fourteen large octavo pages of Dressel's edition [Endnote 38:1]. Of the whole number of quotations all but seven are taken from two Homilies, iii and xvi. If Hom. xvi and Hom. xviii had been lost, there would have been no evidence that the author was acquainted with any book of the Old Testament besides the Pentateuch; and, if the five Homilies had been lost, there would have been nothing to show that he was acquainted with the Old Testament at all. Yet the loss of the two Homilies would have left a volume of three hundred and seventy-seven pages, and that of the five a volume of three hundred and fifteen pages. In other words, it is possible to read three hundred and fifteen pages of the Homilies with five breaks and come to no quotation from the Old Testament at all, or three hundred and fifteen pages with only two breaks and come to none outside the Pentateuch. But the reduced volume that we have supposed, containing the fourteen Homilies, would probably exceed in bulk the whole of the extant Christian literature of the second century up to the time of Irenaeus, with the single exception of the works of Justin; it will therefore be seen how precarious must needs be any inference from the silence, not of all these writings, but merely of a portion of them.

For the rest, the quotations in the Homilies may be said to observe a fair standard of exactness, one apparently higher than that in the genuine Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians; at the same time it should be remembered that the quotations in the Homilies are much shorter, only two reaching a length of three verses, while the longest quotations in the Epistle are precisely those that are most exact. The most striking instance of accuracy of quotation is perhaps Gen. xv. 13-16 in Hom. iii. 43. On the other hand, there is marked freedom in the quotations from Deut. iv. 34, x. 17, xiii. 1-3, xiii. 6. xxx. 15, Is. xl. 26, 27, and the combined passage, Num. xii. 6 and Ex. xxiii. 11. There are several repetitions, but these occur too near to each other to permit of any inference.

Our examination of the Old Testament quotations in Justin is greatly facilitated by the collection and discussion of them in Credner's Beiträge [Endnote 39:1], a noble example of that true patient work which is indeed the reverse of showy, but forms the solid and well-laid foundation on which alone genuine knowledge can be built. Credner has collected and compared in the most elaborate manner the whole of Justin's quotations with the various readings in the MSS. of the LXX; so that we may state our results with a much greater confidence than in any other case (except perhaps Clement of Rome, where we have the equally accurate and scholarly guidance of Dr. Lightfoot [Endnote 40:1]) that we are not led astray by imperfect materials. I have availed myself freely of Credner's collection of variants, indicating the cases where the existence of documentary (or, in some places, inferential) evidence for Justin's readings has led to the quotation being placed in a different class from that to which it would at first sight seem to belong. I have also, as hitherto, not assumed an absolutely strict standard for admission to the first class of 'exact' quotations. Many of Justin's quotations are very long, and it seemed only right that in these the standard should be somewhat, though very slightly, relaxed. The chief point that we have to determine is the extent to which the writers of the first century were in the habit of freely paraphrasing or quoting from memory, and it may as a rule be assumed that all the instances in the first class and most (not quite all) of those in the second do not admit of such an explanation. I have been glad in every case where a truly scientific and most impartial writer like Credner gives his opinion, to make use of it instead of my own. I have the satisfaction to think that whatever may be the value of the other sections of this enquiry, this at least is thoroughly sound, and based upon a really exhaustive sifting of the data.