First Timothy
1:17a | (added word in bold)
indestructible, invisible, immortal
Original Text αφθαρτω αορατω (indestructible,
invisible). This is the reading of the earliest MS (א).
Textual Gap-filling: The
word αθανατω (immortal) was
added in F and G read, creating the rendering “indestructible, invisible, immortal.”
The Greek behind “indestructible” is αφθαρτος; it denotes that which cannot be corrupted and does not
perish. Greek philosophers applied this characteristic to the soul (as opposed
to the body). “Invisible” means that which cannot be seen with the mortal eye (a
+ horatos; cf. Col 1:15). (Philip Wesley Comfort, A Commentary on
Textual Additions to the New Testament [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel, Inc.,
2017], 131)
1:17b | (added word in bold)
the only wise God
Original Text: GK (only God). This is the original
wording according to two early MSS (א* A), as well as D* F G H* 33 1739 cop.
Textual Gap-filling: A variant reading adds GK, creating
the rendering “the only wise God” In א2 [seventh century] D1
Hc Ψ Maj (so TR and KJV), by way of
scribal expansion influenced by Romans 16:27. The statement “he alone is God”
(lit. “the only God”) is distinctively Jewish (as opposed to the polytheism of
the non-Jewish world). The adjective “wise” was added because Romans 16:27
formed a horizon of expectation, and the gap was filled accordingly. (Philip
Wesley Comfort, A Commentary on Textual Additions to the New Testament [Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Kregel, Inc., 2017], 131-32)
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