The Message of Acts in Codex Bezae - (Library of New Testament Studies) by Josep Rius-Camps & Jenny Read-Heimerdinger (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

The third volume in the four-volume commentary on the Book of Acts, this work presents a fresh look at the text of Codex Bezae and compares its message with that of the more familiar Alexandrian text of which Codex Vaticanus is taken as a representative.

It deals with Acts 13.1-18.23, the chapters that cover the first two stages of the mission to the Gentiles, with the intervening meeting in Jerusalem (14.28-15.41). For each section, there is a side by side translation of the Bezan and Vaticanus manuscripts, followed by a full critical apparatus which deals with more technical matters, and finally, a commentary which explores in detail the differences in the message of the two texts.

Of particular interest in this part of Acts are the person of Paul and the unfolding of his character and theology. It is found that in the Bezan text Luke portrays him as a fallible disciple of Jesus who, despite his powerful enthusiasm, is hindered by his traditional Jewish understanding from fully carrying out the mission entrusted to him in these first stages. The conclusion is drawn that the portrait of an exemplary hero in the Alexandrian text is a later modification of the flawed picture.

Review Quotes

"Even if one believes the textual history implied by this view of Bezae to be extraordinarily improbable, one need not accept either their perspective or conclusions to enjoy, appreciate, and learn from their close reading of two versions of Acts." --Religious Studies Review, September 2009

"This is a demanding book... [however] taken that it will not be superseded for at least a century, it makes an excellent investment for an academic library: so persuade them. The authors are wonderfully clear, and do not rely on the reader remembering exactly what they wrote for an earlier verse. This is a most unusal way of reading the New Testament; it is strikingly demanding but amazingly exciting." --Anthony Saville, New Directions