The Classification of the Greek Manuscripts of the Epistle of James
Although a significant number of the Greek manuscripts of the Epistles of I and II Peter, I, II, and III John, and Jude have recently received long overdue classification, only a very few Greek manuscripts of the Epistle of James have been given comparable treatment. In this dissertation, we have sought to rectify this situation by classifying 86 Greek manuscripts of the Epistle of James – primarily according to their phonetic relationships and only secondarily according to their text-types. In order to accomplish this, we have made use of new computer methods. In a recent dissertation on the classification of 81 Greek manuscripts of the Johannine epistles, W.L. Richards employed a computer to form “tentative groupings” by Quantitative Analysis. Theses tentative groupings served as the basis of his classification which was determined ultimately by applying (without the aid of a computer) the Claremont Profile Method. We have taken both these procedures and combined them into a single program; and have, by means of a computer, applied this program to the raw data of our collations, and have thereby produced both the dendrographic charts and the “merge” tables which serve as the basis of our classification. An analysis of these dendrograms and merge tables indicates three major manuscript groupings: (A) Group 2 (consisting of 10 manuscripts [01-2298]). This group is probably Alexandrian in text-type. (B) Group 7 (consisting of 67 manuscripts [049-876] which may be conveniently divided into 11 subgroups [subgroups 7a-k]). Subgroups 7a-h are probably Byzantine in text-type. While subgroups 7i-k have a distinct orientation towards the major representatives of the Byzantine text-type, they also show certain independence in the direction of the Alexandrian text traditions. (C) Group 37 (consisting of 9 manuscripts [522-1505]). This group is patently independent of both the Byzantine and the Alexandrian text traditions.
Biblical Studies, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
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