What Text Types are the Variants in Colossians 2:2?

In the article How Are Textual Variants and Variation Units Related? I had a chart showing the reading that textual critics think is most likely to be original for the last variation unit in Colossians 2:2, along with 14 textual variants. The standard text reads:

My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ…. (Colossians 2:2 NIV)

ἵνα παρακληθῶσιν αἱ καρδίαι αὐτῶν συμβιβασθέντες ἐν ἀγάπῃ καὶ εἰς πᾶν πλοῦτος τῆς πληροφορίας τῆς συνέσεως, εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ…. (Colossians 2:2 NA28)

I became curious if the standard text and the 14 variants were consistent in the text type the witnesses used. The shortest reading, translated into English as “of the God of Christ” (Greek: τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ), is generally considered an Alexandrian text type, known for having short readings. The longest reading, translated into English as “of God and father and of Christ” (Greek: τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ), is considered a Byzantine text type, known for harmonizing readings.

I had expected that the manuscripts with short readings would be considered Alexandrian text types, and the longer readings would be in manuscripts that were categorized as Byzantine text types.

Using a list of manuscripts that textual scholars consider especially important¹, I tried to identify which text type was used in Colossians 2:2 by different manuscripts. Since I don’t know Greek, I wasn’t able to personally verify these, but I did find the text type assigned to the manuscripts for this verse.²

I was a bit surprised to find eight of the ten readings found in Greek manuscripts were found in manuscripts that are traditionally considered Alexandrian, while only three of the ten readings were found in Byzantine texts.

I don’t know if these results are typical, but I suspect so. In my research, I’ve found that manuscripts assigned to one text type may have readings from other text types in some places. Also, sometimes a corrector will use a different text type than the original scribe. These issues blur the lines between text types, making them less useful as scholars are able to study manuscripts in-depth.

Resources

• Brannan, Rick. New Testament Manuscript Explorer (Logos Bible Software, version 8.8; NTME 2015) (Logos)
• Wikipedia. Categories of New Testament manuscripts Accessed 03-Aug-2020.
• Wikipedia. List of New Testament uncials Accessed 03-Aug-2020.

Footnotes

1. Wikipedia. Categories of New Testament manuscripts Accessed 03-Aug-2020.
2. Not all of the variants are found in Greek manuscripts (based on what I was able to find). Some are found in versions in other languages, so I’m not presenting all of the variants.