Distortion of the Text of John 7_52
Distortion of the text of John 7:52 (No prophet has arisen from Galilee)
- In this section, we present a textual problem that faced Bible interpreters and for which they have not and will not find a solution to this day; unless they admit that their Bible has been corrupted! This problem is mentioned in the text of John 7:52: ” They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and see; no prophet has arisen from Galilee . ”
The Jewish Pharisees assert, according to the Bible, that “no prophet has arisen from Galilee,” in the dialogue that took place between them and Nicodemus. Our question to Christians and those seeking the truth is: Is this statement true? Has no prophet actually arisen from Galilee?
Bible Commentators and Interpreters Admit Error
Antonius Fikry says in his interpretation of the text :
(What the Pharisees said here , that no prophet arose from Galilee, is wrong . Deborah was from Galilee, from the tribe of Naphtali, and Elijah the prophet was from Teshebah, which is in Naphtali (1 Kings 1:17), and Elisha was from Abel-meholah in Galilee (1 Kings 16:149). Nahum was from Galilee, and Anna the prophetess, who was present during the days of the anointing, was from the tribe of Asher (Luke 3:63), and Jonah the prophet was from Galilee. Isaiah prophesied about Christ that he would be from Galilee (1:9).)
Antonius Fikry
This was the opinion of the interpreter John Gill, who said:
( If the Pharisees meant that no prophets came from Galilee in the past, then this is 👈 a historical error according to the Old Testament .)
- So, according to the commentators, the Jews’ claim that the Old Testament does not contain any reference to a prophet coming from Galilee is certainly wrong. Prophets appeared in Galilee, which confirms the existence of problems in the text!
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Did the Pharisees Make a Mistake and Ignore what Was in Their Holy Book?
The question is: Did the Pharisees make a mistake and ignore what was in their holy book, to the point that they challenged anyone to produce a text that said that no prophet would emerge from Galilee?!!
👈Or was the text carrying another correct meaning? The Jews were talking about the mission of another prophet whose characteristics and place of mission they knew… an awaited prophet?!!
Text review from the oldest manuscripts:
- By reviewing the text in the best and oldest manuscripts of the Bible, we found that most of the ancient manuscripts, such as the Sinaiticus Codex and the Vaticanus Codex, contain the following text:
Text in Greek :
Search and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee
Search and see; no prophet shall come out of Galilee .
The Sinaiticus Codex and the text of John: “No prophet has arisen from Galilee”:
Vatican Codex and the text of John: No prophet has arisen from Galilee.
👈Note that the text of John (“No prophet has arisen out of Galilee”) in the oldest manuscripts does not speak of a prophet emerging in the past. On the contrary, it merely confirms that no prophet—any prophet—will emerge from Galilee in the future.
John’s Text (No Prophet Has Arisen from Galilee) in Arabic Versions and Translations
- Also, most of the Arabic versions and translations - with the exception of Al-Fandyk and Al-Hayat - such as (Catholic - Sarah - Joint - Jesuit - Pauline - Simplified - Sharif); even most of the old translations… mentioned the text with the same meaning:
John’s text (No prophet has arisen from Galilee) in English versions and translations:
- Also most of the English translations - except for the King James Version (KJV) - such as AMP - ASV - NIV - RV - RSV - BBE - CEV - GNB - GW - ISV - NRSV)
The text contained the same meaning:
(Examine the Scriptures, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee)
John’s Text (No Prophet Has Arisen from Galilee) in Critical Versions
- And all the cash versions such as the Nestle-Aland version, the Westcott-Hort version, the UBS version, the Samuel Tregelles version, and the Tischendorf version.
The text contained the same meaning:
(ἐγείρεται )
👈According to manuscripts, all critical translations, and most English and Arabic versions, the text speaks of a future prophet not coming out of Galilee in the future (a future prophecy), not in the past. This is according to the Van Dyke Version and the King James Version, which relied in their translation on the worst kind of text: Erasmus’s text, or the “received text” (textus receptus).
The Text in the Oldest Manuscripts and Papyri about the Awaited Prophet
🔥What’s surprising is that there’s another reading in the oldest manuscripts of the Gospel of John. This reading confirms that the Jews were speaking of the “awaited prophet,” not of any prophet emerging from Galilee.
Papyrus 66 and 75
👈This reading appears in Papyrus 66 and Papyrus 75 from the second century. Papyrus 66 is, of course, one of the earliest examples of the text of the Gospel of John. As such, it has its own significance. Indeed, the text in Papyrus 66 contains the definite article “the” before “prophet” (προφητησ). This confirms that the Jews were awaiting the advent of a prophet. Moreover, they knew the location of his mission and knew him by his characteristics, just as they knew their own children.
Sahidic Coptic Manuscript
Also, the Coptic Version of the New Testament manuscript reads (ο προφητης – the prophet).
English translation:
search the scriptures and see that the prophet was not about to rise out of [the] Galilaia.
🔥 So there are at least three manuscripts (Papyrus 66, Papyrus 75 and Sahidic Coptic) that carry the reading (ο προφητης – the prophet); this reading supported by the oldest evidence makes the meaning of the text that: the awaited prophet – the prophet of the end of time – does not come out of Galilee and that the place of his appearance is mentioned in the books.
Bruce Metzger’s opinion
- Bruce M. Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman say in their book The Text Of The New Testament Its Transmission, when talking about the oldest papyrus of the Gospel of John known as (P66):
In 7.52 the presence of the definite article in a difficult passage now supports what scholars had long thought was the required sense, namely “Search [the Scriptures] and you will see that 👉the prophet does not rise from Galilee.”
Bruce Metzger and Bart Ehrman speak here about the presence of a definite article before the word (προφήτης – prophet), so the phrase becomes: (Search the scriptures and you will see that 👈the prophet does not come out of Galilee)
- This was also confirmed by Bruce M. Metzger in his book Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament.
He decided that the original reading is the one mentioned in Papyrus 66 and Papyrus 75, which is (the prophet), which is the opinion that Dr. Owen preferred in the eighteenth century.
Reading Papyrus 66 Explains the Meaning of the Text and Removes the Confusion
- This reading is the only reading that explains the meaning of the text and removes the problem and the imagined error in it.
Opinion of Father Fahim Aziz
👈 Therefore, we find Dr. Priest Fahim Aziz saying in his book Introduction to the New Testament:
(Reading John 7:52 from Papyrus 66 solves the problem that has long puzzled commentators (Search and see whether a prophet has arisen from Galilee); although prophets did arise from Galilee, the writer added the definite article, so it became “the prophet”; and he is the “prophet” whose coming Moses promised the people. This prophet is the one who does not come from Galilee.)
- Note: There is a typo in the book where Matthew is mentioned instead of John
Net Bible margin
- We also read in the margin of the Net Bible version, in which many theologians and researchers of the Bible texts participated, including Daniel Wallace, commenting on the text:
( At least one early and important ms (Ã66*) places the article before “prophet” (ὁ προφήτης, Jo prophets), making this a reference to the “prophet like Moses” mentioned in Deut 18:15. )
– Translation of what was mentioned above: At least one of the oldest and most important manuscripts, “Papyrus 66,” has the definite article before “prophet,” which makes the text speak of “the prophet,” who is like Moses mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:15.
Characteristics of the Awaited Prophet According to the Jews
🔥So, the original reading confirms that the Jews were talking about a specific prophet with specific characteristics; they were awaiting his mission and knew that he would not leave Galilee.
This prophet is like Moses, who is mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:15.
“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them all that I command him.”
This is the awaited prophet, according to the book of the Jews, which they demanded to research; his mission will be in the land of the Arabs (Isaiah 21:13).
“A revelation concerning the land of Arabia: In the woods of Arabia you shall spend the night, O caravans of the Dedanites.”
-And the revelation will come down to him in the mountains of Paran, the homeland of Ishmael, son of Abraham (Deuteronomy 33:2)
“The Lord came from Sinai and dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran and came with ten thousand holy things.”
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- He will live in the land where Kedar, the son of Ishmael, lived (Isaiah 42:11)
“Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise from the ends of the earth, the lands where Kedar dwells; let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy!”
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- He will be a descendant of Ishmael, the son of the slave woman Hagar, the wife of Abraham (Genesis 21:13)
“And the son of the bondwoman also I will make a nation, because he is your offspring.”
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The followers of this prophet will make a pilgrimage to the valley of Bakkah (Mecca), where the House of God is located (Psalm 84:5-6).
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose heart is the way to your house, who pass through the Valley of Baca and make it a spring.”
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This prophet will be illiterate (Isaiah 29:12).
“The book is given to someone who does not know how to write, and it is said to him, ‘Read this.’ And he says, ‘I do not know how to write.’”
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His followers will pray for him and ask for his blessings (Psalm 72:15).
“And he lives and gives him of the gold of his youth. And he prays for him continually. He blesses him all day long.”
- He will be like Moses and one of the brothers of the children of Israel (from the children of Ishmael) (Deuteronomy 18:18).
“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will speak to them all that I command him.”
These are some of the characteristics mentioned in the Old Testament that herald the emergence of a prophet like Moses, whom the Jews knew as they knew their own children.
So they challenged, with knowledge and confidence, anyone to produce for them any text that spoke of a prophet who would emerge from Galilee. This was especially true given their knowledge that the characteristics and location of this awaited prophet were not in Galilee. Instead, he would emerge from the midst of Mount Paran, where the House of God was located in Arabia.
The Copyist Attempts to Correct the Error
- After some pious scribes became aware of the seriousness of this text, one of them tried to delete the definite article. This was pointed out by the German textual critic Wieland Willker in his book Paleographical Problems in Manuscripts of the Gospels. Thus, he says about the reading found in Papyrus 66 (Jn 7.52):
ER Smothers notes a letter of Prof. Martin, the editor of P66, to him. Martin writes: “On p. 52, line 2, the article ο with προφητης as finally written, is paler and, on close inspection, seems to have been 👉 imperfectly scratched. If so, the corrector, whoever he was, wished to remove it.” G. Fee agrees with this view (P66, S&D, 1968, p. 70).
In addition to the above, Professor Martin Bodmer, who personally examined Papyrus 66, explains that the definite article appears in the manuscript in a lighter color than the rest of the text. Furthermore, upon closer examination, he found that someone had attempted to cross out or scribble this letter with the intent of erasing it
And God Almighty spoke the truth when He said: ” Those to whom We gave the Scripture recognize him as they recognize their own sons. But indeed, a party of them conceal the truth while they know [it] .” [Surat Al-Baqarah - Verse: 146]
#📜《in-bible》