The apparently confused identification of “Zechariah the son of Barachiah” in Matthew 23:35 is well known.*
Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah (Ζαχαρίου υἱοῦ Βαραχίου), whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. (Matt 23:34-35, ESV)
(Mention of his paternity is omitted from the parallel account in Luke.) I noticed that the ESV has a text-critical footnote, “Some manuscripts omit the son of Barachiah.” It would obviously be a big deal if there were indeed a substantial possibility that the phrase was a scribal addition. The UBS4 apparatus does not even include a variant here. The NA28 does: ⸋ ℵ*
— indicating that the original Codex Sinaiticus omits the phrase. Given the complete lack of mention in UBS apparatus, I’m guessing this is not a plausible reading (ESV’s choice to footnote notwithstanding), although Sinaiticus is obviously not trivial.
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Is there a substantial possibility that this reading (omitting υἱοῦ Βαραχίου) is original?
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If it is not original, is there a good explanation for why Sinaiticus omitted it? In particular, was there early recognition of this text as problematic?
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Given the weight normally afforded to Sinaiticus (although I don’t know about the text of Matthew in particular), is there an evident reason why this variant seemed to the UBS editors so improbable as to not warrant inclusion in the apparatus?
*Somehow I can’t seem to find a question here about this. The basic problem is that Zechariah son of Barachiah most naturally refers to the 6th C. prophet (Zech 1:1) (LXX: Ζαχαριας ὁ τοῦ Βαραχιου; MT is vocalized Berekyah), but he was not, as far as tradition knows, murdered in the temple. The Zechariah of 2 Chr 24:20 was murdered in the temple, but he is called Αζαριας (Azarias) in the LXX, and the name of his father recorded by the Chronicler was Jehoiada (Ιωδαε). The relative merits of the various available solutions may be relevant for answers to this question.
Varnel Watson
David Miles best way to explain it and really outmatches the Thursday theory of Link Hudson and Tom Steele As we celebrate Easter this weekend, allow the Cross to speak to you and be a reminder of what Christ did for us at Calvary. No matter what your going through, provision has already been made on your behalf. Isaiah 53:5-7 speaks to us: “(5) But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (7) He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
David Miles
Troy Day Amen
Ed Brewer
They just won’t let ole HWA die, will they….not even delving into the prejudices and linguistic presumptions needed for this leap of their version of faith, it is a dangerous thing to take counsel from a voice (no matter how snazzily updated) whose seminal presumption was the absolute depravity of the totality of Christianity up until his purported revelations.
Link Hudson
What is HWA?
Ed Brewer
Link Hudson Herbert W. Armstrong – The Worldwide Church of God – the ones who produced the video
Link Hudson
gotcha.
Varnel Watson
was this the one with rapture in 2012?
Ed Brewer
Troy Day no….he mocked the teaching of the rapture, while extrapolating the significance of Petra as the ‘place of safety/refuge’ for the ‘faithful’
Varnel Watson
Ed Brewer oh so do many “Pentecostals” today
Ed Brewer
Troy Day ….they’ll argue for ‘the Book’, defend the need for ‘the Blood’, and utterly reject ‘the Blessed Hope’ — sounds like a wasted redemption to me…
Varnel Watson
ppl wanna go through Tribulation – oh well …
Ed Brewer
Troy Day …I don’t think that’s it — I think it goes back to the human propensity, especially in the developed world, to believe they’ll always be given another chance – the idea that we have to live free from the domination of sin and be about our Father’s business is a stressor to the fence sitters and seeker sensitizers, but the idea that there’ll be some great ice breaker cataclysm that will finally snatch them out of their well intended but not fully surrendered religiosity before the terminal decree seems unfathomable to their self important sensibilities. The bottom line is that He’s coming back to call His elect without any further warning, but not without warning – we’ve already been warned, equipped, and invited to be ready for that day, and if we miss it, we will have sealed our own fate for eternity (2 Thess 2:11-12).
Varnel Watson
oh yes – plenty of ppl wanna suffer the Tribulation
Link Hudson
Troy Day It has nothing to do with what you want.
That reminds me of Ravi Zecharias characterization of post modern thinking on religion, “Choose the religion that is right for you, and reality is sure to follow.”
Tom Steele
This argument has holes… the biggest gaping hole is the assumption that the events took place in 31 A.D.
The same arguments can be used in I believe 30 A.D. but shift from starting on Wed. to starting on Thursday evening and allow for the resurrection to actually be on the first day of the week. Because according to this video the resurrection occurred while it was still Saturday/Shabbat/7th Day of the week.
Much of the information in this video is good. But if I had time I could make the same video with the same arguments starting on a different day (Thursday) in a different year.
Varnel Watson
we do have +/-4 years there due to Herod
Tom Steele
Perhaps. My only point is that this video only works on a specific year. And on another year all of his arguments will offset by a day at most, really a half a day maybe.
Point is, this video might make good points, but it is far from being the best way to explain it and definitely does not outmatch any other theories.
Varnel Watson
No – we actually have historical proof for +/-4 years there due to Herod
Varnel Watson
Ed Brewer Link Hudson I guess as coggers yall should be too pre-Trib and all https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ7aXTwyZHo&feature=share
Link Hudson
I went to a US COG in high school. I do not recall their statement of faith going beyond pre-mill in drilling down eschatology like a lot of Pentecostal denominations. The Indonesian statement of faith is extremely similar to the US one for GBI. COG in the US seems to be majority pre-trib. This is probably true of GBI in Indonesia, but it does not seem as heavily emphasized in most churches.
Charles Page
H. D. Williams wouldn’t be allowed to preach that at Lee University today!
Varnel Watson
I’ve learned this is not true with GBI in Indonesia,
Link Hudson
Troy Day What aspect of it? I haven’t surveyed them on their eschatology. The doctrinal statement was pretty similar a couple of years ago.
Daniel J Hesse
It is really refreshing to revisit the different passion and resurrection narratives. This year in particular you see a different perspective.
Varnel Watson
what is your stance on the timing of the said?
Daniel J Hesse
Let me think about it. Sources?
Varnel Watson
video in the Link
Varnel Watson
we know for a fact He rose on SUNDAY