Acts 12:7

Acts 12:7

The Western text differs in several respects from the generally received text: an angel of the Lord appeared “to Peter” (evpe,sth [lit. “stood by”] + tw|/ Pe,trw|, D it^p syr^{h with *} cop^sa); light “shone forth from him [the angel]” (evpe,lamyen, D, + avpV auvtou/, it^{gig, p} syr^hmg); instead of evn tw|/ oivkh,mati, it^{d, gig, (p)} Lucifer read “in that place” (in illo loco); and instead of the angel’s “striking” (pata,xaj) Peter on the side in order to waken him, D it^gig Lucifer speak of his “nudging” (nu,xaj) the sleeping apostle. ²²⁹

²²⁹ According to C. S. C. Williams (Alterations in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts, 1951, p. 81) both participles may be derived from the same Syriac word (); F. H. Chase, however, argues for the influence of John 19:34 on the mind of the scribe of the Western text (The Old Syriac Element in the Text of Codex Bezae, 1893, p. 88).