Acts 15:2

Acts 15:2 e;taxan … evx auvtw/n {A}

The Western text has introduced several extensive alterations into the text of verses Acts 15:1-5. “And some men of those who had believed from the party of the Pharisees (VIoudai,aj# + tw/n pepisteuko,twn avpo. th/j ai`re,sewj tw/n Farisai,wn( Y 614 1799 2412 syr<sup>hmg</sup>) came down from Judea and were teaching the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised and walk according to the custom of Moses (kai. tw|/ e;qei Mwu?se,wj peripath/te, D syr<sup>hmg</sup> cop<sup>sa</sup>), you cannot be saved.’ (2) And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them — for Paul spoke maintaining firmly that they [i.e. the converts] should stay as they were when converted; but those who had come from Jerusalem ordered them, Paul and Barnabas and certain others, to go up to Jerusalem (e;taxan … evx auvtw/n# e;legen ga.r o` Pau/loj me,nein ou[twj kaqw.j evpi,steusan dii?scurizo,menoj( oi` de. evlhluqo,tej avpo. VIerousalh.m parh,ggeilan auvtoi/j tw|/ Pau,lw| kai. Barnaba|/ kai, tisin a;lloij avnabai,nein, D (it<sup>gig</sup> syr<sup>hmg</sup> cop<sup>G67</sup>)) to the apostles and elders that they might be judged before them (VIerousalh,m# + o[pwj kriqw/sin evpV auvtoi/j, D 1799 syr<sup>h with *</sup> (avutw/n, 614 2412)) about this question. (3) So, being sent on the way…[verse Acts 15:3 as in ordinary text]. (4) When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed heartily (parede,cqhsan# + mega,lwj, C D (me,gwj) 614 1799 2412 syr<sup>h with *</sup> cop<sup>sa</sup>) by the church and the apostles and the elders, having declared all that God had done with them. (5) But those who had ordered them to go up to the elders (evxane,sthsan de, tinej tw/n# oi` de. paraggei,lantej auvtoi/j avnabai,nein pro.j tou.j presbute,rouj evxane,sthsan (+ kata. tw/n avposto,lwn, Syr^hmg) le,gontej tinej, D (syr^hmg) and omit subsequent le,gontej), namely certain believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees, rose up (against the apostles), and said, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them, and to charge them to keep the law of Moses.’”

The Western form of text is obviously written from a different point of view from the B-text. In the latter certain unidentified persons “arranged” (e;taxan) for Paul and Barnabas, with others, to go from Antioch to Jerusalem; in the D-text, on the other hand, the envoys from Jerusalem “ordered” (parh,ggeilan) Paul and others to go up to Jerusalem in order to give an account of themselves to the apostles and elders (o[pwj kriqw/sin evpV auvtoi/j). One cannot say, however, that the Western paraphrast was anti-Pauline, for not only does he describe the Jerusalem church’s welcome to the apostles as hearty (ver. Acts 15:4), but he displays no trace whatever of the animus against Paul that is so apparent in the circles represented by the later Clementine Homilies, where Paul appears as evcqro.j a;nqrwpoj. The most that can be said is that the B-text reflects the point of view of Paul, whereas the D-text is more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem. It should be noted that in ver. Acts 15:1 the Western text makes the demands still more sweeping by adding “and walk according to the custom of Moses.” Likewise, the designation in ver. Acts 15:1 of the brethren arriving from Judea as former Pharisees is drawn from ver. Acts 15:5, where perhaps it was intended that the clause should be omitted.

In ver. Acts 15:2 auvtoi/j (after parh,ggeilan), which Ropes says “is not easily explained,” appears to be a clear example of the Semitic proleptic pronoun.