Acts 4:1

Acts 4:1 i`erei/j {B}

The word i`ereu,j occurs 31 times in the New Testament; the word avrciereu,j occurs 122 times. It is more likely that scribes would have substituted the more frequently used word for the other than vice versa, especially since in this instance the modification was also in the interest of heightening the seriousness of the persecution. ¹¹²

¹¹² The reason given in the Appendix of the NEB Greek text for preferring avrcierei/j (namely, that “action by superior officials seems to be indicated”) is exactly why copyists would have been likely to alter i`erei/j to avrcierei/j!