Matthew 16:12

Matthew 16:12 tw/n a;rtwn {C}

In view of the use of the expression “the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” in verses Matthew 16:6 and Matthew 16:11, it was perhaps natural that a few witnesses should repeat one or both of the words “Pharisees” “Sadducees” after zu,mhj in ver. Matthew 16:12. Although the reading of D Q ¦¹³ al without any qualifying genitive (“Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of leaven, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees”) might be thought original and each of the other readings an expansion, it is also possible that copyists considered the presence of tw/n a;rtwn or tou/ a;rtou to be unnecessary to the sense and therefore omitted the words as superfluous. In view of the balance of transcriptional possibilities, the Committee decided to adopt the reading supported by a^c B L 892 and several early versions.