Written by Ronald J. Gordon Published: April, 1997 ~ Last Updated: October, 2002 © This document may be reproduced for non-profit or educational purposes only, with the provisions that this document remain intact and full acknowledgement be given to the author.

Scribal Blunders
Transposition of Letters in John 5:39

    An entirely different word and meaning of a passage can be formed by the simple addition, omission, or transposition of a few letters. The result can totally depredate the original intention. In the following example under Figure 1, the ancient scribe of Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis (manuscript D) has unwittingly executed a glaring theological fiasco. A contributing factor to this kind of mistake is the fact that letters of most early manuscripts all ran together in one solid line. Mixing this together with a little inattentiveness or interruption and you easily produce an errant text. These same letters have been separated in Figure 2 so that the passage will be easier to read.