3.1 P. Chester Beatty II (P⁴⁶)

P⁴⁶, dated ca. third century, is the oldest manuscript to contain 1 Cor 14.34–5. There is some damage at the bottom, but despite the damage, it is possible to read most of v. 33a on fol. 56v. It is also possible to see ως on fol. 56v. The words των αγιων, on the next line at the bottom of the right-hand side of the page, can also be read. The rest of the text of v. 33b is heavily damaged. Verse 34 continues on fol. 57r. Verse 35 has been preserved well on the upper part of the next papyrus sheet.

Regarding the question of the connection between v. 33b and v. 34, the following observations can be made. There are markings to indicate the beginning of a new thought, visible in the manuscript facsimile. The scribe of P⁴⁶ does this by creating a space between the words or by drawing long paragraphoi. There is also another way of indicating the sentence and paragraph marking in P⁴⁶, namely by slashes (reading or stop marks) above the line and before the next thought. There are such slashes above the line before και, which introduces v. 32, before ου γαρ, which introduces verse 33a, before ως in v. 33b, and even though v. 34 is hardly legible, it is possible to see a slash after the words των αγιων there. In addition to this mark of a new thought, the phrase των αγιων also ends the line. A similar type of slash is inserted before v. 35, and also before αισχρον and after εκκλησια, which ends v. 35.

P⁴⁶ has a sentence marking, which makes it highly improbable that v. 33b serves as an introduction to v. 34. All the other parts that are marked with slashes within the range of vv. 32–6 according to my personal observation correspond to one finished thought.

3.2 Papyrus 123 (P¹²³)

P¹²³ is a manuscript fragment or three small pieces of a papyrus containing the text of 1 Cor 14.31–4 on the one side and 1 Cor 15.3–6 on the other. This fragment was discovered among the Oxyrhynchus papyri and is assigned to the fourth century. It was published in Oxyrhynchus Papyri lxxii in 2008.

J. D. Thomas worked on the transcription of P¹²³ after it was discovered.Footnote ⁴⁸ D. Jongkind offers a layout of the same text with a more ‘diplomatic’ transcription than observed in P.Oxy. lxxii.4844.Footnote ⁴⁹

Counting the possible letters on each line (with the help of NA²⁸), it appears that vv. 34–5 did not form a separate paragraph. Nevertheless, there is a space of perhaps one or two letters that could have been left between v. 33b and v. 34. Taking into account the data provided by Thomas, the second line would have contained 35 letters, and the third line 36 letters. The fourth line would be 33 letters long (with αλλ’) or 34 letters long (with αλλα). The fifth line (at the start of v. 35) is presumably 34 letters long and the sixth line 37 words long. The average length of a line could therefore lie between 33 and 37 letters. The fifth line could hypothetically also allow for a space between the words, namely, before the words αι γυναικες. This is speculative but not entirely implausible. The fact is that there is not enough data for the analysis because of the size of the papyrus fragment.

3.3 Codex Vaticanus

Codex Vaticanus (B or 03) is a fourth-century Greek manuscript containing an almost complete Greek Bible.Footnote ⁵⁰ B starts vv. 34–5 after v. 33 in a new paragraph (Fig. 1). Vaticanus also contains scribal sigla, which have inspired great interest and debates among textual critics, particularly about the meaning of the bar–umlaut/distigme + obelus.

Figure 1. Codex Vaticanus, 1 Cor 14.33b–34a, page 1478.

There is an interesting discussion between P. B. Payne and J. E. MillerFootnote ⁵¹ (and others) on the meaning of bar–umlaut or distigme + obelus in Vaticanus, particularly in relation to 1 Cor 14.34–5. This discussion has led to a significant advance in the analysis of the Vaticanus sigla and textual variants.

Whether the B scribe was aware of a text without 1 Cor 14.34, 35 (Payne) or marked a variant in 33b and a paragraph (Miller) depends on the meaning of the combination or the separation of distigme + obelos. What can be observed with certainty in the manuscript is that v. 33b is separated from the paragraph comprising vv. 34–5, even if we assume that the bar here only identifies the paragraph and the umlaut/distigme points to the variant reading of διδάσκω.

3.4 Codex Sinaiticus

Codex Sinaiticus (א or 01) is a fourth-century parchment manuscript. Metzger observes the following regarding the paragraph marking in א: ‘the three scribes of codex Sinaiticus indicated a new paragraph by placing the first letter so that it extended slightly into the left-hand margin; the preceding line may or may not be full’.Footnote ⁵² Verses 34–5 in א begin with a new line, thus forming a separate paragraph, independent of v. 33b (see Fig. 2).

Figure 2. Codex Sinaiticus, 1 Cor 14.33–6.

Sinaiticus, as we know, has been corrected several times. In the parchment facsimile that we have, vv. 34–5 are written as a new paragraph, with the alpha of the article αἱ emphasised by being located further to the left side of the column than the other letters.

The paragraph comprising vv. 34–5 ends with an alpha as well, which occupies the whole line and accentuates vv. 34–5 within the surrounding text. The scribe(s) most likely considered verse 33b as belonging to the preceding paragraph. There is no change of subject between v. 33a and v. 33b.

3.5 Codex Alexandrinus

Codex Alexandrinus (A or 02) is a fifth-century vellum codex. Some breathing marks were definitely added by a later hand, but the punctuation and paragraph marking seem to go back to the original scribe.Footnote ⁵³ A has vv. 34–5 after v. 33. But there are a few comments that need to be made about the paragraph marking in Alexandrinus. The scribe was not particularly concerned with the chapter division, which is not surprising given that the codex is dated to the fifth century, but, at least in 1 Corinthians, he marked paragraphs in two different ways (with a few exceptions):Footnote ⁵⁴

1. (1) With a large capital letter at the beginning of a line;

2. (2) By leaving a space (of about 2–3 characters) in the middle of the line, indicating the start of a new thought. In order for the paragraph to be noticed by the reader, the scribe wrote a capital letter in the next line.Footnote ⁵⁵ This system – a space and a capital letter (not necessarily the initial letter) – is quite frequent in the text of 1 Corinthians.Footnote ⁵⁶

Let us first examine one example from A, 1 Cor 14.6 (Fig. 3). The scribe leaves space in the middle of the line, but emphasises the phi of the word αδελφοι in the beginning of the next line in order to mark the new paragraph.

Figure 3. Codex Alexandrinus, page 124: Cor 14.5b–6a.

Codex A has the following punctuation in the pericope of 1 Cor 14.33–5: v. 33a is preceded by a dot; v. 33b is preceded by a dot; v. 34 begins in the middle of the line and is preceded by a dot, but in addition to that, there is a space of 1–2 characters before αι γυναικες and a capitalised tau (in the article Tαις) in the following line. Even though the page of the manuscript on the facsimile is turned up in the corner, it is possible to see that there is a part of a capital letter tau at the beginning of the following line (Fig. 4).

Figure 4. Codex Alexandrinus, page 124: 1 Cor 14.32–34a.

Thus, we can speak of a new paragraph starting with v. 34, not v. 33b. Verse 34 in A has a unique reading – αλλα υποτασσεσθωσαν <τοις ανδρασιν> καθως και ο νομος λεγει – which also tends to interpret an otherwise abstract subjection.

Verses 34–5 correspond to the pattern of paragraph indication in 1 Corinthians; thus even the economical A scribe has left a space between v. 33b and v. 34 and marked vv. 34–5 as a paragraph separate from v. 33b.

3.6 Codex Athous Lavrensis

Codex Athous Lavrensis (Ψ or 044) is a Greek parchment codex written in ca. 8–9^th century. The scribe of Lavrensis has indicated the following spaces in the immediate context of v. 33b (Fig. 5): before και at the beginning of v. 30 and before ου γαρ in v. 32. The codex leaves a space before ως (v. 33b). What is noteworthy is that the manuscript has a capitalised tau (in the article of Ταις εκκλησιαις, with Ταις as the last word in the line containing v. 33b). Αι γυναικες is written after a considerably larger space than the previous word (about two characters’ size), which is followed by a capitalised tau that starts a new line (ekthesis). Both of these capitalisations point to an indication of a new thought. Namely, v. 33b is considered by a scribe (or in the Vorlage) to be a separate sentence bearing an independent meaning. Further, v. 34 has been indicated by a scribe as starting a new thought. There is also a space before ου γαρ in v. 34.

Figure 5. A fragment of Codex Lavrensis, 1 Corinthians 14; manuscript page 201r.

Another space introduces v. 35. Consequently, this is also considered by the scribe to be a new idea or thought, and so he also capitalises theta (in θελουσιν) on the line that follows.

In the pericope of vv. 26–36 there is a capitalisation of εκαστος (v. 26), ταις (v. 34) and θελουσιν (v. 35). The scribe has capitalised the first tau in the word κατηντησεν when dividing it into two parts because of the lack of space on the line. He wrote the remaining part of the word right under the first part. With regard to the connection of v. 33b to v. 34, Lavrensis also marks the beginning of the new thought in v. 34 by employing spacing before αι γυναικες and by capitalising the first letter in the next line. The scribe of Lavrensis did not connect v. 33b with v. 34.

3.7 Minuscule 33

Minuscule 33, or ‘the queen of the cursives’, is a ninth-century Greek manuscript. It is highly regarded among New Testament textual critics despite its late age. Minuscule 33 is written in a cursive handwriting and does not divide the paragraphs. Verse 33b precedes vv. 34–5, yet the scribe has inserted a middle dot between v. 33b and v. 34. Such a marker does not exist between v. 33a and v. 33b.Footnote ⁵⁷

3.8 Minuscule 88

Minuscule 88 (Ms 88) is late. It is a twelfth-century Greek manuscript which ‘is not a Western text type manuscript’.Footnote ⁵⁸ The reason why Ms 88 attracts the attention of textual critics is because it reads the paragraph of vv. 34–5 after v. 40 and after two slashes, which are placed on the line of the text before αι γυναικες.

Philip B. Payne discusses the slashes as indicators of interpolation of 1 Cor 14.34, 35. Payne is convinced that Ms 88 testifies to the Vorlage, which did not have vv. 34–5.Footnote ⁵⁹

The interpretation of sigla in Ms 88 depends on the meaning we attribute to it, but in any case it is possible to observe that v. 33b in this manuscript is unconnected to vv. 34–5, but precedes v. 36.

3.9 Greek–Latin diglot codices: Claromontanus, Augiensis, Boernerianus

Codex Claromontanus (D or 06) is a sixth-century bilingual Greek–Latin codex, which reads vv. 34–5 after v. 40, that is, at the end of the chapter. Even though Claromontanus relocates vv. 34–5 to the end of the chapter, it leaves v. 33b between v. 33a and v. 36. The Latin part of D (06) reads v. 33b as follows: non enim est dissensionis Deus sed pacis sicut in omnibus ecclesiis sanctorum.

Codex Augiensis (F or 010) is a ninth-century bilingual Greek–Latin codex.Footnote ⁶⁰ It dislocates vv. 34–5 after v. 40 and ends v. 33b with doceo and διδασκω accordingly.

Codex Boernerianus (G or 012) is a ninth-century bilingual Greek–Latin codex. It closely resembles Codex Sangallensis (Δ or 037), but is also similar to F, which leads scholars to propose a common Vorlage of the first or second degree.

G reads vv. 34–5 after v. 40, just like F, and ends v. 33b with διδασκω, where doceo is written above the Greek word. Verse 33b is preceded by v. 33a, and followed by v. 36.

Δ, F and G are often mentioned together because all three place 1 Cor 14.34–5 after v. 40. Yet there is a difference between Δ on one hand and F and G on the other: Δ does not have doceo at the end of v. 33b. Significant is the fact that v. 33b is found between v. 33a and v. 36 in all three versions, and has no syntactic connection with v. 34 whatsoever.

3.10 Codex Fuldensis

Codex Fuldensis (F)Footnote ⁶¹ is a Latin version of the NT and a contemporary of D (06). Fuldensis is a representative of the Latin Vulgate text. It is also one of the dated codices, which was compiled ca. 541, and corrected in 546 ce under the supervision of Bishop Victor of Capua. Metzger has classified Fuldensis as a ‘very good’ manuscript.Footnote ⁶²

Fuldensis not only separates v. 33b from the pericope vv. 34–5 but, similarly to D, F and G, ends v. 33b, with a verb: Et spiritus prophetarum prophetis subiecti sunt non enim est dissensionis deus sed pacis. Sicut in omnibus ecclesiis scorum Footnote ⁶³ doceo. According to the text in Fuldensis, v. 33b is connected with v. 33a.

Further, in Fuldensis there is a siglum hõ after v. 33b. A new paragraph begins with Mulieres in ecclesiis … (v. 34). The main text of 1 Cor 14 on the same page continues through most of v. 37. But vv. 36–40 appear again in toto in the margin below, followed by a siglum hs (Fig. 6).

Figure 6. The marginal/bottom note of Codex Fuldensis with the repetition of vv. 36–40 in toto.

There is a question as to what these sigla mean. Do they mean that vv. 34–5 should have been omitted in the liturgy (Metzger), that these verses have been omitted in some other manuscript(s) (Payne), or do they simply mark the place of vv. 34–5 after v. 40 (Niccum)?

While this remains an open question, Weiss (1910) and Baljon (1884) interpreted the sigla of Fuldensis to point to the omission of vv. 34–5. According to Baljon, Fuldensis contains vv. 36–40 before v. 34, but also after v. 35.Footnote ⁶⁴ Weiss also mentions that Fuldensis reads vv. 36–40 before v. 34.Footnote ⁶⁵

The study of the Greek manuscripts and Latin versions reveals that v. 33b does not necessarily need to have any syntactical connection with verse 34. Throughout the centuries scribes seem to have treated vv. 34 and 35 as separate from v. 33b. Let us now examine how critical editions of the Greek New Testament from the time of Erasmus onwards have placed v. 33b in its context.

Different presentation of the Greek manuscript evidence with regard to the place of v. 33b in its immediate context can be observed in the Table 1 (with a note that some editions mentioned are bilingual).Footnote ⁶⁶

When we survey the various editions of the Greek New Testament, an interesting picture emerges: since the time of Erasmus Greek New Testament editions overwhelmingly read v. 33 in its entirety, conforming to the oldest Greek manuscripts. Over time, however, since the beginning of the twentieth century, the tendency to link v. 33b with what follows started to dominate and v. 33b became an introduction to the silence of women in vv. 34–5 with its far-reaching exegetical implications – that is, introducing the prohibition on women's speech and validating this prohibition by appealing to the customary practice of all the other churches.

We can conclude that text-critical evidence points to the fact that the oldest Greek and Latin manuscripts give no reason to connect v. 33b with vv. 34–5. Greek New Testament editions that link v. 33b with 34 reflect exegetical decisions. Consequently, the decision of NA²⁸ and UBS⁵ to write v. 33b as an introduction to vv. 34–5 is based not on external evidence, but most probably on exegetical considerations.