A Commentary on the Manuscripts and Text of the New Testament by Philip Wesley Comfort (review)

Philip Comfort's Commentary on the Manuscripts and Text of the New Testament provides an accessible introduction to the manuscripts of the New Testament (nt), including discussion of their variant readings in English and sustained interest in the scribal feature known as nomina sacra. Supported by Comfort's concern that critical editions of the nt do not record the numerous instances of nomina sacra—what he considers to be an exegetically important feature–the extended description of nomina sacra and indications of their occurrence in the relevant nt passages are likely the most interesting feature of the book. The volume itself consists of four broad sections: a brief introduction to important clusters of nt manuscripts and nomina sacra; a descriptive list of nt manuscripts, including the early versions; the commentary proper; and an evaluation of the significance of nomina sacra.

In the first chapter, Comfort provides an illuminating and accessible discussion of the more significant clusters of nt manuscripts, including papyri found at Oxyrhynchus, the Chester Beatty Papyri, and the Bodmer codices. He defends the traditional goal of textual criticism as the attempt to establish an original text and describes the ways in which text critics have classified manuscripts according to geographical families or on a continuum between ''strict'' and ''free'' transmission. This chapter ends with discussion of nomina sacra, scribal abbreviations of keywords including the Greek words for God, Jesus, Lord, Christ, Spirit, and cross/crucify, along with a plate of a leaf from P46 that shows how nomina sacra appear on a page.

The second chapter provides an annotated list of the nt manuscripts, including their first publication, date, and textual character. Greatest attention is given to the Greek papyri and majuscules. This chapter is generally useful, though a number of concerns should be raised. While stating in the previous chapter his preference for the term early Alexandrian (26), Comfort regularly describes a manuscript's character as protoAlexandrian (P35, 57; P39, 58; P46, 63; P53, 66; P95, 80–81; P101, 82). Further, he fluctuates between geographic and non-geographic description of textual character, sometimes using his preferred term reliable (e.g., P70, 72) and elsewhere describing Alexandrian, Western, D-type, etc. Such inconsistency will make it difficult for the reader to evaluate the significance of the differences between manuscripts.

Further attention should also be given to Comfort's early dating of many of these manuscripts, especially those that he dates to the second century. More detailed argumentation for the early dating of manuscripts can be found in some of Comfort's earlier publications, thus this book reflects those previous conclusions with minimal added discussion. However, his position does not necessarily represent the consensus positions. Comfort occasionally acknowledges that earlier papyrologists proposed dates later than his own proposal, but he does not interact at all with the growing number of publications that dispute many of the early (esp. second-century) dates of nt manuscripts. Some of these works are more recent, so it is understandable that they were not included. But Comfort's discussion of P52 (65–66) really ought to have made reference to Brent Nongbri's 2005 article, in order to give readers a fuller sense of the state of discussion.

The commentary proper makes up the largest portion of the book. Proceeding in canonical order through the books of the nt, the commentary provides, in English, what Comfort considers to be the correct reading of standard textual variants. Many of these are minor, and he does not add much to what is available in the apparatus of the NA28. But the layout provides a useful resource for the array of variants, especially for someone who cannot read Greek or does not have facility with a critical text with apparatus. What stands out in this commentary is Comfort's identification of those manuscripts that contain nomina sacra, which would not otherwise be...