Book Description

As part of the Society of Biblical Literature's The New Testament in the Greek Fathers series, this book examines the textual affinities of Epiphanius of Salamis in Acts, the Catholic Epistles, and the Pauline Epistles. Devising careful criteria for selecting quotations and following established criteria for analyzing patristic data, Osburn reverses the commonly accepted notion that Epiphanius systematically reflects an early form of the Byzantine text. While his text of the Catholic Epistles was likely Byzantine in character, the Greek text of Acts and the Pauline Epistles used by Epiphanius was common in the Eastern Mediterranean during the fourth century C.E. and is similar to the Later Egyptian text-form found in Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Ephraemi rescriptus. In addition to enriching our understanding of Epiphanius, this volume broadens our knowledge of the New Testament text in the fourth century. Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org)