Bringing Sisters Back Together: Another Look at Luke 10:41-42

Luke's account of Martha and Mary of Bethany is present in the textual tradition in two versions. The majority of scholars and editors prefer the shorter reading, "only one thing is necessary." This view is also taken up by the influential UBS Committee, which regards the long reading...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wasserman, Tommy 1970- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: [2018]
In: Journal of Biblical literature
Year: 2018, Volume: 137, Issue: 2, Pages: 439-461
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Bible. Lukasevangelium 10,41-42 / Text history / Textual criticism / Text variant / Patristics / History 100-500
Further subjects:B Bible. Gospels
B Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint
B MARTHA, Saint
B Bible. Luke
B Jesus Christ
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Luke's account of Martha and Mary of Bethany is present in the textual tradition in two versions. The majority of scholars and editors prefer the shorter reading, "only one thing is necessary." This view is also taken up by the influential UBS Committee, which regards the long reading as a conflation. This preference for the shorter reading is mistaken on several grounds. First, it builds on a factual error presupposing a reading that does not exist in the extant Greek textual tradition. Second, it neglects the history of interpretation and specifically its significance for the textual problem. Third, it is motivated at least in part by positing a dichotomy between the two sisters. In this article, I argue that the long reading in the passage in Luke 10:41-42, where Jesus replies to Martha that "few things are necessary, or indeed only one" is the initial text and the lectio difficilior, as well as the text that is best suited to its narrative context in Luke's Gospel.
ISSN:1934-3876
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of Biblical literature
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.15699/jbl.1372.2018.348187