And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them.” Because the King James Version is based on a text that contains ἰδού, the verse is translated “Lo!” or “Behold!” The variant probably arose as a scribal accident or harmonization because Luke uses the word ἰδού ten times between chapters one and two of his Gospel. In Linus’ King James recitation we hear the familiar translation: “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. The addition of ἰδοὺ appears in more manuscripts, most of the Byzantine text, yet due to its absence in more of the older copies that more strongly attest to an older text, the manuscript evidence indicates that the omission better reflects the original. 1241) read καὶ ἄγγελος (“and an angel”) while later (but some still early) sources (A D K Γ Δ Θ Ψ f1. One Christmas story variant occurs at Luke 2:9 where the oldest witnesses along with significant others (א B L W Ξ 565. This enables text critics to confidently determine the text that stood at the head of the long stream of the copies that followed. To accomplish this, scholars study places where the copies differ from one another seeking to determine which reading best explains the rise of the others. Textual critics utilize this large body of ancient literature-an “embarrassment of riches” as New Testament scholars are fond of saying-to determine the story that scribes so faithfully copied through centuries. See below two papyri that contain the earliest evidence of the Christmas story we have today. Yet, the text they preserve has proven valuable to text critics who utilize these early resources to determine the original message copied down. Age and use caused great deterioration for many New Testament papyri which now exist as fragments. The oldest copies of the New Testament text appear in the papyri, the earliest dated to the second century by papyrologists, an ancient writing material made of the systems of a papyrus plant. Let’s look at some digital images of the early books that contained the Christmas story.Īll four chapters appear as early as the third century in papyrus manuscripts. Over time, as the handwriting, materials, and look of manuscripts changed, scribes continued to copy the text of Matthew 1–2 and Luke 1–2. As we might expect, the nativity account appears in a great number of manuscripts that span the centuries. The New Testament boasts of an impressive textual tradition. Before animated movies and printing presses, the story passed down through handwritten copies of the text. The Christmas story, including the text Linus quoted, appears in Matthew 1–2 and Luke 1–2 in the New Testament. Given the witness of the New Testament textual tradition-we do know what Christmas is all about. And yet, the text of the nativity account preserved in Greek New Testament manuscripts is exceptionally stable, inspiring something more like Linus’ confidence than Charlie Brown’s discouraged distrust. Coupled with COVID-19 and all the new challenges we face, the sentiment is likely exponentially multiplied in 2020. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season can lead to “Charlie Brown-like” levels of exasperation for anyone. Even more, the whole Peanuts gang seems to suddenly get the spirit of the season. It is a beautiful moment highlighted by Linus dropping his blanket as he utters the angelic command “fear not.” The scripture lesson corrects Charlie Brown’s perspective on Christmas. Wielding only a security blanket and the text of Luke 2:9–14, Linus Van Pelt sets Charlie Brown straight on what Christmas is all about. “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”įrom the crowd emerges an unlikely hero. He failed to direct the Christmas play, he failed to understand the growing commercialism, he failed to pick out an appropriate Christmas tree, and finally, Charlie Brown yells out in distress: In the pivotal scene of the 1965 holiday special “Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown,” the lead actor reaches a moment when he can no longer contain his exasperation.
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