JETS 21:1 (March 1978) p. 29 homogeneous as it is from 400 to 1500, has clearly evolved from an earlier form, where the kinds of readings peculiar to it become more thoroughgoing at a later stage. This is the historical data. It is “objectively verifiable” and incontrovertible. It is true that the actual origins of the Byzantine text as a text-type are shrouded in mystery, but that is scarcely an argument in its favor. If it were indeed closer to the autographs, the same “mystery” would prevail for