Understanding the Apparatus: A Brief Guide

This brief guide supplements what is said above about the apparatus to the SBLGNT by offering further explanation and examples.

The textual apparatus provides a textual note for each of the more than 6,900 instances of variation in the SBLGNT. In each note, the marked reading in the text is always listed first, in bold, and followed immediately by its supporting evidence. The separator bracket (]) comes next, followed by the variant reading(s) and supporting evidence. Multiple variation units in the same verse are separated by a bullet (•), as in all three examples below. Multiple variant readings in the same variation unit are separated by a semicolon (;), as in the second variant in Matt 22:30 below (τοῦ θεοῦRP; – WHTregNIV).

Symbols in the text alert the reader to the presence of textual notes in the apparatus. The most frequently used symbols are ⸀ and ⸂⸃; the former marks a single word, and the latter encloses a multiple word phrase. If the same word is marked a second time in the same verse, the ⸁ symbol is used to mark the second occurrence (as in Matt 10:28 below, twice). If an identical multiword phrase is marked a second time in the same verse, the ⸄⸅ symbols are used to mark the second occurrence (as in John 18:39 below). In both cases, for clarity the symbols are repeated in the textual note. (More complex cases are discussed below.)

Matt 10:28 text:

28 καὶ μὴ ⸀φοβεῖσθε ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποκτεννόντων τὸ σῶμα τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν μὴ δυναμένων ἀποκτεῖναι· ⸁φοβεῖσθε δὲ μᾶλλον τὸν δυνάμενον ⸀καὶ ψυχὴν ⸁καὶ σῶμα ἀπολέσαι ἐν γεέννῃ.

textual note in apparatus:

28 ⸀φοβεσθεTregNIVRP ] φοβηθῆτεWH • ⸁φοβεῖσθεWHNIV ] φοβήθητεTregRP • ⸀καὶWHTregNIV ] + τὴνRP • ⸁καὶWHTregNIV ] + τὸRP

John 18:39 text:

39 ἔστιν δὲ συνήθεια ὑμῖν ἵνα ἕνα ⸂ἀπολύσω ὑμῖν⸃ ἐν τῷ πάσχα· βούλεσθε οὖν ⸄ἀπολύσω ὑμῖν⸅ τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Ἰουδαίων;

textual note in apparatus:

39 ⸂ἀπολύσω ὑμῖν⸃WHTregNIV ] ὑμῖν ἀπολύσωRP • ⸄ἀπολύσω ὑμῖν⸅WHTregNIV ] ὑμῖν ἀπολύσωRP

Matt 22:30 text:

30 ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἀναστάσει οὔτε γαμοῦσιν οὔτε⸀γαμίζονται, ἀλλ’ ὡς ἄγγελοι⸀θεοῦ ἐν⸀τῷ οὐρανῷ εἰσιν·

textual note in apparatus:

30 γαμίζονταιWHTregNIV ] ἐκγαμίζονταιRP • θεοῦHolmes ] τοῦ θεοῦRP; – WHTregNIV • τῷWHTregNIV ] – RP

Variant readings can be one of three types: addition, omission, or substitution. An addition is signaled by the plus sign (+), which indicates that the following word or words are added to the reading of the text by the supporting edition(s) listed after the additional words. In Matt 10:28 above, for example, taking the third and fourth variants together, the SBL text reads καὶ ψυχὴν καὶ σῶμα (with WHTregNIV), while the RP text—adding τὴν after ⸀καὶ and τὸ after ⸁καὶ —reads καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸ σῶμα.

An omission is signaled by the minus sign (–) or dash, which indicates that the word(s) marked in the text are omitted by the supporting edition(s) listed after the minus sign. In the second variant in Matt 22:30 above, where the SBL text reads ὡς ἄγγελοι θεοῦ, WHTregNIV omit the word θεοῦ, and thus read only ὡς ἄγγελοι (see also the last variant in 22:30).

If there is neither a plus nor a minus sign, the variant reading is a substitution: the word(s) marked in the text are replaced by the word(s) in the variant reading by the supporting edition(s) listed after the variant reading. In the first variant in Matt 10:28, for example, the SBL text reads φοβεῖσθε (with TregNIVRP), while the WH text reads φοβηθῆτε (see also the second variant in this verse, both variants in John 18:39, and the first variant in 22:30).

The above examples cover a very large proportion of the variation units in the apparatus, though more complex cases do sometimes occur. If, for example, the same word is marked more than twice in the same sentence, the symbols ⸀1 and ⸀2 are used for subsequent occurrences (as in 1 Cor 12:10 below, where the same word is marked four times). Occasionally, the ⸄⸅ symbols (whose typical use was described above) can also be used to mark a shorter multiword variant that occurs inside a longer multiword variant (see Luke 22:43–44 below). Also, a single-word variant marker (⸀) can occur inside a regular set (⸂⸃) of multiple-word variant markers (as in John 13:2 below). A key point to remember when encountering an “opening” multiple-word marker, whether ⸂ or ⸄, is to always look for the corresponding “closing” marker (⸃ or ⸅); this will help to avoid confusion.

1 Cor 12:10 text:

10 ⸀ἄλλῳ ἐνεργήματα δυνάμεων, ⸁ἄλλῳ προφητεία, ⸀1ἄλλῳ διακρίσεις πνευμάτων, ⸀ἑτέρῳ γένη γλωσσῶν, ⸀2ἄλλῳ ἑρμηνεία γλωσσῶν·

textual note in apparatus:

10 ⸀ἄλλῳHolmes ] + δὲWHTregNIVRP • ⸁ἄλλῳTreg ] + δὲWHNIVRP • ⸀1ἄλλῳTreg ] + δὲWHNIVRP • ἑτέρῳWHTregNIV ] + δὲRP • ⸀2ἄλλῳHolmes ] + δὲWHTregNIVRP

Luke 22.43–44 text:

43 ⸂ὤφθη δὲ αὐτῷ ἄγγελος⸀ἀπ’ οὐρανοῦ ἐνισχύων αὐτόν. 44 καὶ γενόμενος ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ ἐκτενέστερον προσηύχετο·⸄καὶ ἐγένετο⸅ ὁ ἱδρὼς αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ θρόμβοι αἵματος καταβαίνοντες ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν.⸃

textual note in apparatus:

43–44 ὤφθη δὲ … ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν. TregNIVRP ] ⟦WH⟧• ἀπ᾽NIVRP ] ἀπὸ τοῦ⟦WH⟧Treg• καὶ ἐγένετο⟦WH⟧NIV ] ἐγένετο δὲTregRP

Here the symbols ⸂⸃ mark off a variant involving the inclusion (by TregNIVRP) or omission (by WH) of verses 43–44. Within that larger variant, a smaller multiword variant marked by ⸄⸅ involves a word-order difference. Since the ⸂ “opening” symbol always is matched by a ⸃ “closing” symbol, and the ⸄ symbol always corresponds with ⸅, it is possible to “nest” the two variants without confusion as to where each begins and ends.

This variant offers an opportunity to comment on the use of another symbol, ⟦WH⟧. There are some verses that Westcott and Hort did not think belonged to the genuine text but that they did not feel free to remove completely from their printed text due to its antiquity or intrinsic interest. In the first entry in the apparatus (ὤφθη δὲ … ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν.TregNIVRP ] ⟦WH⟧), the symbol ⟦WH⟧ signals that Westcott and Hort placed verses 43–44 inside double brackets, whereas TregNIVRP included them in their texts. In the third variant (καὶ ἐγένετο ⟦WH⟧NIV ] ἐγένετο δὲTregRP), involving a difference in word order, the presence of ⟦WH⟧ signals that Westcott and Hort support the same word order as NIV and reminds us that they did not view the phrase (or the verse of which it is a part) as part of the original text.

John 13.2 text:

2 καὶ δείπνου ⸀γινομένου, τοῦ διαβόλου ἤδη βεβληκότος εἰς τὴν καρδίαν⸂ἵνα παραδοῖ αὐτὸν Ἰούδας Σίμωνος⸀Ἰσκαριώτου⸃,

textual note in apparatus:

2 γινομένουWHTregNIV ] γενομένουRP • ἵνα παραδοῖ αὐτὸν Ἰούδας Σίμωνος Ἰσκ. WHTregNIV ] Ἰούδα Σίμωνος Ἰσκ. ἵνα αὐτὸν παραδῷRP • ἸσκαριώτουNIVRP ] ἸσκαριώτηςWHTreg

In this instance, the word-order variation (⸂ἵνα παραδοῖ αὐτὸν Ἰούδας Σίμωνος Ἰσκαριώτου⸃) is unrelated to the separate variant involving the spelling of ⸀Ἰσκαριώτου, so they have been set up as separate variants, the smaller one “nested” inside the larger. The larger variant bounded by the symbols ⸂⸃ deals with the word-order variation, while the variant signaled by the ⸀ symbol deals with the spelling variation.

Two other matters call for comment. One is punctuation, which in general is not taken into account in the textual notes. Occasionally, however, a variant may carry with it consequences for how the verse is punctuated. In these cases, punctuation is included in the textual note, as in the second variant in Rev 21:4:

4 ἐκWHTregNIV ] ἀπὸRP • ἔτι.WH ] ἔτι, ὅτιTregNIVRP

Here the inclusion of ὅτι (supported by TregNIVRP) alters the syntax of the sentence and so requires a change in punctuation, from the full stop of WH to a comma. The textual note, therefore, indicates both the textual variants and the punctuation that corresponds with them.

The other is the use of ellipsis (…) in the textual notes. Sometimes it is used to save space, especially in variants involving word order. In Matt 15:37 (καὶ ἔφαγον πάντες καὶ ἐχορτάσθησαν, καὶ⸂τὸ περισσεῦον τῶν κλασμάτων ἦραν⸃ἑπτὰ σπυρίδας πλήρεις), for example, giving the full text of each variant would result in a textual note like this:

37 τὸ περισσεῦον τῶν κλασμάτων ἦραν WHTregNIV ] ἦραν τὸ περισσεῦον τῶν κλασμάτωνRP

The use of ellipses to replace exactly the same words in each variant results in a shorter note:

37 τὸ … κλασμάτων ἦραν WHTregNIV ] ἦραν τὸ … κλασμάτων RP.

In other cases the use of ellipses helps to make clear the places where two or more textual variants actually differ. In Acts 9:31, for example, the entire verse is enclosed by a pair of multiword variant markers (31 ⸂μὲν οὖν ἐκκλησία καθ’ ὅλης τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ Γαλιλαίας καὶ Σαμαρείας εἶχεν εἰρήνην οἰκοδομουμένη, καὶ πορευομένη τῷ φόβῳ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ τῇ παρακλήσει τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἐπληθύνετο⸃). The apparatus, however, looks like this:

31 Ἡ … ἐκκλησία … εἶχεν … οἰκοδομουμένη … πορευομένη … ἐπληθύνετοWHTregNIV ] Αἱ … ἐκκλησίαι … εἶχον … οἰκοδομούμεναι … πορευόμεναι … ἐπληθύνοντοRP

Here the ellipses not only save space but also reveal clearly the places where the variant readings differ and the nature of the variation (singular versus plural).