COMMA JOHANNEUM:The Case of the Missing Verse (Bible Series)

[GildartsTale]

COMMA JOHANNEUM:
The Case of the “Missing” Verse
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Kapag binasa mo ang 1 John 5:7-8 sa halos lahat ng translations today, it is commonly read as, “For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.” (ESV). Pero kapag binasa mo ang parehong passage sa KJV, mapapansin mo na ito ay mas mahaba; “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” Ang mas mahabang pagkakasalin ng verse 7 sa KJV (pati na rin sa NKJV at sa iilan pa) ay tinatawag na “Comma Johanneum” na may literal na meaning na, “short clause pertaining to John.” Tinanggal na ang Comma Johanneum sa halos lahat ng modern translations na mayroon tayo ngayon.

Some argue na ang pagtanggal dito ay masasabing pagbawas sa Word of God (which means unreliable daw ang modern translations) or even an attempt to invalidate the doctrine of Trinity na obvious na mababasa dito (in other words, heretical daw ang modern translations). Tinuturing pa ng iba ang Comma Johanneum bilang isa sa mga missing verses of the modern Bible today. Such conclusions are based on the ignorance of textual criticism.

Ang reading na “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” ay wala sa lahat ng known Greek manuscripts (handwritten copies), maliban sa walo. As we all know, the NT was originally written in Greek, kaya ang katotohanan na wala ang Comma Johanneum sa mga ito ay sapat na dahilan para kwestiyunin ang pagiging bahagi nito sa orihinal. Apat pa sa walong mga manuscripts na mayroon nito ay sinulat lang ito sa margin as variant reading na dinagdag lang sa manuscripts. Habang ang iba pang kopya na mayroon nito ay hindi naman talaga “ancient” kundi “late manuscripts” lang dahil hindi naman sila talaga luma.

Hindi rin makikita ang longer reading sa mga manuscripts ng mga ancient versions (Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopic, Arabic, etc). Wala rin ang longer reading sa mga unang version ng Old Latin at ng Latin Vulgate (translated by St. Jerome). According to Dr. Daniel B. Wallace, a textual scholar, “Thus, there is no sure evidence of this reading in any Greek manuscript until the 1500s.” Which means, hindi talaga kasama original writing ng 1 John ang Comma Johanneum kundi dinagdag na lang later on.

Walang early Church father ang nag-quote sa Comma Johanneum kahit minsan. Sa panahon na marami at matindi ang debate patungkol sa Trinity dahil sa mga controversies and heresies sa panahon nila (like Sabellianism at Arianism), maasahan nating gagamitin ito nang madalas ng mga Church fathers para suportahan ang doctrine, pero wala tayong mababasa na binanggit nila ito ---kahit isang beses. This proves that this passage was not existing during their time!

Saan kaya galing ang Comma Johanneum? Most likely an ancient scribe put his insights in the margins of the manuscript he was working on. Common na ‘yun sa mga scribes na maglagay ng mga notes sa kinokopya nilang document. The marginal notes were then copied alongside with the original content of the manuscripts, and some mistaken these notes as part of the original.

Paano naging part ang Comma Johanneum ng KJV kung hindi naman pala ito bahagi ng original writing ng 1 John? During the 16th Century, Desiderius Erasmus was compiling his Greek New Testament (known today as “Textus Receptus”). Hindi niya sinama ang longer reading sa una at pangalawang editions ng kanyang Greek NT dahil wala naman ito sa mga ancient Greek manuscripts. Erasmus was pressured by the Roman Catholic Church to include Comma Johanneum dahil na rin sa obvious na Trinitarian theme nito. Codex 61 (also known as “Codex Montfortianus”) was produced around 1520’s to convince him to include the questionable verse in his work. Dahil may pinakita na sa kanyang Greek manuscript na may longer reading, napapayag na rin siya (or napilit na rin siya!). Finally, Comma Johanneum made its way to the third edition of his Greek NT. At dahil ang later edition ng Textus Receptus ang basis ng KJV, expectedly, isasama rin nila ang longer reading sa version nila.

Can we still prove the doctrine of Trinity even without Comma Johanneum? Yes! Mayroon man o walang ganito, one can find countless of passages from Genesis to Revelation to support the doctrine so, it is wrong to assume na kailangan pa ito. Also, it is wrong to add something to the Word of God, regardless kung ano mang reason. Kahit gaano man kaganda ang content ng longer reading, hindi pa rin ito inspired dahil hindi ito kasama sa orihinal na sinulat. Can we still trust the Bible despite textual problems like this? Yes! To solve these issues, doon pumapasok ang Textual criticism. Fortunately, sa sobrang daming manuscripts na available saatin ngayon (at most likely may mahuhukay pa kung saan-saan), Textual experts were able to reconstruct the content of the original, with almost perfect accuracy (kaya nga nakita na wala naman talaga sa original writing ang Comma Johanneum!). Ang mga issue na tulad nito ay hindi naman talaga gano’n kaseryoso at sapat para pagdudahan ang Biblia na mayroon tayo ngayon.

CTTO

 

[PHC Seightan Conde 418]

Meron din sya sa NKJV..pinareha lng din