The Comma in New Testament Text Interpretation
a case study in Ephesians 4:12
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23925/ua.v26i42.e63387Keywords:
Comma, New Testament, Ephesians, interpretationAbstract
This article aims to investigate the use of the comma in the texts of the Greek New Testament and describe the value of this punctuation mark for the interpretation of Ephesians 4:12, with the following purposes: to explain the function of the comma; and to indicate its absence in most ancient Greek manuscripts. It presents the problem question: how could the early Christians understand the Greek New Testament text without punctuation marks? To understand this question, bibliographic research was conducted through books and scientific articles, and, in addition, an analysis of papyrus 46, which contains the text of Ephesians IV, 2 - IV, 14, was carried out. It is concluded that the punctuation marks in today's New Testament texts are editorial additions, and that their absence does not make it impossible to understand a passage.
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