Revising the Repetitions: The Relative Textual Stability of Repeated Patristic Citations as a Window into the Transmission History of Patristic Exegesis – Chrysostom’s Homilies on Romans as an Initial Test Case

Abstract

Since the beginning of the discipline, New Testament textual critics have made use of the scriptural citations found in patristic homilies, commentaries, and other exegetical works. Those who use these sources commonly distinguish between the initial citation of a passage of Scripture and the repetitions of this passage in the following exposition. These repetitions are often considered less susceptible to alteration in the course of transmission and therefore more likely to provide reliable access to the form of the biblical text used by the patristic exegete in question. At the same time, in some textual traditions, both these initial citations and their repetitions show evidence of deliberate alteration in the course of transmission. Based on a full collation of the direct Greek manuscript tradition for selected test passages of Chrysostom’s Homilies on Romans (CPG 4427) this paper considers the relative textual stability of initial citations and their subsequent repetitions, opening a new window into the transmission history of patristic exegesis.