Jonathan Robie wrote: ↑December 27th, 2018, 2:29 pmOr perhaps P46 adds a word, making it δι᾽ αὑτοῦ, and placing it in the next clause:
Oh yes, absolutely an option.
I was basing my comment on how the NA27 apparatus indicated the variant, which puts it down as an omission of the possessive, rather than addition of the preposition.
This is mainly due to the fact that the majority text reads διʼ ἑαυτοῦ. So in this case, we could have two variants (rather than just one) in P46: omission of the first possessive, followed by change of the reflexive to personal possessive (though personal possessive could also be used to be reflexive in nature).
The reading of P46 is supported by Bezae's original reading, and a few minuscules (236 263 2005 2127) according to the NA apparatus.
In
A textual Commentary, B. Metzger says the committee "thought it more likely that διʼ αὐτοῦ or διʼ ἑαυτοῦ (Dc K L M 614 1739 Byz Lect al) was added in order to enhance the force of the middle voice of ποιησάμενος, than that the phrase was present originally and then omitted in good representatives of the Alexandrian text (א A B 33 81) as well as in Western witnesses (it81 vg)."
Bezae actually has the reading ῷ ῥήματι τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ, διʼ αὐτοῦ καθαρισμὸν (again, per B. Metzger), which I would argue is actually the more likelier to be the original.
The shorter readings can easily be put down to either omission of a deemed "unnecessary" personal pronoun (αὐτοῦ), and a feature of P46 (see Royse), or with those omitting διʼ (ε)αυτου, a case of homoeoteleuton (αὐτοῦ ... αὐτοῦ).
I don't think Metzger's comment that the apparent "conflation" in Bezae therefore makes the δι αυτου reading "considerably weakened" is justified. Too much
Lectio brevior application for my liking!
SBLGNT seems to mirror the reading of P46 here:
SBLGNT wrote:φέρων τε τὰ πάντα τῷ ῥήματι τῆς δυνάμεως, δι᾽ αὑτοῦ καθαρισμὸν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ποιησάμενος ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν ὑψηλοῖς,
More than likely due to the added witnesses seen above
I'd love to discuss more TC here, but am afraid we may've talked a bit too much about it under the forum rules...