1 Korintus 5:4

5:4 When you gather together in the name of our Lord Jesus, ¹  and I am with you in spirit, ²  along with the power of our Lord Jesus,

1 Korintus 16:19

16:19 The churches in the province of Asia ³  send greetings to you. Aquila and Prisca ⁴  greet ⁵  you warmly in the Lord, with the church that meets in their house.

[5:4]  ¹ tc On the wording “our Lord Jesus” (τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ, tou kuriou Jhmwn Ihsou) there is some variation in the extant witnesses: ἡμῶν is lacking in א A Ψ 1505 pc; Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “Christ”) is found after ᾿Ιησοῦ in Ì⁴⁶ א D² F G 33 1881 Ï co and before ᾿Ιησοῦ in 81. The wording τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ is read by B D* 1175 1739 pc. Concerning Χριστοῦ, even though the external evidence for this is quite good, it may well be a motivated reading. Elsewhere in Paul the expression “our Lord Jesus” is routinely followed by “Christ” (e.g., Rom 5:1, 11; 15:6, 30; 1 Cor 1:2, 7, 10; 15:57; 2 Cor 8:9; Gal 6:14, 18, Eph 1:3, 17; 5:20; 6:24; Col 1:3; 1 Thess 1:3; 5:9, 23, 28). Less commonly, the wording is simply “our Lord Jesus” (e.g., Rom 16:20; 2 Cor 1:14; 1 Thess 2:19; 3:11, 13; 2 Thess 1:8, 12). A preference should thus be given to the shorter reading. As for the ἡμῶν, it is very difficult to decide: “the Lord Jesus” occurs as often as “our Lord Jesus” (cf. 1 Cor 11:23; 16:23; 2 Cor 4:14; 11:31; Eph 1:15; 1 Thess 4:2; 2 Thess 1:7; Phlm 5). Although scribes would tend to expand on the text, the only witnesses that have “the Lord Jesus” (without “our” or “Christ”) are A Ψ 1505 pc. On balance, then, “our Lord Jesus” is the best reading in this verse.

[5:4]  ² tn Verses 4b-5a are capable of various punctuations: (1) “and I am with you in spirit, through the power of our Lord Jesus turn this man over to Satan”; (2) “and I am with you in spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus, turn this man over to Satan”; (3) “and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of our Lord Jesus, turn this man over to Satan” (as adopted in the text). The first option suggests the Lord’s power is needed when the church is to hand the man over to Satan; the second option suggests that the Lord’s power is present when Paul is gathered with the Corinthians in spirit; the third option leaves the relation of the Lord’s power to the surrounding phrases vague, perhaps implying that both are in view.

[16:19]  ³ tn Grk “the churches of Asia”; in the NT “Asia” always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[16:19]  ⁴ sn On Aquila and Prisca see also Acts 18:2, 18, 26; Rom 16:3-4; 2 Tim 4:19. In the NT “Priscilla” and “Prisca” are the same person. The author of Acts uses the full name Priscilla, while Paul uses the diminutive form Prisca.

[16:19]  ⁵ tc The plural form of this verb, ἀσπάζονται (aspazontai, “[they] greet”), is found in several good mss (B F G 075 0121 0243 33 1739 1881) as well as the Byzantine cursives. But the singular is read by an equally impressive group (א C D K P Ψ 104 2464 pc). This part of the verse is lacking in codex A. Deciding on the basis of external evidence is quite difficult. Internally, however, the singular appears to have given rise to the plural: (1) The rest of the greetings in this verse are in the plural; this one was probably made plural by some scribes for purposes of assimilation; and, more significantly, (2) since both Aquila and Prisca are mentioned as the ones who send the greeting, the plural is more natural. The singular is, of course, not impossible Greek; indeed, a singular verb with a compound subject is used with some frequency in the NT (cf. Matt 13:55; Mark 8:27; 14:1; John 2:2; 3:22; 4:36, 53; Acts 5:29; 16:31; 1 Tim 6:4). This is especially common when “Jesus and his disciples” is the subject. What is significant is that when such a construction is found the emphasis is placed on the first-named person (in this case, Aquila). Normally when these two are mentioned in the NT, Priscilla is mentioned first (Acts 18:18, 26; Rom 16:3; 2 Tim 4:19). Only here and in Acts 18:2 (the first mention of them) is Aquila mentioned before Priscilla. Many suggest that Priscilla is listed first due to prominence. Though that is possible, both the mention of Aquila first here and the singular verb give him special prominence (cf. ExSyn 401-2). What such prominence means in each instance is difficult to assess. Nevertheless, here is a Pauline instance in which Aquila is given prominence. Too much can be made of the word order argument in either direction.