In this paper, I will examine the textual omission at Acts 8:37 – “Then Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Bruce Metzger noted in his Textual Commentary that “Ver. 37 is a Western addition, not found in ∏45, 74 א A B C 33 81 614 vg syrp, h copsa, bo eth, but is read, with many minor variations, by E, many minuscules, itgig, h vgmss syrh with * copG67 arm.” It is commonly suggested that it was more than likely a marginal gloss that was inserted into the text by some pious or well-meaning scribes.
As to how early this variant entered the manuscript tradition, it remains a matter of debate. Some have deemed it a “later Western expansion than the generally (on Acts) expansive Western tradition” (Keener, Acts: An Exegetical Commentary). Others, such as Oscar Cullmann in his important work The Earliest Christian Confessions, remarked that “we have here a very ancient interpolation; for in its brevity this symbol resembles none of the formulas known in the second and third centuries. Hence verse 37 cannot forthwith be regarded as a late gloss. One can indeed ask whether this verse was not omitted in later times because it diverged from the confessions remaining in use.” There are as many as 65 manuscripts that include it with some variation. One is even as early as the sixth century (Ea 08). It is also found in the second century works of Irenaeus (Haer. 3.12.8) and Cyprian (210-258 AD).
It will be seen that even though Acts 8:37 does not deserve inclusion in the text of the NT, it is of much significance as an early Christian confession. The baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch represented the launching of the church onto the global scene and the interpolation was the authoritative/popular confession of faith at the time.
Furthermore, this paper is in line with the theme of the 2024 ETS meeting: Global Evangelicalism.