Exegetical Value of Textual Variants in Galatians 3:19

In this paper, I apply narrative textual criticism to the textual variants in Galatians 3:19 to determine how they might augment the exegetical task. While historically the goal of textual criticism was to construct the “original” New Testament text, this goal has shifted in recent discussion in favor of a reconstruction of the Ausgangstext, or “initial text.” This shift has brought renewed focus to the textual variants, which are now recognized as having inherent value of their own. One variant-conscious approach that has emerged is “narrative textual criticism,” which studies the variants for the sociological and theological insights they reveal about scribes and readers. I argue this method can augment the exegetical task as well by providing valuable insight into how early faith communities understood the New Testament text. In this paper, I identify five major textual variants in Galatians 3:19 and study each reading in light of its grammatical and theological significance. I then discuss how these insights can augment an exegesis of Galatians 3:19.