The textual problems of the Pauline epistles have rarely received systematic study since the work of Günther Zuntz in 1953. This thesis is a study of the text of 1 Corinthians
using a different methodology, called "thoroughgoing eclecticism. " The textual data was gathered from collations of manuscripts and critical editions, and is provided as an appendix to the thesis.
The discussion of the textual problems in 1 Corinthians comprises most of the thesis. In them, effort was made to determine whether a given type of variation is typical of any single manuscript or of manuscripts in general. The focus is placed on determining the cause of corruption in each place. This required study of the history of the development of the Greek language and comparison with theological and ethical discussions among early Christians. Detailed discussions are necessary for many problems, including 6: 5, where a conjecture is found to be necessary; 7: 33-34 and 9: 5, where issues of marriage and sexuality led to corruption; 13: 3, where transcriptional and structural issues become prominent, and 14: 34-35, where a complicated displacement of text involved issues of manuscript attestation, interpolation, and anti-feminism.
The manuscripts that most frequently attest to early readings and unique forms of the text are then assessed.
The most unique witnesses to the text of 1 Corinthians are the Greco-Latin bilinguals DFG. Their relationship and unique causes of corruption are described, with the result that FG are shown to frequently preserve the earliest reading. P N A B are also discussed. These witnesses attest many excellent readings, but have undergone their own
types of corruptions. The "Byzantine" witnesses are summarized, demonstrating that they carry only a late form of the text.