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Housed in the library of the Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos with the shelf number Bʹ 64 [184] is Gregory-Aland 1739, a tenth-century manuscript containing the Acts of the Apostles, Catholic Epistles, and the Pauline Epistles. The manuscript has long been recognized as having a text of exceptional significance, though scholarly consensus about its relationship to the rest of the textual transmission in the Pauline Epistles has recently been challenged. The traditional view has been that 1739 is a ‘proto-Alexandrian’ text joining the other well-known manuscript Papyrus 46 (β 46) and Codex Vaticanus (03). A newer study suggests that, while still an early text, 1739 is more closely associated with a different branch of the tradition, ranging from the early Alexandrians Codex Sinaiticus (01), Codex Alexandrinus (02), and Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (04) to later stages of the text’s development toward the Byzantine text-form. Accordingly, the central focus of the study is to determine what kind of manuscript is 1739 in terms of the manuscripts with which it most closely aligns. The results of this initial inquiry allow some brief comments on the textual history of the Pauline Epistles. After an introduction to the well-known scribe of this manuscript, Ephraim, and the codex he produced, this thesis attempts to resolve the scholarly debate. By expanding the scope of Pauline letters under consideration beyond what has previously been studied, this study seeks a more comprehensive investigation of the problem. Through a collation of eight additional representative manuscripts and the Byzantine text-form, the overall similarity between each manuscript and 1739 was initially calculated. This was followed by a survey of the special agreements between the manuscripts, and, finally, an inquiry as to whether any of these special agreements constituted indicative errors. The results of these three levels of investigation in six Pauline Epistles revealed that both positions about the textual affiliations of 1739 proved to be right depending on the epistle being studied. While 1739 was found to still be an excellent witness of the early text of Paul’s letters, this finding about its affiliations suggests that the earliest period of the transmission of the Pauline Epistles is, perhaps, much more complicated than previously thought. This ultimately has ramifications for how future work on the Pauline text should be conducted.

Devorah Dimant distinguishes between an 'expositional use' and a 'compositional use' of the Jewish scriptures in the Second Temple period. The former refers to marked citations or allusions which seek to interpret the meaning of the scriptural text, whilst the latter refers to the unmarked use of scriptural material embedded and re-contextualized in a new work. Studies on the use of the Jewish scriptures in the Gospel of Mark have tended to focus on the first kind, the expositional use of scriptural material (i.e. Mk 1:2-3; 4:12; 7:6-7). Some studies have sought to understand the compositional use of scriptural material in the Gospel with reference to the Jewish liturgy, midrash or Greco-Roman mimesis-and these with mixed results. This study instead looks at Mark's use of the Jewish scriptures through scripturalization, a compositional technique identified by Judith Newman. Scripturalization describes the re-use of scriptural elements to compose new literature. The study begins by surveying examples of scripturalized narrative in Second Temple literature, with episodes drawn from the Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum (LAB), the Genesis Apocryphon (1QapGen), 1 Maccabees (1 Macc), Judith (Jdt) and the Testament of Abraham (T. Ab.). The focus is on episodes that clearly follow a scriptural model: the use of Dan 3 in the episode of Abram in the fiery furnace (LAB 6) and Jair and the fiery furnace (LAB 38); the use of Judg 7 in Kenaz's rout of the Amorites (LAB 27); the use of Gen 13-15 in the promise of land to Noah (1QapGen 11); the use of Deut 2:26-36 (and Deut 20:10-14; Judg 11:19-21) in Judas Maccabeus' siege of Ephron (1 Macc 5:45-51); the use of Judg 4-5 in Judith's slaying of Holofernes (Jdt 10-13); and the use of Job 1-2 in the appearance of Michael to Abraham (T. Ab. 1-4; 15:14-15). This section ends by outlining the shared characteristics of scripturalized narrative across these texts. The study then turns to episodes in the Gospel of Mark that appear to follow a scriptural model: the use of 1 Kgs 19 in Jesus' forty-day sojourn in the wilderness and call of the disciples (Mk 1:12-20); the use of 2 Kgs 4:42-44 in the two-fold feedings of the multitude (Mk 6:35-44; 8:1-9); the use of Esther 2-7 in the execution of John the Baptist (Mk 6:21-28); and the use of Ps 22 (and Pss 38:11; 69:21; Amos 8:9) in the crucifixion of Jesus (Mk 15:21-41). This section closes by noting how the characteristics identified in other Second Temple texts can be observed in the Gospel. The study then concludes with a summary of its findings and some brief remarks on the tenuous relationship of scripturalized narrative to history.

Drawing on insights from sociolinguistics, the thesis investigates the relationship between speech patterns and social context in three ancient Greek narratives: the Acts of the Apostles, Acts of John, and Acts of Philip. The thesis explores how characters’ speech patterns correlate with their Christian status, and with the Christian status of their addressees. The relationship between speech patterns and gentile/Jewish identity is also assessed. Linguistic variables include plural forms of address and third-person references to Jesus and the Christian god. The thesis shows that Christian characters are portrayed as speaking differently amongst themselves than when addressing non-Christian characters. It also demonstrates that parameters of sociolinguistic variation in each text point to differing understandings of Christian identity. It is argued that attention to sociolinguistic relationships highlights the importance of ascetic practices and baptism in the Acts of Philip, the gradual nature of Christian conversion in the Acts of John, and the close relationship between Jewish and Christian identity in the Acts of the Apostles. The thesis also examines characterization and implied audience, and argues that attention to social context is necessary to appreciate the full significance of an author’s choice of words.