“He Was Made Manifest in Flesh”

Shown here is a page from the Codex Sinaiticus, a parchment manuscript of the fourth century C.E. The inset in the image includes the part of 1Ti 3:16 that many translations have rendered “He was manifested in the flesh,” or they have used similar expressions. However, as can be seen in the image, someone made an addition above the original text and added two letters to change the wording from “He” to “God.” (This addition was made later, probably in the 12th century C.E.) A similar change can be found in some other early manuscripts. As a result, a number of Bible translations here read “God was manifest [or “manifested”] in the flesh” (King James Version; New King James Version), giving the impression that God himself appeared as a human of flesh and blood. However, as some reference works point out, Greek manuscripts earlier than the eighth or ninth century C.E. do not support the use of the word “God” in their original wording. (See, for example, A Textual Guide to the Greek New Testament, by Roger. L. Omanson.) So a careful study of ancient manuscripts helps scholars to uncover the few erroneous readings that crept into later manuscripts.​—See App. A3 and Glossary, “Codex Sinaiticus.”