1 Timothy 3:16, “God was manifested”, or “he who was manifested”?
1 Timothy 3:16 has both a “God” reading and a “who” reading in the listed evidence. The difference lies between ΟΣ and ΘΣ, two forms separated by small added strokes of ink.
The APB text at this verse
The manuscripts, editions, and versions
The committee record at this verse
The APB's translation committee works blind: it is never told it is translating the Bible, never given a book name or a verse number, and it never sees the witnesses above. Since revision 3.5, the places where the manuscripts disagree are decided before translation by three readers, Grok 4.3, GPT-6 Astra, and Claude Fable 5.1, who see the readings and the witnesses by age and class but never a reference or a manuscript name. Whatever was done at this verse was done on the language and the evidence alone, and the record is public.
“The base text reads ὃς. The copies also carry the omission [later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. The early and independent attestation of ὃς is decisive; the internal evidence is consistent with that conclusion.”
“The base text reads Ὃς. The copies also carry θεὸς [later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Retain the default wording. Its much earlier attestation and its ability to explain the smoother alternative agree.”
At this crux, the APB 3.5 textual decision retained the base wording Ὃς. Its note states: “The base text reads Ὃς. The copies also carry θεὸς [later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Retain the default wording. Its much earlier attestation and its ability to explain the smoother alternative agree.” The three readers worked blind, seeing witnesses only by class and date. The pericope audit verdict is “flagged,” and no matching rationale note is recorded.
The argument for each reading
If “who”
Reading A is the pronoun ΟΣ, represented in the apparatus as Ὃς and translated “who.” Nestle-Aland 28, a critical edition dated 2012, prints Ὃς; the apparatus also places WH and Treg with that reading. Codex Alexandrinus provides a manuscript-level detail: its original ink reads ΟΣ. The packet reports that the strokes which make the form read “God” are later touch-ups. The APB printed text likewise begins the verse’s sequence with “He was manifested in the flesh.” On this presentation, the reading supplies a relative pronoun before the six clauses that follow.
If “God”
Reading B is ΘΣ, represented in the apparatus as θεὸς and translated “God.” The Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Textform, a Byzantine majority edition dated 2005, reads θεὸς. The visual question is unusually compact: in uncial script, ΟΣ and the sacred abbreviation ΘΣ differ by two small strokes of ink. The packet also reports that several manuscripts show such strokes added by later hands. Reading B therefore gives the opening clause the explicit subject “God,” rather than the pronoun found in reading A.
The packet identifies a small visual difference with a substantial change in the stated subject: “who” or “God.” It also records later touch-ups in Codex Alexandrinus and competing printed editions. The six following clauses in the APB printed text are not identified here as a disputed unit. This packet supplies no broader doctrinal conclusion; doctrines commonly draw on many passages.
Common questions
Does 1 Timothy 3:16 say God was manifest in the flesh?
The listed evidence contains both readings: θεὸς, “God,” in RP and Ὃς, “who,” in NA28 and the original ink of Codex Alexandrinus.
What is the difference between ΟΣ and ΘΣ?
In uncial script, the packet describes the difference as two small strokes of ink. It reports that several manuscripts show those strokes added by later hands.
What does the APB printed text say at 1 Timothy 3:16?
Its printed text reads: “And undeniably the mystery of godliness is great: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”
Related entries
Witness readings for critical editions are quoted from the SBLGNT apparatus (CC BY 4.0); Hebrew text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible). Readings of ancient manuscripts and versions are cited as published scholarly fact with their sources linked above. The page does not declare which reading is original.
The registry gives no verdict
The registry does not say which reading is original. Each page lists the witnesses, shows what the committee did with the same text, and leaves the judgment to the reader.