Judges 18:30, the letter that hangs in the air
Judges 18:30 can say grandson of Moses or grandson of Manasseh. The WLC writes Manasseh with a suspended nun, while the Vulgate reads Moses.
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 committee's printed text reads, "Jonathan son of Gershom son of Manasseh and his sons served as priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day the land went into exile." Its pericope audit verdict is "clean," and no rationale note matches this crux.
The argument for each reading
If Moses
The case for משה is supported by the Vulgate, which reads filii Moysi and is listed for Moses. The packet says that Jerome names Moses outright. The WLC row also describes the raised-nun form in a way that can be read toward this result: removing the hanging letter produces Moses. In the verse's genealogy, this reading names Moses after Gershom, so Jonathan is presented as Moses' grandson. The issue is therefore not a change in Jonathan's priestly activity, which the verse still reports, but the ancestor named in that line.
If Manasseh
The case for מנשה begins with the Masoretic Text (Westminster Leningrad Codex), which reads Manasseh and supports reading B. Its form has a suspended nun, and the WLC transmits that raised-nun form. Read as written, the genealogy names Manasseh after Gershom. The visual feature is central to the question: the packet describes the nun as floating above the line, visibly inserted to keep an idolatrous priest out of Moses' family. This reading preserves the name that the WLC actually presents, including its unusual letter.
Which ancestor should be read in Jonathan's genealogy remains unresolved by the supplied witnesses. The difference changes Moses or Manasseh as the named ancestor. It does not change the verse's report that Jonathan and his sons served as priests to the Danites. The supplied material does not decide broader doctrinal conclusions.
Common questions
Does Judges 18:30 say Moses or Manasseh?
The WLC reads Manasseh with a suspended nun, while the Vulgate reads Moses. The supplied witnesses therefore present both names.
Why is there a floating nun in Judges 18:30?
The packet describes the nun in Manasseh as floating above the line, visibly inserted to keep an idolatrous priest out of Moses' family.
What does the committee's printed text say?
The committee's printed text has Jonathan as son of Gershom, son of Manasseh. Its pericope audit verdict is clean, with no rationale note matching this crux.
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.