Luke 4:44, preaching in the synagogues of… which region?
Luke 4:44 has two readings: Jesus preached in Judea (Ἰουδαίας) or in Galilee (Γαλιλαίας). The setting is Galilee, while the Judea wording creates the geographic question.
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 εἰς τὰς συναγωγὰς τῆς Ἰουδαίας.¶. The copies also carry τῆς [greek majuscule; later majority tradition], εἰς τὰς συναγωγὰς τῆς [greek majuscule; early greek manuscript tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Default wording chosen; evidence favors εἰς τὰς συναγωγὰς τῆς Ἰουδαίας.¶ over the shorter variants.”
“The base text reads εἰς τὰς συναγωγὰς. The copies also carry ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς [greek majuscule; later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. The early support and the likely direction of grammatical smoothing both favor retaining the default.”
“The base text reads Ἰουδαίας. The copies also carry Γαλιλαίας [greek majuscule; early greek manuscript tradition; later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. The evidence favors Ἰουδαίας but the early support is modest so another reader would be welcome.”
For Luke 4:44, the committee's 3.5 decision kept Ἰουδαίας, and the committee's printed text therefore has Jesus preaching in Judea. Its record says, "The evidence favors Ἰουδαίας but the early support is modest so another reader would be welcome." The three readers worked blind to manuscript names and to the reference; they saw witness classes and dates only.
The argument for each reading
If “Judea”
The case for Ἰουδαίας begins with its attestation in Westcott-Hort (1881) and the apparatus line that places WH and NA28 with this reading. The supplied narrative context is Galilee, so Judea creates a geographic tension. The packet identifies that awkwardness as relevant: a scribe encountering a Galilean setting could replace Judea with the smoother regional name. The APB printed text also says Jesus continued preaching in the synagogues of Judea. These observations explain why the difficult wording can be read as having a plausible copying history, while they do not remove the competing evidence for Galilee.
If “Galilee”
The case for Γαλιλαίας begins with Tregelles (1857-1879), which reads Galilee, and with apparatus support from Treg and RP. Galilee fits the supplied narrative location directly, yielding a geographically smooth sentence about preaching in its synagogues. The witness note also characterizes this form as harmonizing with Mark and Matthew. A reader may therefore see Galilee as an intelligible contextual reading rather than a mere correction. The packet nevertheless frames the same smoothness as part of the question, since a geographically awkward Judea could have prompted alteration in copying.
The packet presents competing evidence, and the committee itself describes the early support as modest. This variant changes the region named for Jesus' preaching, Judea or Galilee. It does not remove the statement that he was preaching in synagogues. Most doctrines rest on many passages, rather than on the regional wording of this single verse.
Common questions
Does Luke 4:44 say Judea or Galilee?
The packet records both readings: Ἰουδαίας, of Judea, and Γαλιλαίας, of Galilee. The APB printed text has Judea.
Why is Judea disputed in Luke 4:44?
The supplied narrative setting is Galilee. Judea is therefore geographically awkward in context, while Galilee gives a smoother regional reading.
What did the blind committee print at Luke 4:44?
The committee's printed text reads that Jesus continued preaching in the synagogues of Judea. Its 3.5 decision kept Ἰουδαίας.
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.