1 Corinthians 15:47
KJV Reading Defended
The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
Why the KJV Reading Is Retained
The title “the Lord” has broad Byzantine Greek support and early Latin patristic attestation. It makes explicit the identity already developed throughout Paul’s argument: the second man from heaven is Jesus Christ the Lord.
Disputed unit
ὁ κύριος immediately after ὁ δεύτερος ἄνθρωπος and before ἐξ οὐρανοῦ.
Evidence assessment
The official synopsis has 113 present rows. Expanding four corrected codices gives 99 exact-position Lord states, 12 ordinary short states, five related Lord forms and P46's distinct spiritual reading.
Primary support for the KJV reading
Extensive Greek support in the official 1 Corinthians synopsis
King James Bible reading
The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
Evidence sources
Sources used for the witnesses, readings, dates, and notes on this page. Complete citations appear in the References section at the end of the page.
Governing apparatus and count scope
The official IGNTP/ITSEE direct-transcription synopsis for the named Pauline letter. Counts describe displayed rows and reading states, not the total manuscript tradition.
Earliest KJV-supporting evidence
Earliest patristic and secure Greek evidence catalogued here
Early third century — Tertullian's separate works are classified individually: On the Resurrection 51 and Against Marcion 5.10 support "the Lord," while Against Marcion 5.9 carries the shorter form.
Earliest surviving Greek support: Fifth century — Codex Alexandrinus (A/02) is the earliest secure exact main-text witness in the displayed synopsis. Corrected states are not assigned the dates of their base codices.
Primary support for the KJV reading
The sections below preserve each supporting, competing, and related record under its proper evidence type.
Majority Text standing
The title “the Lord”
The KJV/TR Lord reading is the numerical majority form in the selected Greek corpus and the dominant Byzantine reading.
Estimated Greek support: 99 exact Lord states against 12 ordinary short states; approximately 500 to 600 Greek manuscripts in the wider tradition
The exact selected-apparatus count is stated first. The wider estimate reflects the several-hundred-manuscript Pauline tradition and is intentionally presented as a range rather than as a fresh universal collation.
Source scope and denominator
The official IGNTP/ITSEE direct-transcription synopsis for the named Pauline letter. Counts describe displayed rows and reading states, not the total manuscript tradition.
Greek support in the cited corpus
99 exact-position Lord states
Greek competing evidence in the cited corpus
12 ordinary short states; 5 related forms; 1 distinct P46 reading
Principal competing witnesses named in the snapshot
Evidence represented on this page
Greek manuscripts
Represented
Ancient versions
Represented
Church fathers
Represented
Printed editions
No entry listed
Complete source-scoped roster
This roster preserves every named or grouped state recovered in the governing sources, including exact readings, competing readings, corrections, related forms, lacunae, versions, and aggregate traditions. When Maj or Byz appears on the KJV side, it marks the numerically dominant Greek transmission at that unit. The green Majority Text card above supplies the best available passage-specific estimate. The grouped siglum is then retained so it is not mistaken for one individual manuscript.
Apparatus and roster scope
The official IGNTP/ITSEE direct-transcription synopsis for the named Pauline letter. Counts describe displayed rows and reading states, not the total manuscript tradition.
KJV/TR unit: ὁ δεύτερος ἄνθρωπος ὁ κύριος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ
02 020 025 044 049 075 1 5 35 38 61 69 81 88 104 181 218 256 263 326 330 365 398 436 442 451 459 460 467 606 608 621 623 629 915 917 1069 1108 1115 1241 1319 1505 1524 1563 1573 1611 1617 1751 1834 1837 1874 1875 1877 1881 1942 1943 1945 1947 1950 1961 1962 1963 1969 1973 1985 1991 1995 1996 1999 2002 2004 2012 2102 2105 2110 2127 2197 2352 2464 2482 2495 2523 2659 2853 2865 2892 2936 01C 06C 1739C 424* L23-Additional L60-S2W14D7 L60-Additional L587-Additional L809-Additional L1159-Additional L1440-Additional L2010-Additional
03 04 012 0150 0243 6 33 1175 01* 06* 1739* 424C
630 1912 2200 2400 1836
P46
P11 P15 P34 P61 P68 P123 P129 015 016 048 088 0121 0185 0199 0201 0222 0270 0278 0285 0289 06S 06S1 441 1506 1838 L156 L169 L1126 L1178 L1188 L1298 L2058
VL251 VL51 VL54 VL58 VL61 VL75 VL76 VL77 VL78 VL88 VL89
short form without ὁ κύριος
Grouped evidence: Stuttgart Vulgate electronic text; Ambrosiaster editorial lemma; Pelagius editorial lemma
All three are short edition texts, distinct from the eleven COMPAUL manuscript rows.
Precisely located citations and additional names reported by the controlling apparatus are kept separate. An apparatus-level attribution is not presented as an independently verified exact quotation.
Against Marcion 5.10
Direct quotation in Against Marcion 5.10.
Locator: Book 5, chapter 10
Open sourceOn the Flesh of Christ 8
Direct quotation in On the Flesh of Christ 8.
Locator: Chapter 8
Open sourceOn the Resurrection of the Flesh 49
Direct quotation in On the Resurrection of the Flesh 49.
Locator: Chapter 49
Open sourceRoster distinctions
Evidence notes
Evidence assessment
The official synopsis has 113 present rows. Expanding four corrected codices gives 99 exact-position Lord states, 12 ordinary short states, five related Lord forms and P46's distinct spiritual reading.
Primary support for the KJV reading
Extensive Greek support in the official 1 Corinthians synopsis
Evidence represented on this page
References
Aland, Barbara, et al., eds. Novum Testamentum Graece. 28th rev. ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012.
Aland, Barbara, et al., eds. The Greek New Testament. 5th rev. ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2014.
Estes, Joel D. “Reading for the Spirit of the Text: nomina sacra and πνεῦμα Language in P46”. New Testament Studies 61, no. 4 (2015): 566–594.
Tertullian. On the Flesh of Christ, §8; Against Marcion, Book 5, §10; and On the Resurrection of the Flesh, §49. In Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3.
IGNTP/ITSEE 1 Corinthians direct-transcription synopsis
Official COMPAUL Latin transcriptions
Official COMPAUL Latin transcriptions, 1 Corinthians files. Individual 1 Corinthians files follow .../transcriptions/07_VL61.xml.
IGNTP/ITSEE Pauline Epistles electronic editions
INTF, Editio Critica Maior project status (Pauline letters in preparation with ITSEE/IGNTP)
Tertullian, works cited