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Oldest & Best Manuscript Evidence Database

Luke 24:40

His Hands and Feet

KJV Reading Defended

And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.

Why the KJV Reading Is Retained

The KJV/TR includes Luke 24:40, while the omission is mainly a Western/versional issue rather than a Vaticanus/Sinaiticus omission case.

Disputed unit

Presence of the whole verse.

Short omitted phraseMajority Greek supportScant evidence against KJVLatin supportSyriac supportCoptic supportLectionary support

Evidence assessment

The verse is carried by P75, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Washingtonianus and the broad Greek tradition, with Old Latin aur, c, f and q, the Vulgate, the Peshitta, Harklean and Palestinian Syriac and Coptic. Codex Bezae is the one Greek witness in the apparatus that omits it, together with seven named Old Latin witnesses and the Sinaitic and Curetonian Syriac.

Primary support for the KJV reading

The broad Greek tradition with early papyrus support

King James Bible reading

Luke 24:40 in the King James Bible

And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
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Evidence sources

Where the evidence on this page comes from.

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

Willker's selected Luke apparatus, which prints named witnesses together with the group siglum Maj. Counts below name the witnesses this apparatus prints.

Full witness information

Earliest KJV-supporting evidence

The earliest reviewed support at a glance.

c. AD 175–225 — Papyrus 75. P75 contains the verse.

Earliest surviving Greek support: c. AD 175–225 — P75.

Primary support for the KJV reading

The broad Greek tradition with early papyrus support

The sections below preserve each supporting, competing, and related record under its proper evidence type.

Majority Text standing

Presence of the verse

Luke 24:40 is the overwhelming numerical Majority Text reading in Greek.

Estimated Greek support: More than 1,500 Greek manuscripts

This is a conservative working estimate based on the published Majority or Byzantine designation and the approximate number of continuous-text manuscripts that preserve the book. Lacunae and collation scope make the exact denominator vary by verse.

Source scope and denominator

Willker's selected Luke apparatus, which prints named witnesses together with the group siglum Maj. Counts below name the witnesses this apparatus prints.

Greek support in the cited corpus

P75, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Washingtonianus and the Maj group

Greek competing evidence in the cited corpus

Codex Bezae, the sole named Greek omission witness

Lectionary evidence

Lectionaries contain the verse

Principal competing witnesses named in the snapshot

  • Codex Bezae (05)
  • Old Latin a, b, d, e, ff2, l, r1
  • Sinaitic and Curetonian Syriac

Evidence represented on this page

Greek manuscripts

Represented

Ancient versions

Represented

Church fathers

No entry listed

Printed editions

No entry listed

Complete source-scoped roster

Complete roster within the stated source scope.

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

Willker's selected Luke apparatus, which prints named witnesses together with the group siglum Maj. Counts below name the witnesses this apparatus prints.

Greek support in cited scope
P75, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Washingtonianus and the Maj group
Greek competing evidence in cited scope
Codex Bezae, the sole named Greek omission witness
Evidence classification
The broad Greek tradition with early papyrus support

Presence of the whole verse

KJV/TR unit: καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν ἔδειξεν αὐτοῖς τὰς χεῖρας καὶ τοὺς πόδας

Greek manuscripts

Supports the KJV/TR form

P75 01 02 03 032

Grouped evidence: Maj

Old Latin and Vulgate

Supports the KJV/TR form

aur (VL15) c (VL6) f (VL10) q (VL13)

Grouped evidence: Vulgate tradition

Syriac and Coptic

Supports the KJV/TR form

Peshitta Harklean Palestinian-Syriac

Grouped evidence: Coptic evidence on this line

Greek manuscripts

Competing reading

05

Old Latin and Syriac

Competing reading

a (VL3) b (VL4) d (VL5) e (VL2) ff2 (VL8) l (VL11) r1 (VL14) Sinaitic Curetonian

Lacunose

Non-directional evidence

04

Roster distinctions

  • Four of the eleven named Old Latin witnesses include the verse and seven omit it.
  • Codex Ephraemi is lacunose from Luke 24:7–45.

Evidence notes

Important distinctions in the evidence.

  • Four of the eleven named Old Latin witnesses include the verse and seven omit it.
  • Codex Ephraemi is lacunose from Luke 24:7–45.

Evidence assessment

Why the KJV reading is retained

The verse is carried by P75, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Washingtonianus and the broad Greek tradition, with Old Latin aur, c, f and q, the Vulgate, the Peshitta, Harklean and Palestinian Syriac and Coptic. Codex Bezae is the one Greek witness in the apparatus that omits it, together with seven named Old Latin witnesses and the Sinaitic and Curetonian Syriac.

Primary support for the KJV reading

The broad Greek tradition with early papyrus support

Evidence represented on this page

Evidence types, without turning rows into votes.

GreekRepresented
LatinRepresented
Other versionsRepresented
FathersNot listed
Printed editionsNot listed

References

Editions and works cited.

  1. Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung. New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room. Münster: University of Münster.

  2. Aland, Barbara, et al., eds. Novum Testamentum Graece. 28th rev. ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012.

  3. Robinson, Maurice A., and William G. Pierpont. The New Testament in the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform 2018. Nürnberg: VTR Publications, 2018.

  4. Tyndale House, Cambridge, ed. The Greek New Testament. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017.

  5. Wieland Willker, A Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels, Vol. 3: Luke. Luke 24:40, PDF p. 659.

  6. IGNTP, The New Testament in Greek: The Gospel According to St Luke, Parts 1–2 (OUP 1984, 1987). Comprehensive Luke collation.

  7. INTF Kurzgefasste Liste / NTVMR manuscript metadata. Physical dates for the named Greek manuscripts.

  8. Vetus Latina Gospel manuscripts register (ITSEE, University of Birmingham). Identity and physical date of the named Old Latin manuscripts.

Luke 24:40: His Hands and Feet | Oldest & Best