The Text of Philippians 3.12 in the Gothic Translation: Paul Not Already Deemed Righteous?

Abstract

The Gothic translation of Paul’s Letter to the Philippians contains a reading in which Paul claims he is not already deemed righteous (ni . . . ju garaihts gadomiþs sijau, Phil 3.12). In light of this, the Gothic version has been included as a textual witness to the so-called justification clause, a variant reading scholars have labeled “intriguing,” “very interesting,” “striking,” and “astounding.” However, no scholarly attention has been devoted specifically to the Gothic version of the justification clause of Phil 3.12. This article fills that gap. The author gives attention to this text as it appears in the surviving Gothic manuscripts and discusses two of its noteworthy features. Both features contribute to the wisdom of exercising caution before dismissing the reading as a representative of a secondary insertion into the earliest Greek text of the Pauline Letters.