Galilee or Judea in Luke 4 ?
A quick but good example of the errors within the modern versions of the Bible, where they follow a clear error in the text, can be found in Luke 4:44.
In the KJV we see that it states Jesus preached in the synagogues of Galilee
Luke 4:44 And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee.
However, in many modern versions it reads synagogues in Judea
Luke 4:44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea. NIV
Luke 4:44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea ESV
Luke 4:44 So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea. NASB
Luke 4:44 So he continued to preach in the synagogues of Judea. NET Bible
These are not the same place. Galilee was in the North of Israel while Judea was in the south. One of these readings is in error.
Before we look into which reading is wrong, and one reading is wrong, they simply cannot both be correct, it should be noted that this is not just a KJV thing. There are also many versions that also read as the KJV does here.
Such as the ERV, Majority standard Bible, ISV, ASV, Aramaic in plain English and Youngs Literal Bible.
All versions that preceded the KJV also read Galilee
Luke 4:44 And he preached in the synagoges of Galile. Coverdale Bible
Luke 4:44 And he preached in the synagoges of Galile. Tyndale Bible
Luke 4:44 And he preached in the synagoges of Galile Great Bible
Luke 4:44 And he preached in the synagoges of Galyle, Matthews Bible
Luke 4:44 And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee. Bishops Bible
Luke 4:44 And hee preached in the Synagogues of Galile. Geneva Bible
The reading Galilee is found in 99% of Greek manuscripts. It is also the reading of the Syriac, and the Latin. The reading Judea is found in a very small number of manuscripts which include the usual suspects Vaitcanus and Sinaiticus plus Codex Bezea.
This is actually a perfect example where modern versions do NOT follow the clear context of the scriptures or the majority of evidence but rather choose to follow one of the most absurd rules of modern textual criticism, lectio difficilior (difficult reading is preferred).
Here they have chosen to follow the reading Judea, rather than Galilee, because Judea is the more difficult reading (seeing it is clearly not Judea that Jesus preached in the synagogues). But because it is deemed much more likely that a scribe would have changed Judea to Galilee rather than the other way around, Judea is deemed to be the original reading. This is modern textual criticism at its finest. It is clearly an error, but because it is more difficult then it is actually correct. Utter madness and this shows that even when a reading is clearly in error, they will go with that error because their ridiculous rules demand it.
Dan Wallace tells us that Judea is the most likely original reading
Most mss (A D Ë13 33 Ï latt) have “of Galilee”; others, “of the Jews” (W). “Judea” (read by Ì75 ? B Q 579 892 pc sa, and [with minor variation] C L Ë1 1241) is probably the original reading since it is both the harder reading and supported by the best witnesses. “Galilee” is an assimilation to Mark 1:39 and Matt 4:23.
Its supported by Vaticanus and Sinaiticus and is difficult so it has to be original. Excuse me if I do not agree with this nonsense. It is nonsense.
The reading Judea is an error. The context tells us it is an error.
In Luke 4 Jesus returned from the wilderness and was then in Galilee, preaching in the synagogues.
Luke 4: 14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.
He was in Nazareth (which is in Galilee) preaching in the Synagogue.
Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
He was in the synagogue in Capernaum
Luke 4: 31 And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.
Luke 4:38 And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. And Simon’s wife’s mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her.
The context of Luke 4 is Jesus preaching in the synagogues of Galilee after he returns from the wilderness, where he was tempted by the Devil.
The parallel account in Mark also clearly states Jesus preached in the synagogues in Galilee.
Mark 1: 39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.
In a desperate attempt to defend the clear error of Judea, some have tried to say that Judea refers to the whole land of Israel, the land of the Jews, rather than the specific area.
“But “Judea” is to be retained as the lectio difficilior. However, it should most probably not be understood as the specific area of Palestine (in contrast to Galilee), but rather in the comprehensive sense of all the country of the Jews, a sense that it sometimes has elsewhere (1:5; 6:17; 7:17, 23:5, Acts 10:37).
Joseph A. Fitzmyer Commentary
In fact, some translations have even used this as a translation of Judea.
The amplified Bible for instance has added a note regarding Judea being the land of the Jews which included Galilee
Luke 4:44 So He continued preaching in the synagogues of Judea [the country of the Jews, including Galilee]. Amplified Bible.
Luke, however, clearly distinguishes between these two areas in his Gospel.
Luke 2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
Luke 5:17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
Luke is not using Judea to refer to the entire land of Israel, including Galilee. Luke either recorded Galilee or Judea in Luke 4:44.
The context, the parallel record in Mark and the majority of Greek manuscripts tell us that this was Galilee. Modern textual criticism and their rules tell us that a clearly wrong reading must be accepted as original. Common sense is clearly not used in modern textual criticism.
Here is what the 2001 translation included in their notes
“We have chosen to go with the Galilee, because the context makes it clear that he was preaching in Galilee at that time. The fact is, Jesus did little preaching in Judea until the last days of his life on earth, because the Judeans were always looking to kill him (see John 11:8).”
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