85 SON AND CHOSEN. A TEXT-CRITICAL STUDY OF JOHN 1,34 TIMO FLINK John 1,34 contains a perennial textual problem. Is Jesus depicted as the Son of God, the Chosen One of God, or something else? Previous studies have not been able to solve this problem satisfactorily to all textual critics. This study is a new attempt to resolve it by using a recently noted singular reading in P75*. I argue that this reading changes the transcriptional prob- abilities. It is lectio difficilior from which all other variant readings derive due second century scribal habits. John 1,34 should read “The Chosen Son”. This affects the Johannine theology. This new reading has implications for how to deal with some singular readings elsewhere. Introduction The Greek text of John 1,34 has puzzled scholars because of a difficult textual variant. What did the Fourth Evangelist write about Jesus? In his text, did John the Baptist say that Jesus is υ ς το θεο or κλεκτ ς το θεο or possibly something else? The NA27 supports the first reading. Numerous exegetical works are based on the assumption that this is the “original” reading. Several commentaries make no mention of any textual variant1. Scholars, who deal with textual considerations, most often men- tion two variants, υ ς το θεο and κλεκτ ς το θεο , and argue for one of them. Translations follow the suite. The ESV, the HCSB, the NASB, the NIV and the NRSV2 read “the Son of God”. Others like the NAB, the NET, the NLT, the TNIV and the REB3 read “the Chosen One of God”. 1 See, e.g., F.F. Bruce, The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids, MI 1983) 55; K. Wengst, Das Johannesevangelium. 1. Teilband. Kapitel 1-10 (ThKNT 4/1; Stuttgart 2000) 86; E. Drewermann, Das Johannesevangelium. Bilder einer neuen Welt (Düsseldorf 2003) I, 66; M. Edwards, John (Oxford 2004) 29. 2 English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL 2001); Holman Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN 2003); New American Standard Bible (La Habra, CA 1995); New Interna- tional Version (Grand Rapids, MI – New York 1984); New Revised Standard Version (New York 1989). 3 New American Bible (Washington 1991); New English Translation (Dallas 2005); New Living Translation , 2d ed. (Wheaton, IL 2004); Today’s New International Version (New York 2005); Revised English Bible (Oxford – Cambridge 1989). Filología Neotestamentaria - Vol. XVIII - 2005, pp. 87-111 Facultad de Filosofía y Letras - Universidad de Córdoba (España)