06_Biblica_1_D_Callan_Layout 1 05/11/12 12:20 Pagina 447 447 READING THE EARLIEST COPIES OF 2 PETER By contrast Milne and Skeat argue that the writing style of Vati- canus’ scribe A is more similar to that of Sinaiticus’ scribe D. Al- though the similarity is not great enough to be sure the same scribe wrote both, it is great enough to be sure they come from the same scribal tradition 32. T.C. Skeat argues that it is reasonable to assume that both texts come from the same scriptorium, or at least the same place, i.e., Caesarea, about the same time 33. 2. The Meaning of 2 Peter in Codex Vaticanus There are so few distinctive features of 2 Peter in Vaticanus that reading it differs very little from reading the probable original text. Vaticanus has a couple of the distinctive readings that are also found in Codex Sinaiticus, but in Vaticanus they do not fit into a general theme the way they do in Sinaiticus. Thus, in 2,4 Vaticanus (like Sinaiticus) has seiroij zofou (pits of gloom) while the probable original text has seiraij zofou (chains of gloom). The latter pre- sents darkness as something with which the sinful angels can be chained; the former names the place to which they were delivered, i.e., dark pits. In this way Vaticanus is more specific than the prob- able original text about the punishment suffered by the angels. And in 2,11 Vaticanus (like Sinaiticus) has para kw (before the Lord) while the probable original text has para kuriou (from the Lord). The latter says that angels do not bring a slanderous judgment from the Lord, but Vaticanus denies that angels bring a slanderous judg- ment before the Lord. This avoids any suggestion that God might be the source of a slanderous judgment, and so emphasizes the tran- scendence of God. Vaticanus also has a couple of notable readings that are not found in Sinaiticus. However, once again they do not indicate a general theme of this copy of 2 Peter. In Vaticanus (as in P72) the 32 MILNE ‒ SKEAT, Scribes and Correctors, 89-90. 33 T.C. SKEAT, “The Codex Sinaiticus, the Codex Vaticanus and Constan- tine”, The Collected Biblical Writings of T. C. Skeat (ed. J.K. ELLIOTT) (Lei- den 2004) 193-237, especially pp. 209-215. Others argue that Codex Vaticanus derives from Alexandria or even from Rome; arguments for both are found in P. ANDRIST (ed.), Le manuscrit B de la Bible (Vaticanus Graecus 1209) (Lausanne 2009). ELLIOTT, Collected Biblical Writings of T. C. Skeat, 281-294, discusses all three possibilities and argues that Skeat is correct in “T. C. Skeat on the Dating and Origin of Codex Vaticanus”.