[Steven Avery]

Hi Folks,

Originally Posted by TimV

My reasons for wanting to know how many Greek mms have tree instead of book are my own.

Ok dokay. Then I do not see any particular purpose to fish out more detailed information. To me it does not matter much if there are 30 or 75 extant Greek "Revelation 22" manuscripts, since the evidence for "book of life" is strong and solid and clear in many early writers, internal clarity and consistency, the Old Latin, the Vulgate and other lines. And I would not bother sources to find out just on the hidden whim of somebody else.

Originally Posted by TimV

If you could understand how little I care about what version of the Bible you read, your hair would stand up in shock.

Naaah. We know that many 'Christians' have absolutely no sense or even concern for the purity, integrity and perfection of the Bible. Nor do the skeptics and others. Apparently you are unfamiliar with the Bible discussions.

Incidentally I left out one other early evidence. "Book of life" is far more consistent with the commentary of Irenaeus in the 2nd century.

http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studi...s/05-ag-he.htm
IRENAEUS AGAINST HERESIES - BOOK V.

(3) For after the times of the kingdom, he says, "I saw a great white throne, and Him who sat upon it, from whose face the earth fled away, and the heavens; and there was no more place for them."(4) And he sets forth, too, the things connected with the general resurrection and the judgment, mentioning "the dead, great and small." "The sea," he says, "gave up the dead which it had in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead that they contained; and the books were opened. Moreover," he says, "the book of life was opened, and the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the books, according to their works; and death and hell were sent into the lake of fire, the second death."(5) Now this is what is called Gehenna, which the Lord styled eternal fire.(6) "And if any one," it is said, "was not found written in the book of life, he was sent into the lake of fire."

No indication from Irenaeus that he believed that God takes men's part out of the tree of life and clearly Irenaeus knew Revelation quite well. This was in the 2nd century !

Revelation 22:19 (KJB)
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy,
God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city,
and from the things which are written in this book.

Oh, on a textcrit forum, Gary Dykes summarized the Herman Hoskier collation evidence for "book of life" as:

57 (Tisch) for MS 296 circa XVI century - Paris
119 (Tisch) for MS 1075 circa XIV century - Mt. Athos
141 (Tisch) for MS 2049 circa XVI century - Athens

Clearly if that is accurate, then the middle one is the more significant, I dunno offhand why that is not given in various web articles. He also conjectures that one of the Stephanus Greek manuscripts (now non-extant) may have had "book of life".

Shalom,
Steven