Matt 2:22 επι

Some manuscripts (ℵ B N Σ f1.13 33 565 700 892 pc) reflect a spirit of reviving the pure Attic dialect by omitting επι (commonly used with βασιλευω in the OT) after the verb βασιλευει in order to create a more classical construction. Bloomfield (GNT, 13–14) remarks that the Alexandrian critics knew well that classical usage requires its absence, that it is rarely if not never used by the classical writers, that it was thus cancelled by fastidious critics who wished to get rid of an unnecessary and unclassical construction, and that B and its usual supporters "abound in such uncritical alterations" (emphasis his). Meyer (56) agrees that επι could easily have been omitted as unnecessary, and perhaps even by accident since the syllable ει preceded it. The preposition επι should be retained for these reasons, and also for its early and diverse support (including C D E K L M S U V Γ Δ Π W). Cf. also the note on Matt 1:22 concerning a similar omission of a word most likely deemed superfluous.