Matt 4:12 ο Ιησους

After ακουσας δε some witnesses omit ο Ιησους (ℵ B C*vid D Z 33 543 700 pc ff1 k vg-st sy-s sa mae1 bo-pt). Mill (Prolegomena:148) says, conversely, that "a scribe's subconscious long ago introduced ο Ιησους into the text." Bengel (Apparatus, 97), Griesbach (1:39–40), Meyer (92), and others, following Mill, argue that the name was introduced either because the place marked the beginning of the pericope or because of lectionary cross-contamination due to the reading that begins with 4:12. Whitby (141) thinks the period is "defective" without ο Ιησους, but Fritzsche (176–7) supports the words not because the sense is unclear without the name, but because intrinsically it is generally Matthew's custom (cf. 4:17, 23; 8:14, 18, 33; 11:1; 12:1; 13:1, 53; 15:21, 29; 16:13; 17:1, etc.). Wettstein (1:274) argues in like manner, noting similar places (1:18, 24; 8:13, 14, 18). Matthäi (55) notes that the expression is preserved not only in all the Gospel lectionaries but also in all the manuscripts he has collated, whereas Bloomfield (GNT, 23; Annotations, 3) confirms it with little doubt but says the internal evidence is "equally balanced."
     In addition, there are several reasons for maintaining the authenticity of ο Ιησους. First, omission among the early manuscripts is more than twice as common as addition (cf. note on Matt 1:22). Second, although less likely, the omission could reflect conformation to the exact expression 30 verses earlier (2:22). Third, the omission may be accounted for by the transcription error known as homoeoarchton (ο...ο), the probability for which is increased due to the likelihood that the number of the letters of the expression written as a nomen sacrum would have equalled the number of the letters of the following word (ΟΙΣ ΟΤΙ). Fourth, if scribes were really so prone to add the name as frequently as some allege, there are many likelier places where the name should have been added but where not a single scribe has done so (cf. the beginning of arguably the most famous sermon in the Bible, the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:1–7:29). Fifth, the claim of lectionary cross-contamination is overstated; cf. Scholz, 1:458–9, where most Greek manuscripts containing the nearby pericopes were unaffected by the beginning of lectionary readings (τω καιρω εκεινω περιπατων ο Ιησους παρα [4:18–23]; το καιρω εκεινω ηκολουθησαν τω Ιησου [4:25–5:11]; ειπεν ο κυριος τω αιτουντι [5:42–48]; ειπεν ο κυριος [7:9–18]). Sixth, due to perceived superfluousness, names are frequently omitted by a minority of manuscripts at any given place (cf., e.g., the omissions of: Ιωαννης in 3:14 (by ℵ* B sa); ο Ιησους in 4:23 (by B k sy-c sa mae); κυριε in 8:6 (by ℵ* k sy-s.c; Hil); Ιησους in 8:22 (by ℵ 33 b c k q sy-s), etc. For these internal and external reasons the presence of ο Ιησους should be considered original.