Third Edition
With the third edition of Erasmus's Greek text (1522) the Comma Johanneum was included. An often repeated story is that Erasmus included it, because he felt bound by a promise to include it if a manuscript was found that contained it. When a single 16th-century Greek manuscript subsequently had been found to contain it (Codex Montfortianus), Erasmus included it, though he expressed doubt as to the authenticity of the passage in his Annotations. Henk Jan de Jonge, a specialist in Erasmian studies, stated that there are no explicit evidence that supports this frequently made assertion concering a specific promise made by Erasmus. The real reason to include the Comma by Erasmus, was his care for his good name and for the success of his Novum Testamentum.
In this edition Erasmus, after using Codex Montfortianus, misprinted εμαις for εν αις in Apocalypse 2:13.
The third edition differed in 118 places from the second.
Oecolampadius and Gerbelius, Erasmus' subeditors, insisted that he introduce more readings from the minuscule 1 in the third edition. But according to Erasmus the text of this codex was altered from the Latin manuscripts, and had a secondary value.
This edition was used by William Tyndale for the first English New Testament (1526), by Robert Estienne as a base for his editions of the Greek New Testament from 1546 and 1549, and by the translators of Geneva Bible and King James Version.
Read more about this topic: Novum Instrumentum Omne
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