Western Non-interpolations

Western non-interpolations are readings in the Western text-type that are shorter than those of other New Testament text types. The term was coined by F. J. A. Hort. The Alexandrian text is generally terse; the Western text is enlarged and paraphrased at places; the Byzantine text is a combination of the two. Nevertheless, the Western text is in certain places shorter than the Alexandrian text. All these shorter readings Hort named western non-interpolations. Since the 18th century, scholars have preferred the shorter reading. It was the authentic text according to B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort. When they printed The New Testament in the Original Greek (1882), in almost all cases, it followed the Alexandrian text with a few exceptions — including Western non-interpolations. According to Westcott and Hort, on some rare occasions Western textual witnesses have preserved the original text, against all other witnesses.