In 1 Timothy 1:4, why does the King James Version have “edifying” rather than “dispensation”?

Question

The English translation of 1 Tim. 1:4 according to the King James Version states,

⁴ Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. ^{KJV, 1769}

However, the Greek text according to the Textus Receptus states,

^Δʹ μηδὲ προσέχειν μύθοις καὶ γενεαλογίαις ἀπεράντοις αἵτινες ζητήσεις παρέχουσιν μᾶλλον ἢ οἰκονομίαν θεοῦ τὴν ἐν πίστει ^{TR, 1550}

Why did the translators who produced the King James Version write “edifying” if the 1550 Textus Receptus has «οἰκονομίαν», meaning “dispensation,” as in “the dispensation of God.”¹

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Footnotes

¹ cp. Col. 1:25: «ἡς ἐγενόμην ἐγὼ διάκονος κατὰ τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν δοθεῖσάν μοι εἰς ὑμᾶς πληρῶσαι τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ»

Answer 1

1 Tim 1:4 μηδε προσεχειν μυθοις και γενεαλογιαις απεραντοις αιτινες ζητησεις παρεχουσιν μαλλον η οικοδομιαν θεου την εν πιστει (textus receptus)

1 Tim 1:4 μηδὲ προσέχειν μύθοις καὶ γενεαλογίαις ἀπεράντοις αἵτινες ἐκζητήσεις παρέχουσιν μᾶλλον ἢ οἰκονομίαν θεοῦ τὴν ἐν πίστει (critical text)

Because of the one-letter difference between a "d" and an "n", translations based on the Textus Receptus (TR) have "edifying", while translations based on the critical text (CT) have "administration".

The TR is based on a few relatively late manuscripts, but is generally speaking in line with the Majority Text (which relies on thousands of manuscripts, though most of them are from after 1000 AD). The CT, on which almost all modern translations are based, gives more weight to the older manuscripts. In my opinion, and in the opinions of most scholars today (evangelical and liberal), the CT is generally more reliable.