The Hebrew text was like the Greek NT; it had accumulated copyist errors, a few intentional, a good number accidental, between the Malachi days of 440 BCE and Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi (135 to 217 CE). The same thing happened to the Greek New Testament from about 400 CE to 1550 CE, a period of copyist errors.
Theories and Methodologies of New Testament Textual Criticism
Even though these various schools of thought can be identified, it is necessary to realize that some textual scholars might partially adopt the approaches of two or more schools, so that a synthesis often results. Likewise, schools tend to fluctuate over time due to the influx of new leaders and materials.
Epistles in the Early Christian Church
Some of the most important literature of antiquity exists in the form of letters. The correspondence of men prominent in political and literary life often throws a clear light upon the conditions of the age. The letters preserved to us in the New Testament are not less interesting than this letter of Pliny for the historical information they convey.
OXYRHYNCHUS PAPYRI: The Most Numerous Subgroup of the Earliest Copies of the New Testament
Papyrus 17 (P17) is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus manuscript of the Epistle to the Hebrews, but only contains verses 9:12-19.
THE TEXTUS RECEPTUS: The Greek Text Behind the King James Version
In Christianity, the term Textus Receptus (Latin for “received text”) refers to all printed editions of the Greek New Testament from Desiderius (1516) to the 1633 Elzevir edition. It was the most commonly used text type for Protestant denominations. The biblical Textus Receptus constituted the translation-base for the original German Luther Bible, the translation of the New Testament into English by William Tyndale, the King James Version, the Spanish Reina-Valera translation, the Czech Bible of Kralice, and most Reformation-era New Testament translations throughout Western and Central Europe.
BIBLE (NT): The Origin of the Nomina Sacra
In Christian scribal practice, nomina sacra (singular: nomen sacrum from Latin sacred name) is the abbreviation of several frequently occurring divine names or titles, especially in Greek manuscripts of Holy Scripture. This will be one of the most detailed, yet easy-to-understand articles on this important subject.
PAPYRUS 52 (P52) and the Nomina Sacra Part II
The latest calculations have all known Greek manuscripts at about 5,898, written from as early as 110 C.E. to as late as the end of the fifteenth-century. P52 although a fragment is one of the most important.
Papyrus 52 (P52) and the Nomina Sacra
The oldest manuscript of the New Testament known today is P52, a small fragment from John’s Gospel, dated to the first half of the second century (110-150 C.E.).
Bible Texts and Versions
We must face the reality that while the original 39 OT manuscripts and 27 NT manuscripts were inspired by God [Lit. “God-breathed”] (1 Tim. 3:16), as the authors were moved along by the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:21), this was not the case with the copyists thereafter. Yes, hundreds of thousands of scribal errors crept into our manuscripts. Yet, there is ...
TEXTUAL STUDIES: Lucian of Antioch (c. 240-312 C.E.): The Teacher of Arius?
Lucian of Antioch (c. 240 – January 7, 312), known as Lucian the Martyr, was a Christian presbyter, theologian, and martyr. He was noted for both his scholarship and ascetic piety. Was Lucian of Antioch the Path to the corrupt Byzantine Text, which led to the even more corrupt Textus Receptus, which lies as the foundation to the King James Version NT?