Textual variants in the New Testament are the subject of the study called textual criticism of the New Testament. Textual variants in manuscripts arise when a copyist makes deliberate or inadvertent alterations to a text that is being reproduced.
List of Major Textual Variants In the Greek New Testament In English Translation
It should be noted that this is merely a handful of major variants. Less serious variants are in the hundreds of thousands. However, many Christians make the mistake of saying that the textual variants are all insignificant and change nothing. This is not true.
OTTC HOSEA 14:2: Is “bulls” (MT) or “fruit” (LXX; 14:3) the original reading of the Hebrew text?
The MT has the reading “bulls” (פָרִים; farim) in verse 2 of chapter 14. On the other hand, the LXX: Greek Septuagint reads “fruit” (καρπὸν; fruit) in verse 2 of chapter 14. The Septuagint continues to be very much important today and is used by textual scholars to help uncover copyists’ errors that might have crept into the Hebrew manuscripts either intentionally or unintentionally. ...
NTTC LUKE 8:43: “who [spent all her living on physicians] and could not be healed by anyone”
The longer reading is also suggestive of the synoptic parallel in Mark 5:26, which means that it is very much likely that a scribe condensed the words of Mark. The expanded reading ["spent all her living on physicians"] is supported by א A C L W Θ Ξ Ψ f1, 33 Maj. While the longer reading is found in the Nestle-Alans text, it is ...
OTTC GENESIS 4:8: “Let us go out into the field”?
The bracketed clause “let us go over into the field” is not found in the Codex Leningrad B 19A and the Aleppo Codex, nor is it found in the QT Qumran Texts (Dead Sea Scrolls; Scroll 4Q2). However, the reading is included in older Septuagint manuscripts and in SP, SYR, and VG.
Why Can We Trust the Transmission of the Hebrew Text?
“The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old), and the New Testament in Greek (which, at the time of the writing of it, was most generally known to the nations), being immediately inspired by God, and, by His singular care and providence, kept pure in all... Continue Reading →
OTTC GENESIS 2:2: “on the sixth day God finished his work” or “on the seventh day God finished his work.”?
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran initiated a significant revision of this negative perspective. Among the multiplicity of texts at Qumran, researchers found fragments that share essential characteristics with the SP ...
OTTC GENESIS 1:26: “and over all the earth” or “over all the wild animals of the earth”?
Codex Leningrad B 19A is the earliest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Scriptures (c. 1008 C.E.), which serves as a primary source for the recovery of details in the missing parts of the Aleppo Codex. The Aleppo Codex is an important Hebrew Masoretic manuscript from about 930 C.E. Codex Leningrad and the Aleppo Codex are the two most important Hebrew Old Testament manuscripts. ...
NTTC LUKE 3:36: Who was Shelah’s father? Was it Cainan or Arpachshad?
P75 and D do not contain “son of Cainan,” in agreement with Gen. 10:24; Gen. 11:12, 15; 1Ch 1:18. Some manuscripts contain a second “Cainan,” between Arphaxad and Shelah. (Lu 3:35-36; compare Gen 10:24; 11:12; 1Ch 1:18, 24.) Most scholars take this to be ...
NTTC MATTHEW 5:22: “angry with his brother” OR “angry with his brother without cause”
The shorter reading is generally preferred if the change is intended. This is a reflection of scribal tendency, as a scribe is far more likely in his efforts at clarification, willfully to make an addition to a text. Very rarely will a scribe intentionally add to his text by mistake. The original reading was ...