Textual Criticism is the science of
studying ancient manuscripts to determine the authentic text of the Bible. It
is sometimes called Lower Criticism. It is necessary because we no longer
possess the original manuscripts of Moses, Paul and others. Textual Criticism
deals with Hebrew and Greek, not English translations. Because of the wealth of
materials and the difficulties of the many other languages involved, it is one
of the most difficult sciences in Bible study. The following is a brief outline
of the basic facts and principles.
1. Manuscripts.
A. There are
about 1,000 Hebrew manuscripts, plus thousands of mere scraps. The Pentateuch
is contained in more of them than any other part of the Hebrew Bible. Hand-copying by scribes virtually
ceased with the introduction of the printing press in the 15th century. Hebrew
Bibles were among the first printed books.
B. Some
ancient manuscripts had been destroyed during anti-Jewish persecutions, such as
the Crusades. There are far fewer Hebrew manuscripts for the O.T. than Greek
manuscripts for the N.T.
C. There are,
however, proportionately fewer variations in the Hebrew than in the Greek.
Hebrew scribes were more accurate, mainly for religious reasons but also
because they copied in their native languages whereas many Greek manuscripts
were copied by those who knew only a little or no Greek.
D. More than
95% of the manuscripts agree almost verbatim. Those that disagree even tend to
disagree with themselves. Jeremiah has more manuscript variations than any
other book. Some variations in manuscripts were made in order to counter
Christianity, but most were mere slips of the pen or other unintentional
errors.
E. Many
manuscripts have Qere and Ketib. That is, a word is written in the
margin indicating the true reading or pronunciation of the text.
F. The
Dead Sea Scrolls are the oldest manuscripts - 1,000 years older than any others,
except a few scraps. They date from before AD 70 and probably much older. Yet
there is a remarkable agreement between these and the later manuscripts.
G. The
Massoretes were Jewish scribes around the 8th and 9th centuries. Since ancient Hebrew
used only consonants, problems arose over the pronunciations. The Massoretes
added vowels. They also devised an elaborate system of statistics of word
frequency, number of sentences, number of letters in a book, and so on. They
also used numerology and gematria. All this insured more careful copying. They
sometimes even destroyed a complete
manuscript if it was found to have even a single error.
H. The
Aleppo Codex (10th-11th century) is the oldest manuscript from the old Massoretic
tradition known as the Ben Asher text. It was partially destroyed in a fire in
Israel in 1948, but photographs remain. It is said to be the official
manuscript of Maimonides, the leading medieval Jewish rabbi.
I.
Codex Leningradiensis (10th-11th century) contains the whole O.T., but contains a
text from a minority Massoretic tradition. It was made in Babylon.
J. The Cairo Geniza was an ancient storeroom of thousands of Hebrew manuscripts, but most are mere scraps. It is probably the largest such collection.
2. Versions.
A.
Greek versions include the Septuagint (c. 150 BC), and
those by Aquila (c.130 AD), Symmachus (c.170 AD), Theodotian (c.180 AD) and
others. Origen's Hexapla (3rd cent.) contained a Hebrew OT, a Greek
transliteration, the Septuagint, Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotian in parallel
columns, but most of it is lost.
B.
The Samaritan Pentateuch (about
400 BC)
is in a language and script similar to Hebrew. Variations are minor, but some
of them are for specific theological reasons - the Samaritans thought they, not
the Jews, were heirs of the Covenant.
C.
The Aramaic Targums were paraphrased
translations of the Hebrew O.T. Most were written about 200 AD, but some may be
pre-Christian and others much later.
D.
Other versions: Latin (Old Latin 150 AD,
Vulgate 400 AD), Syriac (2nd to 5th centuries AD), Ethiopic, Coptic, Arabic,
Armenian, Georgian, etc.
3. Families.
Manuscripts and Versions
tend to show similar patterns in their variations.
A.
Strict Massoretic is basically that of the Aleppo Codex and the Rabbinic Bibles.
B.
Proto-Massoretic contains patterns of variants from before the Massoretic era, such as in
the Dead Sea Scrolls and some of the versions and non-Massoretic Hebrew
manuscripts.
C.
Proto-Septuagint family consists of variants discovered when the Septuagint is translated
back into Hebrew and where these variants differ from the Massoretes.
D.
Proto-Samaritan family occurs when the Samaritan is translated back into Hebrew and
contains variations from the Massoretc tradition.
4. Quotations.
Most of the Hebrew O.T. can
be found quoted in ancient books.
A.
The New Testament quotes sometimes from the Hebrew, sometimes from the Septuagint
where it differs from the Hebrew, and sometimes makes original quotations.
B.
The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha contain numerous quotations,
usually translated into Greek. The same is true with the New Testament Apocrypha,
the
Nag Hamadi writings and the like. The early Christian Church Fathers
usually
wrote in Greek or Latin, and often quoted the O.T.
C.
The Dead Sea Scrolls include ancient writings which often quote or
paraphrase the Hebrew O.T. These usually, but not always, match the Dead Sea
O.T. manuscripts.
D.
Ancient Jewish non-Christian writings are full of quotations from the O.T., such as
Josephus, Philo, the Mishnah, the Talmuds, the Tosefta, and so on. And lastly
there are some brief quotations on coins, pottery, amulets, and the like.
5. Principles.
A.
Some variations are obvious and unintentional - word order,
misspellings, duplication, etc. Variations of a more serious order add, subtract,
substitute or rephrase the text. Still, no more than about 1 to 2% is seriously debated.
B. Manuscripts
must be collated - comparing manuscripts and making a list of the variants, and
then cataloging the variations from all the manuscripts.
C. The
scholars then consult the manuscripts and collations, plus the versions,
quotations and Massoretic notes. Comparing editions of the Hebrew Bible is also
done. It is a painstaking effort. Scholars, like scribes, can make mistakes.
D. Using the
ancient versions is tricky. They all precede the era of the Massoretes.
However, some are not literal translations. Moreover, translating back into
Hebrew is not always exact - if translation loses something, then double
translation also loses something. It is questionable to rely on a versional
retranslation if there are no Hebrew manuscripts with that reading.
E.
Conjectural Emendation is basically guessing what the reading should be simply
according to context or the editor's theology (usually liberal). Some Hebrew
Bibles contain such guesses without support from Hebrew or even the versions.
F. Scripture
forbids adding to or subtracting from the Bible (Rev. 22:18-19). But it also
promises that God has and will providentially protect His Word through the
course of history (Matt. 24:15).
1.
Manuscripts. About 5,366 of all kinds, excluding those in
category E.
A.
Papyri
are
the oldest. There are about 100 of them, many mere scraps. Most date from
before 300 AD. Most belong to the Alexandrian family, being from Egypt.
B.
Majuscules
were usually written on sheepskin parchment in capital letters called uncials.
Most are from before the 9th century. There are some 274 majuscules and about
80% of them are from the Byzantine family, 10% from the Alexandrian and the
rest from the Western and Caesarean families. The most important ones: Codex
Sinaiticus (discovered near Mt. Sinai), Codex Vaticanus, Codex Bezae, Codex
Alexandrinus. Some are palimpsests - a parchment was erased by scraping and
then written over, but by careful study we can read the original writing.
C.
Miniscules were written in cursive handwriting in small letters, some on parchment but
most on paper. They usually date from after the 9th century and are by far the
largest number of manuscripts (2,795). About 90% are from the Byzantine family.
D.
Lectionaries
are collections of the N.T. for public reading in Church services, usually
numbered sections of the Gospels. Of the 2,209, some 245 are uncial majuscules
and 1,964 are in cursive miniscule script. Most are Byzantine.
E. Miscellanous
portions have been found among ancient inscriptions on the walls of the
Catacombs, or on ostraca
(some 1,624 small scraps of pottery) or amulets.
2. History.
A. Many ancient manuscripts were destroyed by Roman persecution. Others were intentionally buried or destroyed once a copy was made, lest the first one fall into sacrilegious disrepair. Younger manuscripts were obviously copied from older manuscripts, most of which no longer exist.
B. Not all
scribes knew Greek well, especially after 500 AD. Some manuscripts were copied
one by one, others in tandem as a scribe dictated from one manuscript to
several scribes at once. Later scribes often corrected a manuscript. Some
variations are due to alteration by known heretics to suit their nefarious
purposes.
C. Over
200,000 variants are known to exist. A massive and exhaustive effort is being
made to collate and catalog them all. Most variants are minor: misspellings,
word order, duplication, etc. More significant ones add, subtract, substitute
or rephrase. Even so, only about 2-5% of the entire text is seriously debated.
The largest sections in debate are Mark 16:9-20 and John 7:59-8:11.
D. Only a few
manuscripts contain the whole N.T. Many contain mere scraps or individual books
(the Gospels are most represented). Acts contains the most variants, while
Revelation has fewest manuscripts but proportionately the most variants in
number and kind.
E. Copying by
hand virtually ceased after the invention of printing in the 15th century. The
largest collections of manuscripts are in the Vatican, the British Museum and
the Greek Orthodox monastery on Mt. Athos in Greece.
3. Families. The variations in manuscripts tend to fall down into 4 categories or
families.
A.
Byzantine (or Majority Witness) makes up some 80% or more of the manuscripts and
variations, plus some of the ancient versions. Moreover, those in this family
are almost entirely identical and uniform. Most are from the Eastern
Mediterranean.
A.
Alexandrian
manuscripts and readings mainly come from Egypt. These readings tend to
subtract (or conversely, say some, the
Byzantine tends to add to the Alexandrian). 5-10% of the manuscripts are in
this family. Even though they tend to be older, they do not agree with
themselves as much as the Byzantine manuscripts do.
B.
Western
manuscripts come from the Western Mediterranean and make up about 5% of
manuscripts, plus some versions and Fathers. Also not uniform, they tend to
add.
C.
Caesarean
manuscripts contain mixed readings from other families. Some scholars deny that
this is even a family as such. These supposedly came from Casarea. They number
less than 5% of the total
4. Versions.
A.
Latin: The first translation of
the N.T. was probably into the Old Latin (c.150
AD). Jerome later translated the N.T. into the Latin Vulgate, which
became the standard in the Catholic Church (thus, there are over 8,000 Vulgate
manuscripts). The Old Latin tends to be Western, the Vulgate tends to be
Byzantine.
B.
Syriac:
The Old Syriac is found in only 2 or 3 manuscripts from the 3rd-5th
centuries and contain only the Gospels. The Peshitta was the standard;
scholars date it as early as the 2nd or as late as the 5th century. Plus minor
ones.
C.
Coptic:
There were two major translations into a Grecianized form of Egyptian. The
first was the Sahidic (3rd cent), then the Bohairic (4th cent), plus minor
ones.
D.
Other versions:Gothic, Ethiopic, Georgian, Armenian, Arabic, Slavonic,
Anglo-Saxon, etc.
5. Church Fathers. The whole N.T. could be reconstructed from their quotations alone.
A. Some of
them quoted verbatim, others paraphrased, others only made allusions.
B. Their
patterns vary like the versions: some Byzantine, others Alexandrian, some
Western.
C. Fathers
from whom most quotations can be culled: Augustine, Origen, Chrysostom,
Jerome.
6.
Principles.
A. As with
the O.T., complete collations are being made, but a definite pattern has
emerged. All variations, versions and Fathers must be considered. Readings must
be judged by age, locality spread, number, and how they explain the other
variants.
B.
Conjectural Emendation
is questionable, but accepted by many even when manuscript evidence
is non-existent.
C. The
Majority Witness school says that the Byzantine family basically contains the true
text. This text is the one underlying the KJV and NKJV.Only a minority of
scholars accept this view; most who do are usually Fundamentalists or Greek
Orthodox. This view says the other
families are defective; older manuscripts survived because they were defective
and therefore not used or copied. This text has basically been printed in most
Greek editions before 1830 (Erasmus, Stephanus, Beza, Elzivir, etc) and
recently in The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text.
D.
The Neutral Text school basically upheld the superiority and virtual infallibility
of the Alexandrian family. It was popularized by Westcott and Hort. When the
papyri and majuscules agree, that is
the authentic text.
E. The
Eclectic School is the predominant view today. It says that no one family should
predominate, though the Alexandrian is the best. But a reading accepted by
2 or 3 of the other families against
the Alexandrian would outweigh it. This school sometimes accepts Conjectural
Emendations. This view also stresses the Genealogical Method: the authentic
text was grandfather to the 4 families, each of which contain distinctive
traits of the original. This view usually says the Alexandrian or the Western
is the oldest, the Byzantine the youngest and least reliable. This text is that
which underlies the NASB, NIV, ASV, RSV, etc.
F. Finally,
Providential Preservation
(Matt. 24:15) applies to the N.T. Let us neither add nor subtract from the
Bible (Rev. 22:18-19). True textual criticism must be scholarly and
reverent. As difficult as it is to
scholars, and bewildering to non-scholars, it is an important field of research
being conducted around the world.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Geisler, Norman; and Nix, Gary; A
General Introduction to the Bible (Chicago: Moody Press). Wurthwein,
Ernst; The Text of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans). Metzger,
Bruce; The Text of the New Testament NY and Oxford: Oxford University
Press) [Eclectic]. Pickering, Wilbur
N.; The Identity of the New Testament Text (Nashville: Nelson) [Majority
Witness].