), In a similar vein, Kurt Aland considers Greek manuscripts which are purely or predominately Byzantine to be irrelevant for textual criticism.. Here are five reasons why a dogmatically-driven adherence to the Textus Receptus - Textus Receptus-Onlyism, one might . But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. So no, the entire Codex Sinaiticus wasnt going to be burned. but this clause in red is And gently lead those who are with young. Tischendorf himself might not have been sure. You said applying verses 10 to male authority doesnt make sense, but it makes perfect sense. 15 But Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. They have several verses they use to support this (which well look at in a moment). (And many of these variants would be spelling errors. Her head or her own head is just that. However, their original work is still with us. In the Vulgate, we find over half of the Alexandrian readings. A Bible which was delivered to us inspired, and then was allowed to leaven with the accumulated errors of thousands of years, would hardly point to an all-powerful, all-wise Creator. While indeed some of the favorite passages among my ilk are weak in conveying what Confessionalists say they do, some are quite clear, particularly Peter and Christs own statements to the longevity of His owm words, which would include any words of God unless He expressly stated otherwise. You will preserve him from this generation forever. 8 For man is not from woman, but woman from man; 9 for man wasnt created for the woman, but woman for the man. Maybe you should have explained that, out of those manuscripts he consulted, he selected 7-8 fit enough to produce his text. The 1% argument almost makes it seem not to matter between the TR and Alexandrian-focused textual lines but maybe that only applies to the NASB 1995 for reasons you indicated in the other article? I admire the zeal textual scholars have in combing through myriads of manuscripts in an effort to better understand Gods word. But Jesus isnt the Bible, and neither Peter nor Isaiah were talking about the Bible; they were talking about Jesus. There are three major competing Greek sources to use for translating the New Testament: the Critical Text, the Majority Text, and the Textus Receptus. What I am trying to say is that we have had a sure word for five hundred years. When two copies disagree with each other, you have a variant in the text between two documents: this is (unsurprisingly) called a Textual Variant. I spent much of my (unfinished) series on marriage unpacking how this rebellious idea has catastrophic results when put into practice. These errors alone account for hundreds of differences between the Alexandrian and Byzantine Text types. Scrivener identifies 190 readings where the Authorized Version translators depart from Bezas Greek text, generally in maintaining the wording of the Bishops Bible and other earlier English translations. Wherever I changed the text there is a footnote showing the original KJV reading. Again as shown in the article, there are no less than 27 different versions, so which one should we use? Erasmus also lacked a complete copy of the Book of Revelation and translated the last six verses back into Greek from the Latin Vulgate to finish his edition. Was There a Scribal Preference to Copy Better Manuscripts? He taught English on CBC TV 'Let's Speak English'. The Greek manuscripts upon which the KJV is based The Codex Vaticanus also contains several of the deuterocanonical books, namely: the Book of Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), Judith, Tobit, Baruch, and the Letter to Jeremiah. Likewise, the footnotes betray a liberal bias. (Trying not to accuse anyone in particular there.). Wonderfully writteneasy for a truck driver to understandThe subject is like mind-candy for meIve read many articles on the topicI am biased because I agree with you on many pointsIll keep using my NKJV! <p>Novum Testamentum Graece / Greek New Testament In . It was shockingly balanced, very respectful, and based upon facts. Im not pushing it and Im not saying its better; just that it shouldnt be dismissed out of hand. Matthew 1:1 in the 1611 King James reads, The booke of the generation of Iesus Christ, the sonne of Dauid, the sonne of Abraham. 10 For this cause the woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Reasoned Eclecticism or the Critical Text Theory. But now I think I should start with Matthew, then read it like the book has it layed out. However important the early papyri, or a particular uncial, or a minuscule may be, the total number of full disagreements in the 28thedition of. ) Both Textual Variants are meaningful, but its nearly impossible for them to be original (they arent viable). Be Blessed brother . Also, I am building my book collection and I wanted to see if you recommended any books that translate some of these Greek texts that should be considered when translating new bibles. Despite the Byzantine text type being vindicated by extremely early manuscript findings, there remains a persistent bias against Byzantine readings for no apparent reason. Do you stand on the position that it is impossible for us to hold the preserved Word of God in our hands? You are arguing from the side opposite of Gods promise to preserve His Word, and Im sure that you will never win. This is the best Ive read on this topic so far. How many such readings are there? If every word is important, does it not make sense that God would preserve all of His words so that we might nourished and strengthened? (The Masoretic text is the traditional Hebrew text, and contains far fewer textual variants than the New Testament.) More importantly, Erasmus references in sundry of his letters some of the manuscripts he used. It is trying to explain Gods promises away because you dont feel they can possibly be true based on the human evidence you have seen and studied. I dont hold to a Confessional Bibliology, I believe they dont actually take their reasoning to its actual logical end. In fact, the most common type of Textual Variant is spelling differences, often a single letter. And so saying, he took down from the corner of the room a bulky kind of volume, wrapped up in a red cloth, and laid it before me. Medium = Byzantine Text type, characterized by near-identical form over 1000+ years, and most manuscripts are of this type, Long/paraphrase = Western Text type, characterized by its love of paraphrase is like the uncontrolled popular text of Homer. As soon as the numbers of a minority exceed what can be explained by accidental coincidence, their agreement can only be explained on genealogical grounds. 1 Corinthians 11:8-10 (WEB) Its a basically byzantine textform, which I do like. It is accepted as being the closest text to that used for the English King James translation in 1611. They comprise less than 1% of all Textual Variants. Further assume you had two manuscripts to choose from when copying. The voice of one crying in the wilderness: The crooked places shall be made straight, Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb, For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means, According to Textus Receptus Bibles (.com), there are no less than, A Few Fun Things About Biblical (Koine) Greek. Unfortunately, we know that happened in at least two ways. If you heard it read, youd realize its an easy mistake to make because they sound almost identical. You should keep your mouth shut. When do you think the church lost the true preserved Word of God? No one does, since they incorporated vulgate and LXX readings, among many other sources. Hopefully, this can be a one stop shop for anyone wishing for an introduction on New Testament Textual Criticism. Do you really know for a fact what those churches were using during that period, when you have less than 1% of the evidence? The question then becomes: If you take the Majority Text theory and apply it to modern times, then theres clearly more copies of the modern Critical Text than the Majority Text. This page has been accessed 19,382 times. God bless you, brother. Take a later example from Tyndale (who had the benefit of the printing press). (Dont ask how much re-writing that took.). In fact, its usually the first place I look for answers on questions relating to Textual Variants. 111:7-8; Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 117:2; Psalm 119:152; Psalm 119:160). Regardless of what you might say, you live in a very limited context and are influenced by the small sphere that you live in, therefore, I would stand with God and His Word no matter what you might see in this present time. 19. It might be out there, but I havent see it. (The other being the 1995 NASB). Given its long history of transmission with very little change and the common sense idea that scribes will choose better manuscripts, I think that makes sense. It goes into just as much depth as this article, and even includes short reviews on the most popular Bible translations at the end.). This consideration revives the view that the Homeric vulgate was in existence before the Alexandrian period [Such] compels us to assume a central, average, or vulgate text. ), There is a system for naming manuscripts of the New Testament. which is every-thing in red. I studied up on each translation but could never get a good grasp on the origin of the text. (In most cases, more on that in a minute). (One of the major places they differ is in The Johannine Comma of 1 John 5:7-8, and theres an article about whether it was added or removed right here on Berean Patriot. A particular reading signifies one that is most definitely false. If the basis of your faith is the Westminster Confession of Faith, I would humbly suggest you move to a firmer foundation. If you ask most people, the Textus Receptus is the Greek text assembled by Erasmus from which the King James Version was translated. One appears to be of mediocre quality, the other of good quality. That simply cannot be used as evidence to prove there were errors in the Bibles used by the church. In English the indefinite article a gets an n added when the next word starts with a vowel. Weve just seen that it doesnt originate in the scriptures. I believe this is the same viewpoint you use when dealing with the text issue. God will keep them (His words) by setting him (the man) in safety like He said He would in verse 5. Probably the most balanced view of the Vaticanus scribe is found in the quote below, in an article published to respond to someone claiming the Vaticanus Scribe made very few errors. The Feminist in Pauls day shaved their heads too. However, the Alexandrian text type is 200 years older. Unfortunately, this bias against Byzantine readings persisted until later, to Kurt Aland. Even if you dont hold to the Confessional Position, you might think the Textus Receptus is the best/most accurate edition of the New Testament. Follo. Very few if any scholars would argue that the Majority wins all the time. Looking forward to reading more of your articles. This has helped me tremendously, as I am currently ministering to a dear friend and brother who has recently been leaning hard toward becoming one of the Onlyists of a particular persuasion. I pray you will seek the truth at all costs. Now, this argument can be used both for and against the Byzantine Text type. I wonder if you have heard of Ivan Panin? No Christian doctrine is omitted from the Alexandrian text, but some appear strengthened in the Byzantine text. This actually makes a lot of sense if you look at the Greek word used. They will typically only use the King James Bible (KJV) or New King James Bible (NKJV) as an English translation, but some will only accept the KJV. As I said before, I believe languages change over time, and therefore so will the text of Scripture, as demonstrated by our Lords quoting of the OT Scriptures. If so, it opens up a new period. Its interesting that these are the men who constructed the corrupt text from which the NASB is produced. Otherwise there is too great a danger of reconstructing a test tube text which never existed at any time or place. I think this Bible has been changed significantly in the Revised English Bible (1989) translation to be gender inclusive. That makes sense, or at least more sense than applying it to the Bible. The odds of all the scribes making the same error are extremely low. Please notice the casual dismissal of the Byzantine text type by one of the most respected textual critics of our age. My question is around a possible assumption: Im no stranger to this subject but am far from an expert. Obviously some arent, but that article makes the differences sound much larger than they actually are. It put a ton of accurate info in one place. Welcome to Mood FM Belize 106.3! The Biblical Case for the Doctrine of Preservation, The Biggest Problem with the Confessional Position, Okay, But is the Textus Receptus a good Document?, Summary of the Critical Text vs. Its commonly referred to as the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece after the two most significant contributors. However, its an attempt to reconstruct that text, not that actual text itself. These different philosophies naturally produced slightly different results, Overall, the Critical Text of the modern Greek New Testament bears a remarkable resemblance to the original work done by Westcott & Hort. General Introduction: To the Reader of NETS. He published thousands of pages of scholarship on the Bible including the first five volumes in the standard critical text edition of the Septuagint. At this time I consider myself a textus receptus guy and find his position interesting. The Septuagint is claimed to have been translated between 285-246 BC during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Alexandria, Egypt. One of the major arguments against the Majority Text by those who prefer the Critical text is the accusation that scribes added the extra content. the Minority Texts (primarily the Westcott and Hort Greek Text, based primarily on the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Vaticanus). Some even go so far as to say that other Bibles/translations are heretical and you cant truly be saved with them. Just as the doctrine of inspiration is considered to be foundational to our understanding of the Bible, so should be the doctrine of preservation. Please dont mistake the one for the other. Globe and Mail, July 31, 2010 Accessed March 26, 2011, 5. (Read Galatians if you disagree.). Does it matter much if Paul wrote a owl vs an owl? I have yet to hear of a person who holds the Confessional Position who doesnt chose the Textus Receptus as the text that was kept pure in all ages. As an aside because the KJV is often central to the Confessional Position its worth noting that the KJV wasnt translated from any one single text. She reproves the angels of Satan declaring that she will submit to the authority of God, even though they did not. (Note: the He in the quote below is Dean Burgon). Consequently, their New Testament relied heavily on the two earliest (nearly) complete manuscripts we have: Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus, which well look at in detail shortly, Since these were the two oldest (nearly) complete texts available at the time, Westcott & Hort gave them tremendous weight. Textus Receptus means "received text." It is the name given to the Greek New Testament published by Erasmus. REV. However, the text theyve chosen (the Textus Receptus) isnt a bad text. The [fourth-century] text of Chrysostom and other Syrian [= Byzantine] fathers [is], must have had in the greater number of extant variations, The overwhelming majority of readings, almost all variants, and practically all the substantive variants in the text of the New Testament, The criticism of the Homeric epics proceeds on much the same line, The shorter form in Homer is considered to reflect Alexandrian critical know-how and. These types of Textual Variants make up ~24% of all Textual Variants. . 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.. Parallels with Textual Criticism of Non-Biblical works, Removing Copies from the Stream of Transmission. It is a great Bible for reading and study too and i am thoroughly enjoying it. (Viable = possibly original), So dont worry, your Bible isnt filled with mistakes. 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