Academy of Integrated Christian Studies

Tanhril, Aizawl – 796009

Paper Presentation
Course: Methodological and Critical Issues in New Testament Studies
Topic: Textual Criticism
Presented by: Paokhohang Chongloi
Mentor: Mr. Keciziuyang Siang Date: 02 – 08 – 2018
1. INTRODUCTION
Textual criticism is one of the fundamentals or foundational basis to
studying the original texts of the New Testament manuscripts. This
approach to the study of New Testament is not only important but very
much necessary. Textual criticism is a science that not only tries to
ascertain the original text but in the mean time shed light to the variants
that is occurring throughout the process of copying from the autographs or
the original. Here in this paper we will discuss what textual criticism is,
why is it necessary to the study of NT, what causes the variations of
manuscripts, what are the evidences that help us to identify, and also deal
with the modern approaches to textual criticism in brief.
2. DEFINING TEXTUAL CRITICISM
Greenlee defines textual criticism as the study of copies of any written
work of which the autograph (the original) is unknown, with the purpose
of ascertaining the original text. It is a necessary study for almost any
piece of literature which was written, and of which copies were made,
before the invention of printing. Textual criticism is sometimes called
lower criticism; it therefore determines the original wording of a
document.1 For Holmes, it is a science and art of recovering, on the basis
of surviving copies and citations of a document, its original text – is
increasingly viewed as having two goals: 1. identifying the earliest
recoverable form of a document; and 2. Investigating textual variants for
the light they shed on the history of the church and its controversies. 2 For
1
J. Harold Greenlee, Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism (Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1995),
1.
2
Michael W. Holmes, ―Text Criticism, NT,‖ The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Volume 5 (Abingdon Press,
2009), 529.
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Eldon Jay Epp textual criticism is the science and art that assesses the
transmission of the New Testament text and identifies its alterations and
distortions.3
3. CAUSES OF ERROR
Books were written in scripto continua (i.e. without break between words)
with minimal punctuation or other aids for the reader, generally in one
wide column or several narrow ones per page. Thus it was not difficult to
misread the text or lose one‘s place while copying. Scribes would
inadvertently skip between words or syllables with similar beginnings or
endings, the result either being the loss or duplication of material. The
steps involved in the copying process itself – reading the text,
remembering it, and writing it down – offered easy opportunity to misread
the text, rearrange word order, or substitute a more familiar words or better
remembered phrase for a less common or unusual one. Fatigue, poor
eyesight or hearing, or simple stupidity could also contribute to errors in
copying.4
Not all alterations however were inadvertent. Harmonization, for example,
could be deliberate as well as unintentional, and as Greek grammar,
syntax, and style changed over the centuries, scribes often ‗updated‘ the
text to conform to current standards or substitute a more refined or literary
term for a colloquial one.5 These then are some of the reasons why there
are variations in all extant copies of the New Testament and why textual
criticism is a necessary and foundational step in the interpretation of the
New Testament.6
4. THE IMPORTANCE AND SCOPE OF TEXTUAL CRITICISM
Before one can understand an author, one must know what the author
wrote. Thus textual criticism is foundational to all the study of the New

3
Eldon Jay Epp, ―Textual Criticism (NT),‖ Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vollume 6 (Doubleday Dell Publishing House,
1992), 413.
4
Michael W. Holmes, ―Textual Criticism,‖ in New Testament Criticism and Interpretation, ed. David S. Black, David
Alan and Dockery (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 102.
5
Holmes, ―Text Criticism, NT,‖…, 102.
6
Holmes, ―Text Criticism, NT,‖…, 103.
2
Testament; one cannot hope to produce fruitful work without a reliable
textual basis.7
The importance of New Testament textual criticism is best seen in its
purpose: to recover the original text of the New Testament from the
available evidence. Two factors make the New Testament textual criticism
a necessary field of study. The first is that none of the original manuscripts
(often called the ‗autographs‘) of the New Testament has survived. The
second factor why textual criticism is necessary is because there are
numerous mistakes in the extant copies of the New Testament. These
mistakes must be identified, and the correct reading deduced, before
exegesis can take place.8
5. WRITING MATERIALS IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
Papyrus was for many centuries the most common writing material. It was
made from papyrus plant that grew in the delta of the Nile River in Egypt.
The center section of the stalk was removed and cut into thin strips that
were laid side by side. A second layer was then laid across it to form a
sheet ranging in size from 6 by nine inches to 12 by 15 inches. Sheets were
normally pasted together and sold in rolls of twenty. Writing was usually
done on one side only. The autographs of the Greek New Testament were
almost certainly written on Papyrus.9
Animal skins, known as vellum or parchment, were also used to receive
writing. Once the skin were scraped and dried, they produce a durable and
smooth surface. By the third or fourth century, parchment was the
common writing material in the ancient world, although papyrus continued
to be used as late as seventh century. Practically all surviving manuscripts
of the Greek New testament are written on parchment. Only the very
earliest New Testament manuscripts are written on papyrus.10
Because the supply of parchment was limited, when a parchment was no
longer wanted the writing was sometimes scrapped off and a new text
7
Holmes, ―Text Criticism, NT,‖…, 123.
8
David Alan Black, New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994), 12.
9
Black, New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide…, 14.
10
Black, New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide…, 15.
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written over it. Such a manuscript was called a ‗palimpsest‘ (from ‗palin,’
again and ‘psao,’ I scrape. Some fifty manuscripts of the Greek New
Testament are palimpsests.11
6. SOURCES OF EVIDENCE
Our knowledge of the New Testament text is derived from three principal
sources: Greek manuscripts, Versions and Patristic Quotations.12
6.1. GREEK MANUSCRIPTS
The Greek manuscripts have traditionally been divided into four groups:
papyri, uncials, minuscules and lectionaries.13
6.1.1. Papyri
The earliest New Testament manuscripts are written on papyrus. Since
papyrus was a very fragile writing material, few copies of the New
Testament have survived except in the dry sands of Egypt. Papyrus
manuscripts are designated by the letter ‗p‘ with a superscript numeral and
range in date from approximately AD 125 (p52 containing John 18:31-34,
37-38) to the early eighth century. Fragments or large sections of
approximately eighty-eight papyri are known. Notable groups of papyri
include the Chester Beatty papyri from the third century (p 45, p46, p47); the
Bodomer collection, ranging in date from the late second to the seventh
century (p66, p72, p73, p74, p75). Every New Testament book is attested by
atleast one papyrus manuscript.14

6.1.2. Uncials
Although the papyrus manuscripts are likewise written in uncial letters, the
term uncial manuscripts ordinarily designates those on parchment, hence
manuscripts of the fourth through the tenth centuries. At least 300 uncial
manuscripts are known, varying from small fragments or a few sheets to
nearly complete New Testament or Bibles.15

11
Black, New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide…, 16.
12
Greenlee, Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism..., 24.
13
Greenlee, Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism…, 24.
14
Black, New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide, 18,19.
15
Greenlee, Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism…, 27.
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Some of the important uncial manuscripts are : Codex a (01), also known
as Codex Sinaiticus, Codex A (02), or Codex Alexandrinus, Codex B (03),
or Codex Vaticanus, Codex C (04), also known as Codex Ephraemi
Rescriptus, Codex D (05) or Codex Bezae and Codex W (032), or Codex
Washingtonesis (or Freerianus).16

6.1.3. Minuscule
In the ninth century a style of writing developed out of the cursive or
‗running‘ hand that had been used for private writing. This new style was
called ‗minuscule‘ (small lettered), and it had the great advantage of
allowing more rapid writing than the uncial style. By the end of the tenth
century the minuscule style of writing had virtually replaced the uncial.17
By far the largest group of Greek New Testament manuscripts are those
written in minuscule handwriting. The minuscule manuscripts are
designated by numerals (eg. Codex 13, Codex 1525), the list at present
extends to approximately 2800.18

Some of the more important minuscule manuscripts may be noted: Codex

1, 12th century manuscript located in Basel, Switzerland; Codex 13, written
in the thirteenth century, is in the National Library of Paris. Codex 33, a
tenth century manuscript in the National library of Paris, known as ‗Queen
of the Cursives‘ because of its reliable text. Codex 565, from the tenth
century, is in the public library of St. Petersburg, Russia.19

6.1.4. Lectionaries
Lectionaries are books containing selections from scripture for use in
worship and other services. These comprise the final category of Greek
witnesses, and are identified by an Arabic number preceded by a script ell
(e.g. l 32). Over twenty two-hundred lectionary manuscripts are known to
exist today.20
16
Greenlee, Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism…, 29–33.
17
Black, New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide…, 20.
18
Greenlee, Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism…, 33.
19
Greenlee, Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism…, 35.
20
Holmes, ―Textual Criticism,‖…, 104.
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 6.2. ANCIENT VERSIONS
As Christianity spread into regions and social strata where Greek was not
understood, there arose the need for translations of the New Testament. By
about AD 180 the process of translating the New Testament into Latin,
Syriac, and Coptic was underway. The Latin eventually developed into at
least two major forms, the Old Latin or Itala and the Vulgate (of which
800 manuscripts are known), while the Syrian and Coptic exist in a
number of versions and dialects. Later translations include Armenian,
Georgian, Ethiopic, Gothic and Old Church Slavonic; in several instances
these translations were the first literary work in that particular language,
and occasionally, as in the case of Gothic, an alphabet first had to be
created.21

The importance of these ancient versions for the New Testament textual
criticism is somewhat limited. None of the original manuscripts of the
versions is extant, and therefore existing manuscripts must be subjected to
textual criticism to determine the original text as nearly as possible. For
instance, Latin lacks the definite article, ‗the‘ and the Syriac cannot
distinguish between the aorist and perfect tenses. However the great
benefit of versional evidence is that it can show that a particular reading
was known in the place and time of the version‘s origin.22
6.3. PATRISTIC QUOTATIONS
Early Christian writers frequently quoted the New Testament in their
writings and sermons, often at length, and many wrote commentary on it.
Together these constitute another important sources of information about
the New testament text. 23 In fact it has been said that if all the New
Testament manuscripts were destroyed, the text of the New Testament
could still be restored from the quotations made by the church fathers. As
in the case of versions, however, caution must be noted when using

21
Holmes, ―Textual Criticism,‖…, 105.
22
Black, New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide…, 23.
23
Holmes, ―Textual Criticism,‖…, 105.
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patristic citations. It is often difficult to tell whether a scriptural test is
being quoted directly or being alluded to.24
7. PRINCIPLES FOR ESTABLISHING ORIGINAL READING
7.1. EXTERNAL EVIDENCE
Four basic factors to consider when evaluating external evidence (i.e. the
evidence provided by the manuscripts and other witnesses themselves) are:
1. The relative date of the witnesses (does the earlier evidence support one
variant more than the others? Are some variants without any early
support? Or do all the readings have early support?); 2. The geographic
distribution of the witnesses (generally the broader the geographic
distribution of the supporting witnesses the higher the probability that the
variant may be original, assuming that remote witnesses are otherwise not
related); the genealogical relationship among the manuscripts (one must
determine whether the Manuscript supporting a variant represent a variety
of text-type; also, once the reading of the text-type has been established,
the addition of large numbers of additional witnesses of the same text-type
does not appreciably affect matters) and 4. The relative quality of
witnesses.25
7.2. INTERNAL EVIDENCE
Internal evidence involves both transcriptional probabilities (having to do
with the habits and practices of scribes) and intrinsic probabilities (having
to do with the author‘s style and vocabulary).
8. MODERN APPROACHES TO NEW TESTAMENT TEXTUAL
CRITICISM
Modern scholars of New Testament gratefully acknowledged the
contributions of the Cambridge Triumvirate, namely, Frenton John
Anthony Hort, Joseph Barber Lightfoot and Brooke Foss Wrstcott with
regard to text critical studies. William Baird evaluates the contributions of
Hort and Westcott in the following manner:
Hort and Westcott advocate a plurality of methods, used in the
concert. Beginning with the internal evidence, these scholars analyse
24
Black, New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide…, 24.
25
Holmes, ―Textual Criticism,‖ 114.
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 the text itself, attempting to ascertain the most probable reading…
Westcott and Hart believe the text critic must analyse the document
as a whole to determine how variants are related to the entire
document.26
Four approaches to textual criticism can be seen among New Testament
scholars. Each of the four current approaches may be identified with
individual scholars. The four approaches are: Radical Eclecticism,
Reasoned Eclecticism, Reasoned Conservatism and Radical Conservatism.
8.1. RADICAL ECLECTICISM (G. D. KILPATRICK, J.K. ELLIOT)
Radical eclecticism holds to what may be called purely eclectic text. This
approach prefers a text based solely on internal evidence. Adherents of this
view argue that since history of the New Testament text is untraceable, one
of the text type carries any weight. Hence the reading of any manuscript
may be original, since no manuscript or group of manuscript is ‗best‘. An
eclectic scholar will thus choose the reading that commends itself as best
fitting the context, whether in style or in thought.27
8.2. REASONED ECLECTICISM (B.M. METZGER, K. ALAND)
Reasoned eclecticism holds that the text of the New Testament is to be
based on both internal and external evidence, without a preference for any
particular manuscript or text type. This view of the text is represented in
the Nestle-Aland and United Bible Societies‘ Greek New Testaments. This
approach often represents a predilection for manuscripts of the
Alexandrian text type. This preference is based largely on Westcott and
Hort‘s theory that the Byzantine text is a conflation of the Alexandrian and
Western texts, and that the superiority of the Alexandrian text over the
western text can be shown through internal evidence. This approach is
being criticized for producing a new ‗Textus Receptus‘ – a canonized form
of the New Testament.28

26
C. I. David Joy, Hermeneutics: Foundations and New Trends A Postcolonial Reading of John 4 (New Delhi: ISPCK,
2012), 19.
27
Black, New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide…, 37.
28
Black, New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide…, 37.
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 8.3. REASONED CONSERVATISM (H. A. STURZ)
What might be called Reasoned Conservatism holds that each of the main
text types is equally early and independent, going back separately into the
second century. Like reasoned eclecticism, reasoned conservatism sees
both the internal and external evidence as useful. However, unlike
reasoned eclecticism, which tends to follow the Alexandrian text, reasoned
conservatism insists that no single text type can be preferred over all others
and instead emphasizes the geographical distribution of text types. The
adherents of this view consider the Byzantine text type to be an early and
independent witness to the text of the New Testament. They are being
criticized for restoring the Byzantine text (which many feel to be ‗corrupt‘)
to a place of usefulness.29
8.4. RADICAL CONSERVATISM (Z. HODGES, A. FARSTAD)
This approach holds that the Byzantine text type most closely
approximates the original text of the New Testament. Scholars hold to this
view prefer the reading of the majority of manuscripts, which are of
course, mainly Byzantine. This approach has been criticized for being too
mechanical and for ignoring the fact that manuscripts must be weighed and
not just counted.30
9. CONCLUSION
It is learnt that, it is a difficult task to reconstruct the original texts of the
New Testament manuscripts as the autographs have already been lost.
What we have is a thousand varieties of copies each variant from all of the
other kind. It may be a never ending quest which would be very hard to
give a solution. The approaches applied are all hypothetical and are not
very helpful in determining the original wording of the manuscripts or
texts. Because the original was lost, it is important to do textual criticism,
had the autographs not been lost there would be no need to do textual
criticism.

29
Black, New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide…, 38.
30
Black, New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide…, 39.
9
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Black, David Alan. New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide.
Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994.
Epp, Eldon Jay. ―Textual Criticism (NT).‖ Anchor Bible Dictionary,
Vollume 6. Doubleday Dell Publishing House, 1992.
Greenlee, J. Harold. Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism.
Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1995.
Holmes, Michael W. ―Text Criticism, NT.‖ The New Interpreter’s
Dictionary of the Bible, Volume 5. Abingdon Press, 2009.
———. ―Textual Criticism.‖ In New Testament Criticism and
Interpretation, edited by David S. Black, David Alan and Dockery.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991.
Joy, C. I. David. Hermeneutics: Foundations and New Trends A
Postcolonial Reading of John 4. New Delhi: ISPCK, 2012.

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