Theme: The Biblical texts have been copied and preserved in such a manner
that we can be confident that our Bibles accurately reflect the original Biblical
writings and are thus the Word of God.
I.
Introduction and Review
A. Strange notes in the NIV (and other versions)
1. Genesis 4:8 footnote – “Samaritan Pentateuch,
Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text
does not have “Let’s go out to the field.”
2. John 7:53-8:11 Note – “The earliest manuscripts
and many other ancient witnesses do not have
John 7:53-8:11.”
3. What do they mean by these notes? What are
these different versions and manuscripts, and
why do they differ?
B. We have discussed inspiration and canonization
1. Inspiration – God revealed His word through
certain humans in specific writings
2. Canonization – recognized which writings had
been inspired by God and therefore should guide
the life and doctrine of the church
3. The next step is transmission – making copies of
the writings which had been inspired
a. The texts had to be copied so that they could be
disseminated – so that a lot of people could read
them
b. The texts also had to be copied so that the
document would not be lost, since the original
would not last forever.
C. Key questions in this study
1. How were copies of the Biblical writings made?
2. How many copies of the Biblical writings do we
have?
3. How old are the copies we have of the Biblical
writings?
4. Are there differences between any of the copies?
5. If there are differences, how do we decide which
are the better copies (closer to what was actually
written in the original document)?
II.
Introduction to Textual Transmission and
Criticism
A. Textual transmission – how texts were copied
1. In the ancient world there were no copy machines
or computers – everything was done by hand.
2. Generally this was done by professional scribes
or by monks, who labored for hours on end to
hand copy manuscripts from previous copies.
3. Although great care was taken to protect against
error, inevitably some changes crept in to the
manuscripts over time. The most common
reasons for changes were:
a. Confusion over similar letters (h
x k b r
d x t) – incorrectly read a letter and write
down the incorrect letter.
b. Wrong division of words – words were often
written with little or no space between words in
order to save space – GODISNOWHERE – is it
‘God is now here’ or ‘God is no where’? (See
picture of NT manuscript – all capitals, with no
space or punctuation).
c. Wrong assignment of vowels (Hebrew only) –
Hebrew was written with no vowels, and when
translated the wrong vowel may have been
assumed, which could change the word
rb;D'
(
speech)
= to speak;
rb'D' – word,
d. Missed or doubled letters or words – miss a letter
or word, or write a letter or word twice, usually due
to similar word beginnings or endings; if at the end
of a line, and entire line might be skipped
e. Copying from memory instead of the manuscript,
especially if the verse has a parallel in another
passage of Scripture
f.
Intentional changes by scribes
-
To correct grammar or spelling
-
To harmonize with a parallel passage
-
To make the text easier to understand
-
To “correct” perceived theological difficulties
4. The other key issue is the deterioration of
manuscripts over time. The oldest manuscripts
are often quite fragmentary, faded, and difficult to
read. Furthermore, to save precious parchment,
words often had little or no space between them.
B. Textual criticism
1. Textual criticism – the process of evaluating the
various manuscripts presently available in order
to determine the reading which is closest to the
original text.
2. We want to know what Moses, Paul, Peter, etc.
actually wrote, and textual criticism is the process
that helps us to determine that.
3. IMPORTANT: Remember that although there are
many variations in the text of the OT and NT, they
are mainly relatively minor, and NO major
doctrine is affected by these variations.
III.
The Manuscripts of the Old Testament
A. The Masoretic Text
1. The basis of most Hebrew texts today.
2. The Masoretes were Jewish scribes who copied
the Hebrew text from approximately 500AD to
1100AD.
3. The Masoretes added vowels to the Hebrew text
– until this time vowels had been pronounced but
never written.
4. The Leningrad Codex (circa 1000 AD) is a
Masoretic text that is the basis of the BHS – the
most popular Hebrew text in use today.
5. These texts were meticulously maintained, even
to the point of copying what was actually written
(the kethiv – what is written) even if it was not
what the Masoretes actually thought was correct
and read in synagogue (qere – what is read).
6. However, the texts are over 1500 years distant
from the original manuscripts.
B. The Dead Sea Scrolls
1. Discovered at Wadi Qumran in the 1940’s and
1950’s.
2. Contained both Biblical and extra-biblical writings,
and were made between 250 BC and 70 AD.
3. Comprised of hundreds of thousands of
fragments from over 800 manuscripts.
4. Contain fragments of every OT book except for
Esther, along with a lot of other religious books,
and community rules. The biblical books most
often found in the fragments are (in order)
Psalms, Deuteronomy, Genesis, and Isaiah.
5. The Isaiah scroll contains the entire book of
Isaiah, and was made around 100 BC.
6. This gives a look at the Hebrew text 1000 years
prior to the Masoretic texts presently in use.
7. Although there have been some differences
found, in large part these have been minor, and
show the great accuracy that was maintained in
the transmission of the Hebrew text.
C. The Septuagint (LXX)
1. A Greek translation of the OT and the Apocrypha
that was probably made circa 250-200 BC.
2. Tradition said it was made by 70 translators,
hence the name Septuagint (LXX).
3. The type of translation varies from book to book –
some are quite literal, while others are much
more loose.
4. Sometimes the Septuagint is missing portions of
text, and sometimes it has portions not found in
the Masoretic Text.
5. The Septuagint was used by much of the early
Church, since they could not read Hebrew but
could read Greek.
6. Many of the OT quotations in the NT are clearly
from the Septuagint.
D. The Samaritan Pentateuch
1. Samaritans separated from the larger Jewish
community sometime after the exile but before
the time of Christ (between 586 BC and 0 BC).
2. The Samaritans only accepted the Pentateuch as
canonical, and they preserved their own version.
3. This version has many differences from the
Masoretic text, some of which can be traced to
changes made by the Samaritans due to their
own doctrinal distinctives, but in some cases the
Samaritan Pentateuch is closer to the LXX or the
Dead Sea Scrolls than the Masoretic Text.
E. Other important versions and sources
1. Aramaic targums – loose translations into
Aramaic, along with commentaries at times.
2. Syriac Peshitta – very old translation into Syriac
which was used in Syriac church.
3. Quotes by Church Fathers – these show the OT
text that they were using at the time and can give
insight into the ancient versions they had
available, especially the LXX.
F. Textual criticism of the OT manuscripts
1. In general, the Masoretic text is the default text
2. The other texts are consulted, but only followed
against the Masoretic Text in unusual
circumstances
3. Note: The Eastern Orthodox Church only uses
the Septuagint; they consider it the true version of
the OT text.
IV.
The Manuscripts of the New Testament
A. Our rich deposit of NT manuscripts
1. We have over 6000 manuscripts, codices, or
portions of the NT writings – Homer’s Iliad only
has 650 manuscripts or portions!
2. The typical time lapse between the writing and
the oldest known manuscript for most works of
Greek literature is around 800 years, yet we have
manuscripts of most of the NT within
approximately 100 years of the original writing.
3. These NT manuscripts and codices can contain
anywhere from a few verses, to entire books or
collections of books, to even the entire NT.
B. Some important early fragments, papyri, and codices
1. P52 – John 18:31-34, 37-38 – circa 110-125
2. P46 (Chester Beatty Papyrus II) – all of Paul
epistles except the pastoral epistles – circa 150
3. Codex Sinaiticus – also known as a or aleph –
whole NT – circa 350
4. Codex Vaticanus – also known as B – Mathew
through Hebrews 9:15 – circa 325
C. Major groups of NT manuscripts
1. The Byzantine text (Majority text)
a. Text maintained by Byzantine (Eastern) church
b. Basis of Textus Receptus and all early Greek texts
of the Renaissance
c. Greatest number of manuscripts by far
2. The Alexandrian text
a. Produced by Alexandrian scribes
b. Not widely know of until 19th century
c. Most scholars think these texts are the oldest we
have, but fewer of these texts were made and
survived (Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus are the
two main Alexandrian texts)
D. Textual criticism of the New Testament manuscripts
1. Most text critics consider the older Alexandrian
text family to be the most reliable. It is the basis
of most modern Greek texts and English
translations.
2. Some scholars disagree and prefer the
Byzantine/Majority text and use this for their
translations (mainly the King James and New
King James versions).
3. Virtually all modern translations consult both text
families and note any major differences in
footnotes.
V.
Conclusion
A. We can have great confidence in the Biblical texts that
we have
1. We have an incredible number of manuscripts
available today
2. We also have a great number of early translations
and quotes that help us know the text that the early
church used
3. The manuscripts we have are very early for ancient
texts
4. Even where there are differences, they do not affect
any major doctrine
B. Our confidence that we have God’s Word
1. “Finally, it must be said that, although there are
certainly differences in many of the New Testament
manuscripts, not one fundamental doctrine of the
Christian faith rests on a disputed reading.” – Philip
Comfort, The Origin of the Bible, 189.
2. “The Christian can take the whole Bible in his hand
and say without fear or hesitation that he holds in it
the true Word of God, handed down without
essential loss from generation to generation
throughout the centuries.” - Frederick Kenyon,
renowned paleographer and textual critic, quoted in
The Origin of the Bile, 189.