New Testament Manuscripts
Copyright by Norman L. Geisler 2008
Outline
I. The Names of NT Mss.
II. The Number of NT Mss.
III. The Nature of NT Mss.
Outline
I. The Names of NT Mss.
52
John Ryland Fragment (P )
Earliest NT Ms. (A.D. 117-138)
John 18:31-33, 37-38
Bodmer Papyri
Dated: c. 200 A.D.
Housed: Geneva
Contents: Luke, John
66 75
(P, P, 1 & 2 Peter &
72
Jude P )
Value: Earliest copy
of an Epistle and a
Gospel (only 100+
years from the
original Gospel.
Chester Beatty Papyri
Dated: c. 250 A.D.
Housed: Dublin
Contents: Most of NT
Value: Earliest copy of
most of the NT
Symbols: P, 45P,46P 47
Codex Vaticanus
Date: A. D. 325-350
Contents: Most of
the OT and most
of the NT
Value: Has NT and
Greek OT (LXX)
Housed: Rome
Symbol: B
Codex Sinaiticus
Date: A. D. 340
Contents: Half of
OT and almost
all of NT
Value: One of the
oldest and most
accurate mss.
Housed: Leipzig,
Germany
Symbol: ‫( א‬Aleph)
Codex Alexandrinus
Date: A.D. 450
Contents: Almost
all of OT and
most of NT
(plus some
Apocrypha)
Housed: British
Museum
Symbol: A
Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus
• Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus
Contents: Part of OT and most of NT
Date: A.D. 345
Housed: Paris
Symbol: C
Codex Bezae
Date: A.D. 450 (or 550)
Contents: Most of NT
(in Greek and Latin)
Housed: Cambridge
University
Value: Oldest known
bilingual ms. of NT
Symbol: D
Outline
I. The Names of NT Mss.
II. The Number of NT Mss.
Reliability of NT Documents
# Manuscript Copies
25
New Testament
5686
500
643
Homer
1400
Demonsthenes
200
1400
Herodotus
Plato
Tacitus
Caesar
Time Gap in Years
8
1200
7
1000
20
1000
10
750
Pliny
7
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
Total Number of Manuscripts
Greek:
5,700
Latin:
10,000+
Ethiopic 2,000+
Slavic
4,000+
Armenian 2,500+
Others
500+
Total
25,000 mss.
Total Number of Early Citations
EARLY CITATIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
Writer
Gospels
Justin Martyr
268
Irenaeus
Clement Alex.
Origen
Tertullian
Hippolytus
Eusebius
Grand Totals
1,038
1,017
9,231
3,822
734
3,258
19,368
Acts
10
194
44
349
502
42
211
1,352
Pauline
Epistles
43
499
1,127
7,778
2,609
387
1,592
14,035
General
Epistles
6
23
207
399
120
27
88
870
Revelation
Totals
3
(266 allusions)
65
11
165
205
188
27
664
This includes every verse in the NT except 11!
330
1,819
2,406
17,922
7,258
1,378
5,176
36,289
Outline
I. The Names of NT Mss.
II. The Number of NT Mss.
III. The Nature of NT Mss.
III. The Nature of NT Mss.
A. Known from Comparative Studies
(Psa. 18 cf. 2 Sam. 22)
B. Known from Scribal Practices
C. Known from Bible Translations
D. Known from Textual Criticism
The Testimony of the Scrolls
There are Earlier NT manuscripts
New Testament
35—150+ yr. gap
Most Other Books
c. 1000 yr. gap
John Ryland--117 A.D.--five verses from John 18:31-33; 37-38
Bodmer Papyri--200 A.D.--most of Luke, John, 1&2 Peter &Jude
Chester Beaty Papyri--250 A.D.--nearly all the NT books
Vaticanus Manuscript--325-50 A.D.--most of OT and NT
The Testimony of the Scrolls
Noted Ms. Expert: Sir. Frederick Kenyon
“The interval between the dates of original
composition and the earliest extant evidence
becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the
last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures
have come down substantially as they were written
has now been removed. Both the authenticity and
the general integrity of the books of the New
Testament may be regarded as finally established”
(Kenyon, Bible and Archaeology, 288)
The Testimony of the Scrolls
Sir Frederick Kenyon’s Testimony
“The number of mss. of the New Testament, of
early translations from it, and of quotations from
it in the oldest writers of the Church, is so large
that it is practically certain that the true reading
of every doubtful passage is preserved in some one
or the other of these ancient authorities. This can
be said of no other book in the world” (Our Bible
and the Ancient Manuscripts, 55).
The Number of Variant Readings
1. In 1707 John Mill estimated about 30,000
variants in the known New Testament
manuscripts.
2. By 1874, F. H. A. Scrivener counted nearly
50,000 variants.
3. To date there are over 200,000 known variants,
and this figure will no doubt increase some in
the future as more manuscripts are
discovered.
4. But these variants represent only 10,000
places in the New Testament.
5. If one single word is spelled differently in
3,000 different manuscripts, it is counted as
3,000 variants or readings.
Percent of Accuracy of the NT
Westcott and Hort estimated that only about onesixtieth rise above “trivialities” and can be called
“substantial variations.” It is 98.33 percent pure.
Ezra Abbott said about 9/20 (95 percent) of the
readings are “various” rather than “rival”
readings, and about 9/20 (95 percent) of the rest
make no appreciable difference in the sense of the
passage. Thus the text is 99.75 percent pure.
A.T. Robertson said the real concern is with about a
“thousandth part of the entire text.” So, the
reconstructed text of the New Testament 99.9
percent free from real concern.
B.Philip Schaff estimated that of the 150,000
variations known, only 400 affected the sense;
and of those only 50 were of real significance; and
of these not one affected “an article of faith….”
What if you received this
message?
"Y#U HAVE WON TEN MILLION
DOLLARS"
Would you collect the money?
What if you received this
message?
”Y#U HAVE WON TEN MILLION DOLLARS"
"YO# HAVE WON TEN MILLION DOLLARS“
Now you are even more sure!
If you received this message,
you would have no doubt!
"Y#U HAVE WON TEN MILLION
DOLLARS"
"YO# HAVE WON TEN MILLION
DOLLARS"
"YOU #AVE WON TEN MILLION
Note:
DOLLARS"
•
•
•
Even with mistakes, 100% of the message
comes through.
The more errors, the more sure you are of
the message.
The Bible has less copy errors than this.
Are These Three Messages
Different?
1. YOU HAVE WON TEN MILLION DOLLARS
2. THOU HAST WON 10 MILLION DOLLARS
3. Y’ALL HAVE WON $10,000,000
Note:
•
•
•
•
Of 27 letters in line 2 only 5 are in the words
in line 3 (i.e., 18.5 %), yet the message is
identical.
They are different in form but not in content.
Even with the differences, 100% of the
message comes through.
Many NT manuscript variations are of this
NT Compared with Other Ancient Books
1. The Mahābhārata of India has suffered even
more corruption. It is about eight times the size
of the Iliad and the Odyssey together, roughly
250,000 lines. Of these, some 26,000 lines have
textual corruptions (10 percent). Thus, it is only
90% pure.
2. Homer’s Iliad: Only 40 lines (or about 400 words)
of the New Testament are in doubt, whereas 764
lines of the Iliad are questioned. Thus, the Iliad is
only 95% pure.
3. The NT has one-half of 1 percent similar variants.
That would make it 99.5% pure.
(Bruce Metzger, Chapters in the History of NT
Textual Criticism).
The Testimony of the Scrolls
There are Better NT Manuscripts
The NT
Most Other Books
99.9% accuracy 90-95% accuracy
The Marabharata---------90% accuracy
Iliad of Homer-------------95% accuracy
The New Testament------99.9% accuracy
Problem: No Original Mss.
Why Did God not Preserve the Original?
Possible Answers:
1. It may have been worshiped (cf. 2Kgs. 18:4).
2. It may have been corrupted.
A. the custodian would have the power to
change it and control God’s Word.
B. No one can control 5700 copies all over the
world.
Conclusion
• Only the original text is without any
error.
• The reconstructed Greek text is
without any substantial error.
• The major translations are without
any doctrinal error.
Outline
I. The Names of NT Mss.
II. The Number of NT Mss.
III. The Nature of NT Mss.
IV. A Debate on NT Mss.
NT Manuscripts in Dead Sea Find?
A. Jose O’Callaghan Says Yes.
Mark 4:28
Mark 6:48
Mark 6:52,53
Mark 12:17
Acts 27:38
Romans 5:11,12 7Q9
1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1-3
2 Peter 1:15
7Q6.1
7Q15
7Q5
7Q7
7Q6.2
c. A.D. 50
c. A.D. 50
c. A.D. 50
c A.D. 50
c. A.D. 60
c A. D. 50-60
7Q4
c. A.D. 100
7Q10
c. A.D. 60
James 1:23, 24
7Q8
c. .D. 50-70
(From Vanderkam, Dead Sea Scrolls, 312)
He used accepted scholarly methods of papyrology and
paleography on previously “unidentified” fragments of
“biblical texts” from Cave 7 to come to his conclusions.
Fragment from Mark 6:52-53?
(7Q5)
Translated into English
Fragment from 1 Tim. 3? (7Q4)
Fragment from Mark 4:28? (7Q6)
B. Some Reactions to O’Callaghan
The New York Times: "If Father O'Callaghan's
theory is accepted it would prove that at least
one of the gospels--that of St.Mark--was
written only a few years after the death of
Jesus."
UPI: It concluded that "...the people closest to
the events--Jesus' original followers--found
Mark's report accurate and trustworthy, not
myth but true history" (ibid., 137).
Time magazine: If true, "they can make a
bondfire of 70 tons of indigestible German
scholarship" (cited by Estranda, 136).
Critics: Some agree and many
disagree.
Many object to his identification and
have tried to find other possibilities
like apocryphal 1 Enoch (see
Vanderkam, chap. 14) for some
fragments (e.g., 4, 8, 12, & 14).
Some agree, and even Vanderkam
admits that it is “feasible” that they
contain NT pieces (ibid., 320).
C. Some Conclusions
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1. The fragmentary nature of the mss. makes it difficult to
be dogmatic about their true identification.
2. Nonetheless, O'Callaghan has offered a plausible,
albeit revolutionary, possibility. If true,-a. It shows Mark was written within the life time of the
apostles.
b. This early date leaves no time for mythological
embellishment.
c. Mark was one of the earlier Gospels.
d. The NT was “published” during the life time of the writers.
e. It reveals an early NT canon with books from every
major section.
f. The ms. of 2 Peter argues for its authenticity.
g. The absence of John may indicate a later date (A.D. 8090).