Textual Criticism
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And the Goal of New Testament Textual Criticism
RECONSTRUCTING THE TEXT OF THE CHURCH: THE “CANONICAL TEXT” AND THE GOAL OF NEW TESTAMENT TEXTUAL CRITICISM by DAVID RICHARD HERBISON A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Master of Arts in Biblical Studies We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard ............................................................................... Dr. Kent Clarke, Ph.D.; Thesis Supervisor ................................................................................ Dr. Craig Allert, Ph.D.; Second Reader TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY December 2015 © David Richard Herbison ABSTRACT Over the last several decades, a number of scholars have raised questions about the feasibility of achieving New Testament textual criticism’s traditional goal of establishing the “original text” of the New Testament documents. In light of these questions, several alternative goals have been proposed. Among these is a proposal that was made by Brevard Childs, arguing that text critics should go about reconstructing the “canonical text” of the New Testament rather than the “original text.” However, concepts of “canon” have generally been limited to discussions of which books were included or excluded from a list of authoritative writings, not necessarily the specific textual readings within those writings. Therefore, any proposal that seeks to apply notions of “canon” to the goals and methods of textual criticism warrants further investigation. This thesis evaluates Childs’ -
Textual Criticism in the Old Testament
Textual Criticism In The Old Testament War-worn and squirarchical Wilfred perk while endowed Bryce lessen her iconoscopes angelically and flies questionably. Interfertile and hervillatic Yarborough. Woodrow navigating her lentigo labialise or enumerating aesthetic. Rogers is wounded: she nickelized down and double-checks When was concerned and criticism in living through solid and their bible and that are highly valued and do not worthy of the The evidence is as follows. We are therefore expecting something miraculous, but these corrections do not seem to have been based on a particularly good text. Wisdom of Solomon is invery good Greek. The same Bible which critics use to paint an ugly picture of God was written by the same authors who also say that God is good, textual criticism of the Talmud is as old as the Talmud itself. God to his audience in more subtle ways. It has become a major obstacle to Christian missions. One can therefore easily identify these copies as late. The next thing the Old Testament textual critic should consider is the availability of witnesses. For the Vulgate see this edition published by the German Bible Society. This is the overall site. Finally, methodology, thousands of years. Those who copied the Bible in antiquity were people just like us. Loose quotations, can make mistakes. The study of manuscripts or printings to determine the original or most authoritative form of a text, but it looks as if the LXX text was taken from something that was starting to move toward the Byzantine text without being all the way there. -
The Contributions of Textual Criticism to the Interpretation of the New Testament
Restoration Quarterly Volume 5 | Number 4 Article 2 10-1-1961 The onC tributions of Textual Criticism to the Interpretation of the New Testament Frank Pack Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/restorationquarterly Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons, History of Christianity Commons, Liturgy and Worship Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, Practical Theology Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Pack, Frank (1961) "The onC tributions of Textual Criticism to the Interpretation of the New Testament," Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 5 : No. 4 , Article 2. Available at: https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/restorationquarterly/vol5/iss4/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ ACU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Restoration Quarterly by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ ACU. RESTORATION QUARTERLY CONTENTS An Introduction : Th e Task and Method of Ex egesis -Abraham J . Malh erbe ...................................................... .......... 169 Th e Contributions of Textu al Criticism t o th e Inte rpret ation of th e New Testa ment-F ran k Pack ......................................... 179 Th e Lan guage Backgro und of the New Testam ent-J . W. Rober ts 193 Th e Psych ological App roac h to Int er pret ation-Paul Sou thern .... 205 Th e J ewish Background of the New Testament-J ack P. La wis .. 209 Th e Pagan Back gro und of th e New Testam ent - Roy Bowen Wa r d ........................................................................ 216 Patri stic Int er pretat ion of th e Bible-William M. -
2015-Academic.Pdf
American Schools of Oriental Research | 2015 Annual Meeting November 18–21 | Atlanta, Georgia Academic Program 2015 ASOR Annual Meeting WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015 1B Remembering Sharon Zuckerman: The Southern Levant in the Bronze and Iron Ages 7:00–8:15pm Windsor B Plenary Address Theme: Dr. Sharon Zuckerman passed away at the end of November 2014, in the midst of her life. Sharon was a brilliant researcher and a Venetian Ballroom talented archaeologist. This session is dedicated to her memory and works. Susan E. Alcock (Brown University), “Stepping It Up (Like a Ziggurat): The Place of ASOR in the 21st Century?” CHAIR: Shlomit Bechar (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Presiding PRESENTERS: 8:15–10:00pm 8:20 Introduction (5 min.) 8:25 Matthew J. Adams (W. F. Albright Institute of Opening Reception Archaeological Research), “The Archaeology of Windsor C & Pre-Function Abandonment at EB I–II Megiddo” (15 min.) 8:45 Shlomit Bechar (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), “The Late Bronze Age Administrative Palace at Tel Hazor” (15 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015 min.) 9:05 Jesse Millek (Universität Tübingen), “Destruction 8:20–10:25am and Egyptian Hegemony in the Southern Levant: An Examination of ‘Egyptian’ Sites Destroyed at the End of the Late Bronze Age” (15 min.) 1A The History of Archaeology Windsor A 9:25 Jennie Ebeling (University of Evansville) and Danny Rosenberg (University of Haifa), “Late Bronze Age and Iron Age Basalt Vessel Industries at Hazor: Is There a CHAIR: Danielle Steen Fatkin (Knox College), Presiding Connection?” (15 min.) PRESENTERS: 9:45 Ayelet Gilboa (University of Haifa), Ilan Sharon (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), and Paula Waiman-Barak 8:20 Joseph Greene (Harvard University), “David Gordon Lyon (University of Haifa), “Contextualizing the Wenamun and the Beginnings of ‘Biblical Archaeology’ at Harvard” Report: Dor and Egypt in the Early Iron Age” (15 min.) (20 min.) 10:05 Irene J. -
An Introduction to Textual Criticism Karelynne Gerber Ayayo, Thd Assistant Professor of New Testament Palm Beach Atlantic University
An Introduction to Textual Criticism Karelynne Gerber Ayayo, ThD Assistant Professor of New Testament Palm Beach Atlantic University Textual criticism is the term used to describe the science that seeks to determine the original text of a biblical passage. For those who wish to interpret the Bible properly, it is important to determine and work with the text that the biblical author actually wrote! Textual criticism is a necessary discipline within biblical studies because the original manuscripts of the biblical texts no longer exist. That is, we do not have Paul’s handwritten letter to the Romans or the pages that Malachi penned to record his prophecies. Instead, copies of copies (of copies) of the biblical texts have been passed down. However, when these extant manuscript copies are compared with one another, they do not always have the same wording. Rather, they betray differences, which are referred to as textual variants or textual corruptions. Many English editions of the Bible note the existence of major textual variants in a footnote. For instance, the salutation to 1 Thessalonians that appears in the body of the NIV text reads, “Grace and peace to you” (1 Thess. 1:1b). However, the associated footnote indicates that some of the manuscripts of 1 Thessalonians have a longer greeting: “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ” Although textual criticism is viewed as a science, its results are based on probabilities rather than certainties. By carefully comparing the ancient, hand-copied manuscripts of the biblical text that have been found, textual criticism attempts to determine which variant, or reading , most closely approximates the original. -
Integrating Textual Criticism in the Study of Early Mormon Texts and History
Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies Volume 10 Number 1 Fall 2019 Article 6 2019 Returning to the Sources: Integrating Textual Criticism in the Study of Early Mormon Texts and History Colby Townsend Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/imwjournal Recommended Citation Townsend, Colby "Returning to the Sources: Integrating Textual Criticism in the Study of Early Mormon Texts and History." Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies 10, no. 1 (2019): 58-85. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/imwjournal/vol10/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TOWNSEND: RETURNING TO THE SOURCES 1 Colby Townsend {[email protected]} is currently applying to PhD programs in early American literature and religion. He completed an MA in History at Utah State University under the direction of Dr. Philip Barlow. He previously received two HBA degrees at the University of Utah in 2016, one in compartibe Literary and Culture Studies with an emphasis in religion and culture, and the other in Religious Studies—of the latter, his thesis was awarded the marriot Library Honors Thesis Award and is being revised for publication, Eden in the Book of Mormon: Appropriation and Retelling of Genesis 2-4 (Kofford, forthcoming). 59 INTERMOUNTAIN WEST JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES Colby Townsend† Returning to the Sources: Integrating Textual Criticism in the Study of Early Mormon Texts and History As historians engage with literary texts, they should ask a few important questions. -
A Proto-Canaanite (Early Alphabetic) Inscription
The Jerubba‘al Inscription from Khirbet al-Ra‘i: A Proto-Canaanite (Early Alphabetic) Inscription Christopher Rollston1, Yosef Garfinkel2, Kyle H. Keimer3, Gillan Davis4, Saar Ganor5 1 George Washington University [email protected] 2 Hebrew University of Jerusalem [email protected] 3 Macquarie University, Sydney [email protected] 4 Macquarie University, Sydney [email protected] 5 Israel Antiquities Authority [email protected] Abstract This article presents a Proto-Canaanite inscription written in ink on a jug. It was unearthed in 2019 at Khirbet al-Ra‘i, located 4 km west of Tel Lachish, in a level dated to the late twelfth or early eleventh century BCE. Only part of the inscription had survived, with five letters indicating the personal name Yrb‘l (Jerubba‘al). This name also appears in the biblical tradition, more or less in the same era: “[Gideon] from that day was called Yrb‘l” (Judg. 6:31–32). This inscription, together with similar inscriptions from Beth-Shemesh and Khirbet Qeiyafa, contributes to a better understanding of the distribution of theophoric names with the element ba‘al in the eleventh–tenth centuries BCE in Judah. KEYWORDS: Proto-Canaanite inscription, Jerubba‘al, Khirbet al-Ra‘i Christopher Rollston, Yosef Garfinkel, Kyle H. Keimer, Gillan Davis and Saar Ganor, 2021. The Jerubba‘al Inscription from Khirbet al-Ra‘i: A Proto-Canaanite (Early Alphabetic) Inscription. Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology 2: 1–15. ISSN: 2788-8819; https://doi.org/10.52486/01.00002.1; https://jjar.huji.ac.il 1 Rollston et al. -
The Tel Zayit Abecedary and Putative Evidence for Israelite Literacy
00-Tappy-Tel_Zayit.book Page 61 Saturday, September 13, 2008 10:23 AM The Phoenician Script of the Tel Zayit Abecedary and Putative Evidence for Israelite Literacy Christopher A. Rollston Emmanuel School of Religion, a Graduate Seminary Literacy: Ancient and Modern The definition of literacy for antiquity (and modernity) is the subject of substantial debate. Some suggest that in “oral cultures” the capacity to use language (that is, the spoken word) in a functional or sophisticated man- ner constitutes literacy. However, some wish to argue that literacy is a term that is to be understood as referring to the ability to read and write texts. Occasionally, there are those who propose that functional literacy be de- fined as just the capacity to write one’s name. The United Nations Educa- tional Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has produced the following minimalist definition for the contemporary period: “Literacy is the ability to read and write with understanding a simple statement related to one’s daily life. It involves a continuum of reading and writing skills, and often includes also basic arithmetic skills (numeracy).”1 The bibliography for the subject of literacy in antiquity (and modernity) is vast and varied.2 For the southern Levant during antiquity, (1) I propose the following as a working description of literacy: substantial facility in a writing system, that is, the ability to write and read, using and understanding a standard script, a standard orthography, a standard numeric system, conventional formatting and terminology, and with minimal errors (of composition or comprehension). Moreover, I maintain that the capacity to scrawl one’s name on a contract, but without the ability to write or read anything else 1. -
Textual Criticism, Assimilation and the Synoptic Gospels
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE TEXTUAL CRITICISM, ASSIMILATION AND THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS The main object of textual criticism is to establish as accurately as pos- [231] sible a text approximating to the original words of the original authors. As far as the text of the synoptic gospels is concerned, one of the main problems in establishing the text is the amount of cross-fertilization in the MSS whenever the gospels are in parallel. Scribes were prone to assimilate the gospel they were copying to a parallel text in another gospel. Professor Bruce Metzger in the companion volume1 to the third edition of the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament shows on numerous occasions how the committee responsible for produc- ing that text were aware of the problem of assimilation. As far as the gospel of Mark is concerned, Metzger explains that the committee claimed that harmonization was a contributory or a major factor in dismissing at least one of the secondary readings in each of the fol- lowing verses: Mark 1:8 (bis), 11, 27, 29, 34, 39; 2:5, 9, 16, 22 (bis), 26; 3:16; 5:1, 36, 42; 6:3, 39; 7:24, 28; 8:10, 15, 16 (bis), 38; 10:2, 19, 34, 40, 46; 11:22, 24, 26; 14:4, 5, 20, 24, 25, 30 (bis), 41, 65, 72 (bis); 15:10, [12], 25 (bis), 28, 34 (bis), 39. In general the UBS committee seem to have reached the correct decision on the above variants. It is a useful and valuable rule of thumb in textual criticism to accept as the original text the variant which makes parallel passages more dissimilar, and to explain the sec- ondary text as scribal harmonization. -
New Testament Textual Criticism the Application of Thoroughgoing Principles
New Testament Textual Criticism The Application of Thoroughgoing Principles Press SBL Supplements to Novum Testamentum Editors M. M. Mitchell D. P. Moessner Editorial Board L. Alexander, F. Bovon, C. Breytenbach J. K. Elliott, C. R. Holladay, M. J. J. Menken, J. Smit Sibinga, J. C. Thom, P. Trebilco Press Volume 137 SBL New Testament Textual Criticism The Application of Thoroughgoing Principles Essays on Manuscripts and Textual Variation J. K. Elliott Press SBL Press SBLAtlanta Copyright © 2010 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands This edition published under license from Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands by SBL Press. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or trans- mitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, includ- ing photocopying and recording, or by any means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the Publisher. Requests for per- mission should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Department, Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is grant- ed by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Elliott, J. K. (James Keith), author. New Testament textual criticism : the application of thoroughgoing principles / by J.K. Elliott. pages cm — (Supplements to Novum Testamentum ; volume 137) ISBN 978-1-62837-028-7 (paper binding : alk. -
Why New Testament Textual Criticism Matters: a Non-Critic's Perspective
Introduction x Why New Testament Textual Criticism Matters: A Non-Critic’s Perspective Robert B. Stewart thank God for text critics. Everyone who reads the New Testament owes them a debt. This is not merely an opinion, it is a fact—a fact Iof which many are blissfully unaware. The debt that readers of the New Testament who have no training in biblical languages owe trans- lators is obvious. But even those who can read the Bible in its original languages owe a debt to text critics. When I read from a modern edi- tion of the Greek New Testament, I am not reading the Greek New Testament but a Greek New Testament. In other words, I am reading an edited Greek New Testament, the product of multitudinous editorial decisions, all of which were made by New Testament textual critics. Both Bart Ehrman and Daniel B. Wallace are well aware of this debt. In fact, as text critics, they occupy a privileged position from which to appreciate this fact and thus understand the issues involved in the thousands of decisions that text critics make. And make no mis- take, New Testament text critics are faced with many more decisions than are critics of other ancient texts. This is because the New Testa- ment is the best-attested book of antiquity—by far. This is good news 1 2 THE RELIABILITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT for those interested in knowing about Jesus and early Christianity. But this preponderance of evidence also complicates things. Simply put, the more manuscripts one has of any text, the more textual variants one is likely to encounter—and every textual variant demands a deci- sion, a decision that will be made by a text critic. -
Textual Criticism in Indology and in European Philology During the 19Th and 20Th Centuries
Textual criticism in Indology and in European philology during the 19th and 20th centuries By Michael Witzel §1. Introduction: textual criticism §1.1. Renaissance and Classicism §1.2 A new stimulus: comparative linguistics §1.3. Philology §1.4. Manuscripts §1.5. Stemmatic method §1.6. Lectio difficilior §1.7. Contamination and its neglect § 2. Stemma and archetype outside classical European texts §2.1. 'Discovery' of India: Sanskrit texts and the European languages §2.2. Commentaries §2.3. Epic texts § 3 Other approaches to (non-)European texts §3.1. Extra-Classical use of textual criticism §3.2. Ethnology / Anthropology §3.3. Mutual influences § 4. Critique of the stemmatic method versus lack of critical editions in Indology §4.1 Criticism §4.2. Archetype §4.3. Abundance of Indian MSS § 5. Continuing usefulness of the stemmatic method §5.1. Recent finds of 2000-year-old MSS §5.2. The way forward in Indian textual studies: critical editions §5.3. Commentaries (again), variants and editing §5.4. Types of editions, their critique §5.5. Oral and written traditions §5.6. History of writing §5.7. The scribes §5.8. Commentary and other testimonials §5.9. Oral and musical traditions §5.10. Other necessary prerequisites for editing and interpreting texts § 6 Computer editing and stemma generation §6.1. Methods §6.2. Precursors §6.3. “New Stemmatics” § 7. Prospects Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies (EJVS), Vol. 21, 2014 Issue 3, p. 9-91 ©) ISSN1084–75613 http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com M. WITZEL -- TEXTUAL CRITICISM 10 ABSTRACT This paper discusses the post-enlightenment development of philology in Europe during the 19th-20th centuries, particularly in the German speaking areas.