What today’s Christian needs to know about The Greek New Testament What today’s Christian needs to know about The Greek New Testament ISBN 978 1 86228 028 1 © 1994, 2007 Trinitarian Bible Society William Tyndale House, 29 Deer Park Road London SW19 3NN, England What today’s Christian needs to know about The Greek New Testament In recent years there has been text is not important because most much confusion concerning modern people cannot read the Greek of translations and editions of the the New Testament era. However, Greek New Testament. Some the Greek text upon which a people make claims regarding the translation is based will have an Greek New Testament without impact both upon a Christian’s having information and facts to reading of Scripture devotionally support their claims. Many people and the proclaiming of the Word of claim that their translations are God in bearing witness to the accurate because those saving grace of Jesus Christ. It is translations are based upon the necessary that today’s Christian best available Greek texts. Some understands the importance of the claim that their translations are traditional Greek text in his better than the Authorised Version Christian life. because the Authorised Version and its underlying Greek Textus The Traditional Text Receptus add variants and extra readings to the text. Others, First of all it is necessary to however, claim that the Greek text understand what is meant by the of the New Testament is not term ‘traditional text’. During the important because their favourite 1st century following the translation is better that any Greek resurrection of Christ, God moved text. Still others say that the Greek men to pen His Word (2 Peter 1.21). 1 What today’s Christian needs to know about… The result was a group of letters slightly from one another but still and books, written in Koiné Greek are regarded as the same basic (called the ‘original autographs’). text. Certain editions were popular These letters and books were in different countries and provided copied and recopied throughout the the basis for New Testament centuries and distributed translations. The Textus Receptus throughout the world. These copies (as it later became known) was the comprise the manuscripts of the text used by Tyndale and in turn by New Testament. Over 5,000 of the translators of the English these Greek manuscripts have Authorised (King James) Version of survived to this day. The great 1611 and other Reformation era number of these Greek translations. manuscripts supports what is called the Byzantine textual The Critical Text tradition, Byzantine because it came from all over the Greek- During the 19th and 20th speaking world at that time. These centuries, however, another form of Byzantine manuscripts make up Greek New Testament has come what is called the Traditional Text into the forefront and is used for of the New Testament. The best most modern New Testament printed representation of this translations. This Critical Text, as it Byzantine text-type is the Textus is called, differs widely from the Receptus (or Received Text). In Traditional Text in that it omits addition to the manuscripts, we many words, verses and also have available many works in passages which are found in the which numerous Church Fathers Received Text and translations quoted from the manuscripts. The based upon it. work of John Burgon has established that the basic text The modern versions are based used by numerous Church Fathers mainly upon a Greek New is the same as the text now known Testament which was derived from as the Byzantine Text. a small handful of Greek manuscripts from the 4th century The Textus Receptus was onwards. Two of these manuscripts, compiled from a number of which many modern scholars claim Byzantine manuscripts by to be superior to the Byzantine, are numerous editors from the early the Sinai manuscript and the 1500s. There were editions from Vatican manuscript (c. 4th century). textual editors such as Erasmus, These are derived from a text type Stephens, Beza, the Elzevirs, Mill known as the Alexandrian text and Scrivener. These editions differ (because of its origin in Egypt); this 2 …The Greek New Testament text type was referred to by the are many words, verses and textual critics Westcott and Hort as passages which are omitted from the ‘Neutral text’. These two the modern versions but which are manuscripts form the basis of the found in the Traditional or Greek New Testament, referred to Byzantine Text of the New as the Critical Text, which has Testament, and thus in the Textus been in widespread use since the Receptus. The Critical Text differs late 19th century. In recent years from the Textus Receptus text there has been an attempt to 5,337 times, according to one improve this text by calling it an calculation. The Vatican manuscript ‘eclectic’ text (meaning that many omits 2,877 words in the Gospels; other manuscripts were consulted the Sinai manuscript 3,455 words in its editing and evolution), but it in the Gospels. These problems is still a text which has as its between the Textus Receptus and central foundation these two the Critical Text are very important manuscripts. to the correct translation and interpretation of the New Problems in the Critical Text Testament. Contrary to the contention of supporters of the There are many problems of Critical Text, these omissions do omission which characterise this affect doctrine and faith in the Greek New Testament. Verses and Christian life. passages which are found in the writings of Church Fathers from Several examples of doctrinal around AD 200 to 300 are missing problems caused by the omissions in the Alexandrian Text manuscripts of the Critical Text follow. This is by which date from around AD 300 to no means an exhaustive list. The 400. In addition, these early modern reconstructed Critical Text readings are found in manuscripts in existence from AD 500 onwards. I omits reference to the Virgin An example of this is Mark 16.9–20: Birth in Luke 2.33 this passage is found in the writings I omits reference to the deity of of Irenaeus and Hippolytus in the Christ in 1 Timothy 3.16 2nd century, and is in almost every I omits reference to the deity of manuscript of Mark’s Gospel from Christ in Romans 14.10 and 12 AD 500 onwards. It is missing in I omits reference to the blood of two Alexandrian manuscripts, the Christ in Colossians 1.14 Sinai and the Vatican. In addition, an error is created in This is but one of many the Bible in Mark 1.2; in this examples of this problem. There passage in the Critical Text Isaiah 3 What today’s Christian needs to know about… is made the author of the book of copies removed from the original it Malachi. In numerous places in the is. A manuscript which is dated as New Testament the name of Jesus having been copied during the is omitted from the Critical Text; 10th century could have been the seventy times ‘Jesus’ is omitted fifth in a line of copies originating and twenty-nine times ‘Christ’ is with the original autograph, whilst a omitted.1 manuscript dated as having been copied during the 3rd century could Another problem with the modern have been the one hundredth in Critical Text is that the two main the line of copies. Since it is manuscripts upon which this text difficult to tell the genealogy—the is constructed, the Sinai and the family—of any given manuscript, it Vatican, disagree between is important to note that age is themselves over 3,000 times in relative in the sense that you could the Gospels alone. Thus, the have a corrupt 3rd century Alexandrian text presents itself as manuscript or a faithful a text type which is characterised 10th century manuscript. in many places by readings which are not common to the A good illustration would be to manuscripts of their own tradition. suppose that, in the year 3000, a The Critical Text is characterised copy of the English Bible was found by wording which in the original which dated from the 1970s. language is difficult, abrupt or Suppose this Bible happened to be even impossible. It appears that the oldest existing Bible available, no matter how peculiar or aberrant and this Bible happened to differ in the variant reading is, it must have hundreds of places from the Bible been in the original autographs that was in use by Christians in the because (as is sometimes year 3000. One could well imagine claimed) a scribe would never the scientific critics, with their make a change which disagrees methodology, extolling the virtues with other manuscripts; he would, of the ancient age of this Bible, the instead, make a change which page design showing quality, would make a passage read more careful care in the layout and the smoothly. paper of this particular volume, the binding and so on. But their Much is said about the arguments would tend to fall apart Alexandrian manuscripts being very when, after beginning to translate old. This is true, but the emphasis Bibles into modern languages on in the study of textual criticism the basis of this ancient book, should not be upon how old the Christians discovered that this manuscript is but upon how many version of the Scriptures was the 4 …The Greek New Testament New World Translation of the ages have faithfully copied and Jehovah’s Witnesses. recopied copies of the original autographs. The church all over the Providential Preservation world has used the Traditional Text in all of its various forms, and God The Traditional Text of the New has seen fit to multiply multitudes Testament is understood by of copies and has brought conservative Bible-believing salvation to many generations Christians to have been through this preservation process.