Fundamentals of New Testament Textual Criticism

by Stanley E. Porter, Andrew W. Pitts

Overview

Fills the need for a truly mid-level, quality textbook on New Testament textual criticism
 
Presenting all the essential, foundational elements necessary to grasp textual criticism of the New Testament, Stanley Porter and Andrew Pitts accurately define the subject of textual criticism, discuss the canon and manuscripts of the New Testament, outline methodological principles, and more, concluding with a chapter on New Testament translations and how to evaluate them.
 
Part of a coordinated Greek study curriculum, this volume is designed to function as a companion to Fundamentals of New Testament Greek and its accompanying workbook (Eerdmans, 2010); an intermediate grammar of New Testament Greek is forthcoming.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467443210
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	12/04/2015
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	184
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Stanley E. Porter is president, dean, and professor of New Testament at McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario, and coauthor of Fundamentals of New Testament Greek, a companion to this volume.
 
Andrew W. Pitts is assistant professor of biblical studies at Arizona Christian University in Phoenix.
Stanley E. Porter is president, dean, professor of New Testament, and holder of the Roy A. Hope Chair in Christian Worldview at McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario.
Andrew W. Pitts is adjunct professor of biblical studies at Hope International University, Fullerton, California.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Preface xiii

Abbreviations xv

1 What Is Textual Criticism? Definitions and Aims 1

1.1 Textual Criticism as Textual Reconstruction: The Traditional Model 1

1.2 Textual Criticism as Tracking Textual Transmission: The Sociohistorical Model 4

1.3 Summary 6

2 Canon: The Domain of New Testament Textual Criticism 9

2.1 Evidence for an Early Canon: The New Testament Canon in the First Three Centuries 10

a Evidence from the New Testament: Canon in the First Century 10

b Early Collections and the Formation of the Canon 12

c Ancient Canonical Lists 20

2.2 The New Testament Canon in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries: Ecumenical Catalogues, Councils, and Codices 25

a Catalogue in Codex Claromontanus 25

b Cheltenham List (Mommsen Catalogue) 26

c Epiphanius 26

d Cyril, Gregory, and Amphilochius 26

e Athanasius's Festal Letter 27

f Latin Vulgate 27

g Rufinus and Pope Innocent 27

h Councils of Hippo and Carthage 28

i Fourth- and Fifth-Century Codices 28

2.3 Canon and Sacred Writings: Problems with Terminology 28

2.4 Summary 29

3 Materials and Methods of Classification 33

3.1 Books and Literacy in the First Century 34

3.2 Writing Materials and the Forms of Ancient Books 39

a Papyrus 39

b Parchment 42

c Scroll 43

d Codex 45

3.3 Writing Styles 46

3.4 Scribal Additions, Alterations, and Aids 48

3.5 Methods of Classifying Materials 49

3.6 Statistics for New Testament Manuscripts 50

3.7 Summary 51

4 The Major Witnesses to the Text of the New Testament 54

4.1 Introducing the Gregory-Aland Numbering System 54

4.2 Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament 55

a Papyri 57

b Majuscules 59

c Minuscules 61

d Lectionaries 62

4.3 Early Versions of the New Testament 63

a Tatian's Diatessaron 64

b Syriac Versions 64

c Latin Versions 65

d Coptic Versions 66

e Ethiopic Version 67

f Armenian Version 67

4.4 Patristic Quotations 68

4.5 Summary 70

5 Text-Types 73

5.1 The Use of Text-Types in New Testament Textual Criticism 74

5.2 Individual Text-Types 75

a Alexandrian Text 75

b Western Text 76

c Caesarean Text 76

d Byzantine Text 77

5.3 Summary 78

6 What Is a Textual Variant? Definitions and Boundaries 80

6.1 Readings and Variant-Units 80

6.2 Types of Textual Variation and Text-Critical Significance 81

6.3 Levels of Language and Variant-Unit Boundaries 82

6.4 Summary 86

7 Methodology (1): Modern Text-Critical Methodologies 88

7.1 Stemmatic Approach 88

7.2 Byzantine/Majority Text Approach 90

7.3 Eclectic Methods 92

a Thoroughgoing Eclecticism 93

b Reasoned Eclecticism 94

7.4 Single Text Model 95

7.5 Summary 96

8 Methodology (2): Weighing External Evidence 100

8.1 The Priority of External Evidence 101

8.2 External Criteria 101

a Date and Text-Type 102

b Geographical Distribution 105

c Genealogical Relationship 106

8.3 Summary 108

9 Methodology (3): Weighing Internal Evidence (1): Transcriptional Probabilities 110

9.1 The Genetic Principle 110

9.2 Transcriptional Probabilities 112

a Scribal Errors 112

b Difficult Readings 116

c Shorter and Longer Readings 117

d Less Harmonized Readings 118

e Less Grammatically Refined Readings 119

f Doctrinal Alterations? 119

9.3 Summary 126

10 Methodology (4): Weighing Internal Evidence (2): Intrinsic Probabilities 129

10.1 Stylistic Continuity 129

10.2 Cohesion 130

10.3 Theological and Literary Coherence 132

10.4 Linguistic Conformity 133

10.5 Source Consistency 134

10.6 Summary 135

11 Modern Critical Editions: A Brief History 137

11.1 Critical Editions from Ximénes to Nestle 137

11.2 From Nestle to NA27/28 and UBSGNT4/5 142

11.3 Summary 143

12 A Guide to the Text and Apparatus of UBSGNT4/5 and NA2/28 146

12.1 Distinctive Features of NA27/28 147

a Inner Margins 147

b Outer Margins 149

c Text and Critical Apparatus 150

d Citation, Orthography, Punctuation, and Font 161

12.2 Distinctive Features of UBSGNT4/5 162

a Differences in Abbreviation 162

b Critical Apparatus 165

c Discourse Segmentation Apparatus 169

d Reference Apparatus 171

e The UBS Rating System and Textual Optimism 172

f Citation, Orthography, Punctuation, and Font 173

12.3 Summary 175

13 Text and Translation 177

13.1 A Brief History of the English Bible 177

13.2 The Textual Basis of Modern Translations 181

13.3 Presentation of Textual Variation in Translations 183

13.4 Introduction to Translation Theory: Form and Function 184

13.5 Summary 188

Appendix: Tools for Further Text-Critical Study 190

Index of Modern Authors 197

Index of Ancient Sources 200

Editorial Reviews

Journal for the Study of The New Testament Booklist
"A quite superb introduction to the subject of textual criticism. It is well organized, readable and engaging, and achieves its objective of wanting to be neither too basic nor overly detailed. It is easily the best text book of its kind. . . . An excellent resource."

TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism
"A fresh and unique midlevel student's introduction to the field of New Testament textual criticism."

Craig S. Keener
— Asbury Theological Seminary
"This very readable textbook provides a helpful and balanced introduction to text criticism aimed at just the right level for beginning students. It is clear, introduces multiple views, gives good reasons for the approaches it favors, and — an unexpected bonus — offers in two relevant chapters useful, concise introductions to canon formation and translation theory."

Michael J. Kruger
— Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte
"Because of the complexity of the field of textual criticism, most introductions are either too detailed or too basic. This exceptional volume by Stanley Porter and Andrew Pitts provides a welcome balance between these two extremes, introducing students to all the critical issues without overloading them with unnecessary detail. It also covers topics that most introductions overlook, such as the development of the New Testament canon and modern English translations. For anyone looking for a balanced, thorough, and yet readable introduction to textual criticism, this is it."

J. K. Elliott
— University of Leeds
"Newcomers to the Greek New Testament will find this guide a useful introduction explaining how the establishing of the text is undertaken. It also gives insight into the treasures awaiting a perceptive user concerning textual variants found in the manuscript tradition."

Craig A. Evans
— Acadia Divinity College
"This is no ordinary introduction to textual criticism. In addition to offering explanations of the criteria and the critical apparatus, Porter and Pitts explain in very practical ways what the discipline tries to do and the thinking that lies behind it. As a bonus readers are treated to up-to-date discussion of the formation of the canon of Scripture, the nature of the materials used in the production of ancient books, and a history of the English Bible and the theories of translation on which translations are based. The book is rich with examples and insights."

David Alan Black
— Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
"Fundamentals of New Testament Textual Criticism is an excellent treatise on a vitally important subject. Stanley Porter and Andrew Pitts were seeking to produce a textbook that falls midway between Bruce Metzger's Text of the New Testament and my own New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide, and they have succeeded brilliantly. . . . Their careful research deepens our understanding of the role of textual criticism in exegesis, and I am confident that this book of theirs will be widely used both inside and outside of the classroom."

Eckhard Schnabel
— Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
"Porter and Pitts have admirably achieved what they set out to do — provide a succinct introduction to the manuscript tradition of the Greek New Testament for first- and second-year students of Koine Greek. . . . This book is ideal both for students in classrooms and for general readers who seek reliable information about the origins and the text of the New Testament."

Thomas J. Kraus
— University of Zurich
"In this book Stanley E. Porter and Andrew W. Pitts take interested students by the hand and introduce them to the essentials of New Testament textual criticism. . . . They provide welcome, concise assessments of external and internal evidence for judging textual variants. . . . A very useful tool for instructing students in New Testament textual criticism."

From the Publisher