Description
Book SynopsisThis is the fourth edition of Metzger's textbook on the transcribing and transmission of the New Testament. The book offers a comprehensive survey of ancient and more recently discovered manuscripts, and considers the science and art of textual criticism. It covers a variety of textual problems and offers accounts of several schools of textual mythology. This edition includes the addition of Bart Ehrman as a co-author, and thorough revisions integrating new research andapproaches within the body of the text.
Trade ReviewPraise for the previous edition: "Professor Bruce M. Metzger... remains the dean of New Testament textual criticism. For more than thirty years his encyclopedic knowledge and prolific pen have kept New Testament scholars current in manuscript studies... Other manuals in textual criticism are now available, but none is more serviceable than Metzger's."-Southwestern Journal of Theology "Well-researched and expressed, with that rare elegance of style that graces the English language. It is a model for scholarly endeavor, as well as the definitive text in English on the subject."-Louis I. Hodges, Columbia Bible College and Seminary "The best in its field. Indispensable!"-Jarl Fossum, University of Michigan
Table of ContentsPART I. THE MATERIALS FOR THE TEXTUAL CRITICISM OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ; CHAPTER 1. THE MAKING OF ANCIENT BOOKS ; I. The Materials of Ancient Books ; 1. Papyrus ; 2. Parchment ; 3. Ink Making ; II. The Forms of Ancient Books ; III. Ancient Scribes and Their Handiwork ; Added Note on Colophons ; IV. "Helps for Readers" in New Testament Manuscripts ; 1. Chapter Divisions ; 2. Titles of Chapters ; 3. Eusebian Canons ; 4. Hypotheses, Bioi, Euthalian Apparatus ; 5. Superscriptions and Subscriptions ; 6. Punctuation ; 7. Glosses, Scholia, Commentaries, Catenae, Onomastics ; 8. Artistic Adornment ; 9. Cola and Commata ; 10. Neumes ; 11. Lectionary Equipment ; V. Statistics of Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament ; CHAPTER 2. IMPORTANT WITNESSES TO THE TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ; I. Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament ; 1. Important Greek Papyri of the New Testament ; 2. Important Greek Majuscule Manuscripts of the New Testament ; 3. Important Greek Minuscule Manuscripts of the New Testament ; 4. Other Noteworthy Manuscripts ; II. Ancient Versions of the New Testament ; 1. The Syriac Versions ; 2. The Latin Versions ; 3. The Coptic Versions ; 4. The Gothic Version ; 5. The Armenian Version ; 6. The Georgian Version ; 7. The Ethiopic Version ; 8. The Old Slavonic Version ; 9. Other Ancient Versions ; Patristic Quotations from the New Testament ; PART II: THE HISTORY OF NEW TESTAMENT TEXTUAL CRITICISM AS REFLECTED IN PRINTED EDITIONS OF THE GREEK TESTAMENT ; CHAPTER 3. THE PRECRITICAL PERIOD ; I. From Ximenes and Erasmus to the Elzevirs ; II. The Collection of Variant Readings ; CHAPTER 4. THE MODERN CRITICAL PERIOD ; I. The Beginnings of Scientific Textual Criticism of the New Testament ; II. The Overthrow of the Textus Receptus ; PART III: THE APPLICATION OF TEXTUAL CRITICISM TO THE TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ; CHAPTER 5. THE ORIGINS OF TEXTUAL CRITICISM AS A SCHOLARLY DISCIPLINE ; CHAPTER 6. MODERN METHODS OF TEXTUAL CRITICISM ; I. The Classical Method of Textual Criticism ; II. Reactions Against Classical Textual Criticism ; 1. Joseph Bedier ; 2. Albert C. Clark ; III. Local Texts and Ancient Editions: Burnett Hillman Streeter ; IV. Alternative Methods of Textual Criticism ; 1. The Majority Text ; 2. Thoroughgoing Eclecticism ; V. Conjectural Emendation ; VI. Methods of Determining Family Relationships Among Manuscripts ; 1. The Claremont Profile Method ; 2. The Alands' Use of Teststellen ; 3. The Comprehensive Profile Method ; VII. The Use of Computers in New Testament Textual Criticism ; 1. The Collection, Recording, and Storage of Data ; 2. The Presentation of the Data ; 3. Statistical Analyses ; 4. Hypertext Possibilities ; VIII. Significant Ongoing Projects ; 1. The Institut f:ur neutestamentliche Textforschung ; 2. The International Greek New Testament Project ; CHAPTER 7. THE CAUSES OF ERROR IN THE TRANSMISSION OF THE TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ; I. Unintentional Changes ; 1. Errors Arising from Faulty Eyesight ; 2. Errors Arising from Faulty Hearing ; 3. Errors of the Mind ; 4. Errors of Judgment ; II. Intentional Changes ; 1. Changes Involving Spelling and Grammar ; 2. Harmonistic Corruptions ; 3. Addition of Natural Complements and Similar Adjuncts ; 4. Clearing up Historical and Geographical Difficulties ; 5. Conflation of Readings ; 6. Alterations Made Because of Doctrinal Considerations ; 7. Addition of Miscellaneous Details ; CHAPTER 8. HISTORY OF THE TRANSMISSION OF THE TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ; I. Complications in Establishing the Original Text ; II. Dissemination of Early Christian Literature ; III. The Rise and Development of the New Testament Text Types ; 1. The Western Text ; 2. The Alexandrian Text ; 3. The Byzantine Text ; IV. The Use of Textual Data for the Social History of Early Christianity ; 1. Doctrinal Disputes of Early Christianity ; 2. Jewish-Christian Relations ; 3. The Oppression of Women in Early Christianity ; 4. Christian Apologia ; 5. Christian Asceticism ; 6. The Use of Magic and Fortune-Telling in Early Christianity ; CHAPTER 9. THE PRACTICE OF NEW TESTAMENT TEXTUAL CRITICISM ; I. Basic Criteria for the Evaluation of Variant Readings ; II. The Process of Evaluating Variant Readings ; 1. External Evidence ; 2. Internal Evidence ; III. The Textual Analysis of Selected Passages
