A Case for the Bible 101: Manuscript Evidence Part 10 – Textual Criticism

Last week we looked at the evidence for the reliability of the Bible through the testimony of eyewitnesses, both friendly and hostile. That kind of testimony (which comes in multiples) gives us confidence that what we have in the content of Scripture is reliable and trustworthy. With that in mind it is also important to look at other variables scholars consider when reviewing ancient documents like the Bible. One of the most important is called “textual criticism.”

Textual criticism is a method used by scholars to decipher the meaning of the original texts, or “autographs,” from the manuscripts. When originals are lost or no longer in existence it is usually due to the life span of the substance they were written on like papyrus, leather, or other biodegradable materials. However, that does not mean that we cannot determine what the originals said because there are tens of thousands of early manuscripts of the Bible with which to compare. These manuscripts date from the fourth century BC/BCE to the fifteenth century AD/CE for the Old Testament, and the first to the fifteenth centuries AD/CE for the New Testament.

With a multitude of available manuscripts scholars have found many minor and a few somewhat major differences between them. However, textual criticism allows scholars to eliminate the majority of these differences that are mostly in spelling, grammar, word insertions, or word deletions. This is time consuming, but easily done by comparing the multitude of manuscripts with each other. The science of textual criticism has given us 100% certainty that what we have in our Bibles today is the original vox (meaning) and over 98% for the Old Testament and 99.5% for the New Testament in verba (words).

Some basic literary guidelines for considering the validity of ancient documents:

1. Autographs are the original physical writings of the document by the author.
2. Manuscripts are copies of the autographs and are in a first class category of witness texts.
3. Primary sources are writings that come directly from the event(s) through eyewitnesses and participants.
4. Secondary sources are written further away in time from the event(s) and come from second hand information that can no longer be confirmed or disputed by those who were present at the time (like the gnostic writings).
5. Literary works are usually considered primary sources if written within a generation or century of the event.
6. The closer the writing is to the event(s) the more reliable the writing becomes.
7. The more manuscripts you have, even those with errors, the better chance you have of reconstructing the autograph.
8. Textual critics look for both vox (original meaning) and verba (original words).

How does the Bible compare to other ancient literature?

“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”

Sir Frederick Kenyon, “Bible and Archaeology”

Number of manuscript copies:

In the chart below are a few examples of the most commonly used manuscripts from antiquity. These manuscripts are not called into question when used as proof texts for historical information, yet Christians find themselves constantly having to defend the truths of the Biblical texts. This is especially true when it comes to the New Testament and the person of Jesus. However, as Christians we can get excited when we see that there is simply no challenge to the number of Biblical manuscripts available for scholars to examine.

Notice the comparison between these honored works of antiquity and the New Testament.

Note: Manuscript numbers increase with ongoing discoveries in archeology. The most commonly used numbers in Christian Apologetic literature that you will see today are based on data from about twenty years ago. Thanks to Karl Udy and Dr. Clay Jones from Biola University, these are the updated numbers as of 2013:

*The number of New Testament manuscripts include:

• 5795 Greek Manuscripts (dated first century and on)
• Over 7974 manuscripts in other languages (Armenian, Coptic, Gothic, Ethiopian, Syriac, Georgian and Slavic) dated early second century and on
• Over 10,000 manuscripts in the Latin Vulgate dated from the third century and on

NOTE: With recent developments in archeological finds, Josh McDowell claims that the count for the New Testament is upwards of 66,000 manuscripts/fragments

Going Deeper:

 Watch this interview by Steve Kosak, Director of AwanaYM, with Josh and Sean McDowell on their updated version of the book “Evidence that Demands A Verdict.” This is a must have reference book for all Christians on the reliability of Scripture and the foundational truths of Christianity.

Also, check out this article by Dr. Clay Jones, posted at the Christian Research institute (CRI): “The Bibliographical Text Updated” 

http://www.equip.org/article/the-bibliographical-test-updated/

Join us next week as we look at how we get to the original text through the variants in the manuscripts!

Reflection:

1. What is textual criticism and how does it support the reliability of the Bible?
2. Prayer Focus—Protection of those Christians who are giving their lives to defending the inspiration and reliability of the Bible.

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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in!  Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.

Click into the resource page of this website to view many of the top Christian thinkers and apologists along with some of their work; connecting to these types of resources is essential in your Christian growth.

Please let me know what you think: Give feedback, ask questions or send concerns in the comment section of the blog.

Teri Dugan

TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com

1 Peter 3:15