Transcript Scribal Errors: Can the Bible be Trusted? A Textual Critical Perspective Presented by Clinton Baldwin 7/23/05

Scribal Errors: Can the
Bible be Trusted?
A Textual
Critical Perspective
Presented by
Clinton Baldwin
7/23/05
x
The History of the New Testament Text
An Overview
The Revelations of God
• Nature: Psa 19:1
• Human beings/relationships: Isa 49:15
• Personal Experience: Acts 17:27,28
• The written word: 2Tim 3:16
• The living word: Jesus Christ: John 1:18
Jesus: the Greatest Revelation of
God
• Jesus is the greatest revelation of God to
humanity: Heb 1:1-3
• He is the only perfect revelation of God
• All other revelations point to Jesus and are
meant to glorify Him: John 5:39-40
• We should be careful not to attribute to the other
revelations that which was meant to be
attributed to Jesus.
The History of the NT Text
1. The Christ event 4BC - AD30
2. Oral tradition of the Christ event: AD30 – 95+
3. The written accounts:
The Pauline Letters: 1Thess - AD 49
The Gospels : 60’s
The Johannine Writings 93/95
Some Sources of Gospel Materials
(Intro)
The gospel writers pulled from different
sources.
Q, Matthew and Luke
M: Matthew
L : Luke
Mark : Mathew and Luke
Note: A similar phenomenon with Ellen
White
The History of the New Testament Text :
An Overview
• The Bible was written in different ancient
languages
• The Old Testament was originally written in
Hebrew and Aramaic
• The New Testament: in Greek
The History of the NT Text :
An Overview
• No autograph of the New Testament is extant
• What we have are copies of copies of copies
• They were first copied on papyrus, then on vellum or
parchment
• First on scrolls, then in codices, i.e., book form
• The form of writing were first all capital letters – uncials,
later cursive - minuscules (9th Cen)
The History of the New Testament Text (cont’d)
• Currently, there are approximately 5,664 mss of
the Greek NT
• No two mss are exactly alike
• Why? They were copied by hand under various
circumstances
• Thus thousand of errors:Approximatley 300,000
Origen (186-255 AD)
• “…It is a recognized fact that there are much
diversity in our copies, whether by the
carelessness of certain scribes, or by some
culpable rashness in the correction of the text, or
by some people making arbitrary additions or
omissions in their corrections.”
Selections from the Commentaries and Homilies of Origen, trans.by R. B. Tollinton
(London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1929) 109-110.
Types of Errors
• 1. Eye sight:
•
Homoeoteleuton: the scribe skips from one letter or word to
the same letter or word farther down the page.
•
•
1 …….
2 kosmos ……….
•
•
3 … … … . . . . . . . . . autos ek tou
4 ponhrou …………….
•
•
. . . . . . .. autos ek tou
John 17:15 : I do not pray that you should [take them from
the world, but that you should] keep them from the evil one
Types of Errors (cont’d)
• Metathesis:
– Changing the order of letters or words. Example:
– Mark 14:65, eλαβον (received), for εβαλον (struck).
– “kai. oi` u`phre,tai r`api,smasin auvto.n e;labonÅ and the guards
receive him with blows.”
Types of Errors (cont’d)
• Of Hearing:
Iticism: e.g. ει for οι or o for w
•
Romans 5:1 ecwmen for ecomen
Therefore having been justified by faith let us
have ecwmen peace with God…. instead of we
have peace ecomen with God
•
1 Cor 16:54 vneikos (conflict) for nikos (victory)
death is swallowed up in “conflict,” instead of
death is swallowed up in “victory”
Types of Errors (cont’d)
• Wrong division of words:
•
in 1Timothy 3:16, some manuscripts read
ομολογουμεν ως μεγα “we acknowledge how great,”
for ομολογουμενως μεγα “confessedly great.”
• Error of Judgment: sometimes a copyist made a
judgment call as to whether or not a glossary in the
margin of his text ought to be included in the main body
of the text
• The troubling of the water: John 5:3-4
Troubling of the Water John 5:3,4
3b … waiting for the moving of the water,
• 4 For an angel went down at a certain
season into the pool and troubled the
water: whoever then first after the troubling
of the water stepped in was made whole of
whatever disease he had.
Types of Errors (cont’d)
• Haplography :
– writing of a letter or word once when it should have
been written twice. Example:
1Thessalonians 2:7; εγενηθημεν hπιοι (“we became
gentle,”) for εγενηθημεν νhπιοι, “we became infants.”
• Dittography :
•
The writing of a letter or word twice instead of once.
Example: Mark 12:27; o θεος θεος for θεος
x
• Errors due to Diverse Theological opinions
– Marcion
– Anti-Judaic
– As a result of these errors there emerged
1000’s of divergent and convergent mss
Codex Bezae (D-05)= 4th cen
• Mark 2:26
• …. which is not lawful to eat except only
for the priests
• The same day seeing someone working
on the Sabbath, he said to him, ‘man if
indeed you know what you are doing then
you are blessed. But if you do not know
then you are accursed and a transgressor
of the law.’
1John 5:7,8
• The father, the word and the Holy Ghost: and
these three are one. And there are three that
bear witness on earth.
• Erasmus (1516 AD)
– 1. Monk, (Froy or Roy) copied from Latin vulgate
about 1520 AD
• Only eight late Greek mss.
•
61, (16th) 88 (12th), 110 (16th), 221 (10th),
•
429 (16th) 636 (16th), 918 (16th) 2318 (18th)
Correct rendering
• As Found in , A, B, y, 33, 81, 323,et al.
• For there are three that bear record, the
spirit and the water and the blood and
these three agree in one.
Codex Bezae (D) & Brixianus (f)
• Mark 10:11, 12
• Whoever divorces his wife and marries
another commits adultery against her; and
if a woman goes out from her husband
and marries another, she commits
adultery.
Better rendering
• As found in: , B
• Whoever divorces his wife and marries
another, commits adultery against her, and
if she divorces her husband and marries
another she commits adultery.
Woman Caught in Adultery: John 7:53-8:11
• First appeared in the 9th Cen.
• Appeared in different places:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
after John 7:52 ( D & Byzantine text)
after John 7:36 (225 )
after John 21:25 (f1)
after Luke 21:38 (f13)
after Luke 24: 53 (1353)
Many different renderings
omitted by earliest mss e.g., P66, P75, , B,
Miscellaneous
• There are six different endings to Mark’s
gospel
• The benediction of the Lord’s prayer
Text-types
• Eventually manuscripts in certain localities
began to have similar patterns of errors
• Text-types = The largest identifiable group
of manuscripts
Text- Types
•
Western
Alexandrian
Caesarean ?
Byzantine
Text-Types
• Western :
North Africa, Italy, and S.
France
• Alexandrian:
Alexandria, Egypt
• Byzantine :
Byzantine Empire
(80% of all mss)
Caesarean ? :
Probably originate in
Caesarea or Egypt
Dates/Characteristics
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Western :
Alexandrian :
Byzantine :
Caesarean ?
2nd Cen.
late 3rd early 4th Cen.
4th – 9th Cen.
Characteristic of Text-types
Western : Paraphrase, harmonizations, assimilation
Alexandrian: Shorter more difficult, non-harmonious
readings
•
Byzantine: Smoother, easier, more harmonious,
more straight-forward readings
Determining the “Original”or the
Earliest Original
•
•
•
•
•
•
The shorter reading
The harder reading
The older reading
The more widespread reading
The reading from the better mss
The reading more in keeping with the author’s
style
• The reading that explains the rise of the other
reading, and which cannot itself be explained
by the other readings
•
Choosing a Translation
• Those done by a committee, e.g., RSV,
NIV, NARSB, etc.,
• ‘Avoid’ individual translations, e.g., The
Living Bible, The Clear Word.
• The KJV not the best for in-depth bible
study
KJV-Brief Background
• 1) Erasmus: (1469-1536 AD)
•
i) The first printed text to be published, that
of Erasmus in 1516 AD
•
ii) Based on 4 or 5 – 12th century mss, has
readings found in no Greek ms
•
iii) His only ms of Revelation lacked the last
six verses therefore he translated it from the Vulgate
•
iv) 1John 5: 7, 8 - the Trinitarian text
•
v) Acts 9:6 “And he Trembling and astonished said,
Lord what wilt thou have me to do.” found in
no Greek manuscripts (Assimilation to Act
22:10).
Background (cont’d)
• 2) Robert Stephanus
•
i) 1550 based on Erasmus’ edition
ii) Became the standard text of
England
iii) First to divide the Bible into
chapters and verses (i.e., 3rd
edition,1551)
iv) Basis for the KJV of 1611
Background (cont’d)
3) Theodore Beza
i) 1565 – 1604 published nine editions, based on
Erasmus
ii) 1588-89, and 1598- editions also used as by
KJV translators
4) Abraham Elzevir & Bonaventure (1633)
i) “You therefore have the text which is now
received by all in which we give nothing
altered
or corrupted ”
•
•
ii) The Received text or Textus Receptus -- TR
iii) TR reigned for 200 years until 1881
Background (cont’d)
• The KJV is based on these editions which
are all based on the Byzantine text.
• The Byzantine text is the poorest of all the
text-types.
Background (cont’d)
• Is a comparatively late text, 350 AD
• Conflate readings: combinations of readings of
the earlier text types
• Inability of their readings to explain the other
readings
• Tend to smooth out difficult passages
Discoveries of Ancient Manuscripts
Oxyrhynchus Papyri : Egypt
a) Discovered by Grenfell & Hunt in 1897
b) Dated 200- 400 AD
c) 36 New Testament Papyri
d) The Shepherd of Hermas
e) The Didache
f) The Gospel of Thomas
h) The Acts of Paul
i)The Acts of Peter
j) The Acts of John
k) The Gospel of Mary
• Oxyrhynchus Papyri : 1897
• Chester Beatty Papyri, 1931 :P45, P46, P47
The Chester Beatty Papyri
•
•
•
•
•
Discovered in 1931
Eight OT mss
Three NT mss i.e., P45, P46, P47
Enoch
These mss were purchased by Chester
Beatty from a Cairo dealer in 1931
The Dead Sea Scrolls
• Founded in 1947 at Qumran in the Dead
Sea region
• Portions of 200 scrolls in 11 caves
• These finds were mainly of OT books
• Date from 200 BC
The Bodmer Papyri
• Found in 1952 at Jabal Abu Mana –Egypt
• Purchased by Martin Bodmer, in 1950 &
60’s from a Cairo dealer
• Manuscripts include P66, P72, P75
• Date: 200 AD
Implications
• A determination of what is written must
precede interpretation of what is written
• The original languages must be
considered
• Consult various Modern Translations
•
Implications
• Jesus said: “And I will ask the father and He will give you
another counselor to be with you forever- the Spirit of
truth … and when comes he will convict the world of guilt
in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.”
John 14:15;16:8
• The Christian’s guide is more than a book, it is a person.
• God has not only given us a road map- the Bible, He has
also given us a personal guide- Jesus/the Holy Spirit.
• The Bible points to Jesus, John 5:39-40
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The End
Gregory Number
• In 1908 Casper Rene Gregory developed a system of
recording the Greek mss.
• Papyri : P ---- P1; P2; P3 – P98 etc
• Uncials with an initial 0 ----- a = 01, A = 02; B= 03 etc.
• Minuscules : 1, 2, 3 etc.
• Lectionaries :
l
---
l 1 l2; l3
etc.
Rated Value of Readings : UBS4
• {A} == The Reading is certain
• {B} == Almost Certain
• {C} == Not as certain as B, enclosed [ ]
• {D} == Great difficulty at arriving at a
decision