Textual Criticism

 

            This discipline is called “lower criticism.”  You have to know what the correct text is before you start trying to understand and interpret it.

            Manuscript Evidence.  Homer’s Iliad is probably the most well attested document of classical antiquity (ca. 650 mss).  The NT has over 5,000 Greek manuscripts that contain all or part of the NT, and over 15,000 early translations. 

Putting all these together, we can be sure of the accuracy of the text we have. 

 

-Copying errors

            1. “Unintentional” errors-

a. Copying from one manuscript.  Examples?

b. Copying from dictation.  Similar sounds.  Examples?

            2. « Intentional » changes-

a. Forced agreement.  Why would someone want to force agreement like this?  Examples?

b. Clarified doctrine.  Examples?

-What are text critics looking for?

            -Prefer older over newer readings (like 1 Jn. 5:7).

            -Prefer the shorter over longer readings (e.g., Mt. 6:13).  Why? 

            -Prefer the more difficult over easier readings (Mk. 1:2- some omitted “Isaiah”).

            -Prefer quality over quantity of witnesses. 

-Accuracy?

            -The oldest surviving manuscripts of the OT are the Dead Sea Scrolls, which date back to ca. 150 BC.  Oldest manuscript of OT before this was ca. AD 850.  Dead S. S. proved they were transmitted quite accurately.

-The oldest surviving papyrus of the NT is known as “p52,” the John Rylands papyrus, which is a portion of the Gospel of John that dates back to c. AD 100-125.  What does this prove? 

 

 

Translation

What do you think makes a good translation?

            -Translation is an         , not an exact science.  Different ways to translate a sentence. 

            -Literal vs. Dynamic translation.  The more literal, the less readable. 

 

Literal                                                                                                                           Dynamic

            (N)KJV            NASB  (N)RSV           (T)NIV            ETR    Message/Phillips/LB

 

-Choosing a translation

            -Read the preface to find out about the translation process used in the version.

            -Both readability and accuracy are important; but try to maintain balance.  If

you emphasize one, you sacrifice the other.

 

 

Occasionality

The NT documents were written to address a specific need in a specific time and place.  They were written mostly to address problems.

            What is the problem Paul is addressing in Romans?  Many interpreters ignore the possibility of there being a specific problem.  This is because he never explicitly states the problem he’s addressing.  But the whole letter is the resolution to the problem.  Once you know the problem, it puts the whole letter or book into context. 

Warning: Don’t speculate too much into the background and construct a hypothetical situation behind the text.  But just realize there’s always a situation to which the author is writing.

 

 

THE “HISTORICAL JESUS” AND THE JESUS SEMINAR

Keith D. Stanglin

 

            The amount of information concerning Jesus’ biography is meager.  Apart from a few statements in secular history, the reports of Jesus’ life are contained in the four gospels that the church has regarded as authoritative since the 1st century.

            One key for understanding the Gospels is to understand the modern approaches to the study of the Gospels. 

Historical-critical approach focuses on the history behind the text, rather than taking it at face value. 

 

Historical Reliability of Gospels.  Little details may be different.  Examples? 

Why might a story in Mark be told a little differently in Luke? 

We should be willing to keep some things in tension. 

 

What can we really know for sure about Jesus?  “Jesus Seminar” tries to find out the real, historical sayings of Jesus.  Predicated on the distinction between the “Jesus of history” and the “Christ of faith.”

 

Quest for historical Jesus. Criteria of authenticity:[1]

A. Primary:

  1. Embarrassment (contradiction).  Actions or sayings that would’ve created difficulty for the early church. 

 

  1. Discontinuity (Dissimiliarity).  Looks for material that is discontinuous both with known 1st cent. strands of Judaism and with the early church, including redactional emphases of the evangelists. 

 

  1. Multiple attestation.  Material that appears in more than one of the gospel sources or passages identified by form critics. 

 

  1. Coherence (consistency).  Material that “fits” with the material that passes the above criteria.

 

B. Secondary (dubious).  These are used more for a posteriori confirmation of decisions already made on the basis of the primary criteria.

1. Palestinian environment.  Accurate reflection of Palestinian culture. 

 

2. Semitic language.  Semitisms or Gk that is easily back-translated into Aramaic. 

 

3. Vividness of narration.  Esp. details not relevant to the main point indicate eye-witness testimony. 

 

Overall problems: They often get used negatively, i.e., ruling out saying and actions of Jesus that don’t fit them positively.  The criteria are ambiguous. 

 

 


[1] J. Meier, A Marginal Jew, vol. 1: 168-84. See also Blomberg, Jesus and the Gospels, 186-7; idem, The Historical Reliability of the Gospels, 246-54; L. T. Johnson, The Real Jesus.