The Text of the New Testament to Von Soden

*Taken from Greenlees Intro to NT TC

Transmission of the Text

Early Period to 325
Most MSS were private writings
Copied and circulated for different reasons than the classics
Not corrected much
Would have been kept by church, target of persecution and destruction
Period of divergence
Rise of local texts
Text Standardized
After Constantine 50 new copies for churches of Constantinople
Convergence of MSS
95% of MSS come after 8th century, look very similar

Text in Print
Establishment of the Received Text 1516-1633
Cardinal Ximenes
At the beginning of the printing era, little concern for printed Greek textLatin
was king. Ximenes, however, wanted to print a Bible with Greek, Hebrew, and
Latin in the OT and Greek and Latin in the NT. NT was printed in 1514, but entire
work not available til 1522. Bible came to be known as the Computensian
Polyglot.
Erasmus
Upon hearing of Ximenes plans, Swiss printer Froben wanted to be first, so he
got Erasmus to quickly prepare a Greek NT. Erasmus used no more than 6 MSS
that happened to be available, only one non-Byzantine text. He finished in 1516.
He didnt have a whole copy of Revelation among his MSS, so he had to fill in
the gaps and translate from Latin the last 6 verses. He published 5 volumes in all,

without many differences. His 3rd, which contained the Johannine comma, would
be the most popular, however. He added it much to his behest.
Stephanus
Printer at Paris and Geneva. Published four editions of the NT between 1546 to
1551. used the text of Erasmus and the Complutensian polyglot, along with 15
MSS. Third edition = Regia in 1550 first Greek NT with something like a
critical apparatus, giving variant readings. Became standard text in Britain and
US. First to add versification. Chapters had been added in 1205 by Langton.
Theodore Beza
Published 9 editions of the GNT from 1565 to 1604. Text basically the same as
Erasmus and Stephanus, but he standardized it.
Bonaventure and Abraham Elzevir
Published 7 editions of the GNT from 1624 to 1678 in Holland. Commercial
rather than critical, text based on Stephanus and Beza. Second edition became
standard in continental Europe.
Accumulation of Textual Evidence 1633-1830
John Mill
Published edition in 1707. Text = Stphanus with only a few minor changes, but with a critical
apparatus of the readings of 78 MSS, several versions, and some patristic writings. Text had to be
TR to be accepted, but apparatus was ground-breaking.
Richard Bentley
Defended study of TC and importance of studying MSS against those who attacked Mills work.
Johannes Albrecht Bengel
Published text in 1734; departed from TR when he preferred a reading already
represented in a printed text elsewhere, but indicated preferred readings in margin.
First to attempt to classify the witnesses to the text: African and Asiatic.
Johann Jakob Wettstein
Published in 1751-52, 2 vols. Indicated what he thought true readings were in his
apparatus. First to use the system of citing uncial MSS by capital letters and
minuscules by Arabic numbers.
Johann Salomo Semler
Built on Bengels classificationAlexandrian, Western, and Eastern families.
Johann Jakob Griesbach

Popularized and expanded Semlers work, also published three editions of NT

between 1774 and 1806. Proposed 3 families of witnesses in Gospels
Alexandrian: C, 33, 69, Origen; Western: D and Latin; Byzantine: A and most
minuscules. He also indicated probability of original readings with symbols in his
apparatus.
Struggle for a Critical Text 1830-1882
Edward Wells
First editor to abandon TR, edition of 1709-19. Largely ignored.
Karl Lachmann
Credited with abandoning the TR. First edition published in 1831 with no
explanation of his text, not well received. Next edition had explanation, well
received. First generally recognized critical textconstructed with principles of
textual criticism.
Samuel Prideaux Tregelles
Lachmann on continent; Tregelles in England. Critical edition published in 185779.
Constantin von Tischendorf
Greatest name in TC. Dedicated life to discovering and editing as many NT MSS
as possible, as well as publishing editions of the GNT. Read and published C04,
discovered and made famous 01. Published many MSS. Published 8 editions
between 1841-72. Last edition contains comprehensive critical apparatus.
Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort
Climax of the period. Published critical edition of NTThe New Testament in the
Original Greek. Built on foundations of others before them. TR at last
vanquished. WH separated themselves from the pack with their textual theory:
Canonsharder reading more likely original; reading from which others
could develop more likely original; shorter reading generally preferable.
Knowledge of MSS key.
MSS must be grouped by families in order to eliminate certain readings.
Steps: study individual readings based on intrinsic probability; evaluate
individual witnesses; determine family group readings; return to individual
readings.
Groupings of MSS: Syrian = minuscules, later uncials, later versions and
fathers; neutral = 01 03 33 Boh; Alexandrian = members of the neutral
group when they differ from B; Western = 05 06 Latins

Hermann Freiherr von Soden

Commissioned to produce a text of NT never before seen. Disappointing. Printed
text with large critical apparatus, extremely lengthy volume of descriptions of
MSS and von Sodens textual theory. Theory radically different:
K Text = Koine, Syrian text of WH; mass of late witnesses
H Text = Hesychius, Neutral and Alexandrian text of WH
I Text = Jerusalem text, includes the Western text of WH with some
additional material
Of these texts, K was worst, I was best, H was generally corrupted from original
in matters of style only. Common ancestor of these texts by rejecting readings
harmonized to parallel passages, rejected readings in the Gospels accomadated to
Matthew, and accepted the agreement of 2 out of the 3 texts. Archetype = I-H-K,
which gives a 4th century text.