Weekly Blog

Holy Week

Apr 05, 2023

This week I wanted to take a break from the current series of posts on the transmission of the biblical texts to reflect briefly on Holy Week.

Textual Criticism of New Testament Manuscripts

Mar 29, 2023

Last week we looked at Codex Sinaiticus, which I noted was one of the two most important ancient Codices of the New Testaments. Today we will look at the other one – Codex Vaticanus.

Textual Criticism of New Testament Manuscripts

Mar 22, 2023

The first important codex we will look at is the Codex Sinaiticus. It was named this when it came to the attention of scholars in the 19th century at Saint Catherine’s monastery in the Sinai Peninsula.

Textual Criticism of New Testament Manuscripts

Mar 15, 2023

Last week we looked at the rich deposit of New Testament documents available to us. Not all of these are full documents however. Today I want to take a look at a few early important fragments, papyri, and codices that scholars use to try and determine the original text of the New Testament.

Textual Criticism of New Testament Manuscripts

Mar 08, 2023

In recent posts, we looked at how scholars try to determine the original reading of Old Testament texts. Now we will turn to how this is done for the New Testament.

Textual Criticism of Old Testament Manuscripts and Resources

Mar 01, 2023

Last week we looked at how the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church view the Old Testament text. In brief, within Eastern Orthodoxy, the Septuagint (LXX) (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) is considered authoritative. Within Roman Catholicism, it is the Vulgate (the Latin translation of the Old Testament) that is considered authoritative.

Textual Criticism of Old Testament Manuscripts and Resources

Feb 22, 2023

Other than the New Testament, no other ancient documents have such a variety of resources from such an ancient date. This is a great gift God has given to us! But how do scholars approach these texts to determine the original writing God gave to His people? Before describing how this is done within the Protestant world, let me give a brief note about Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism.

The Manuscripts of the Old Testament – Other Important Sources

Feb 15, 2023

Today we will conclude by looking at a variety of other important sources that help us determine the original text of the Old Testament.

The Manuscripts of the Old Testament – The Samaritan Pentateuch

Feb 08, 2023

This week we return to a Hebrew text – but one that only contains a small portion of the Old Testament. This important text is known as the Samaritan Pentateuch.

The Manuscripts of the Old Testament – The Septuagint

Feb 01, 2023

One important resource is not in Hebrew or its sister tongue of Aramaic, but rather in Greek. This is the Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint.