Institute for the Classical Tradition
ANRW II.26.1, pp. 99-197
 
The Recent History of New Testament Textual Criticism
(from WESTCOTT and HORT, 1881, to the present)
by J. Neville Birdsall, Birmingham

Contents

Introduction 100

I. The Greek Evidence

103

1. Evidence known to WESTCOTT and HORT

103

2. Advances in knowledge of uncial manuscripts

103

3. Papyri: discoveries and publications

106

4. Advances in knowledge of minuscule manuscripts

109

5. The analysis of the lectionary texts

114

6. New evidence from the fathers

115

7. New material from Mount Sinai

117

8. Studies in the Greek language and its palaeography

117

II. The Evidence of the ancient versions

118

1. Latin

118

2. Syriac

123

a) The Old Syriac

123

b) Translations based on the Old Syriac

124

c) The 'Diatessaron'

127

d) The Peshitta Syriac

130

e) The later Syriac versions

131

f) The 'Palestinian Syriac'

131

3. Coptic versions

132

4. The Ethiopic version

135

5. The Church Slavonic version

136

6. The Gothic version

136

7. Other versions

137

8. Summary

137

III. Development of theory

138

1. The problem and the parameters of its discussion

138

2. The theory of WESTCOTT and HORT

138

3. HORT'S successors and the concept of corruption

141

4. VON SODEN'S theory (structure and faults)

144

5. Stemmata and the notion of 'local texts'

145

6. The breakdown of the theory of 'local texts'

149

7. Statistical and taxonomic models of analysis

153

8. Eclecticism, its antecedents and modifications

156

9. The peculiar problems of the Acts of the Apostles

158

10. The text of the Apocalypse of John

163

11. Conservative Protestant reaction

164

12. COLWELL - a practical scholar theorizing

166

13. ZUNTZ - classical philology and New Testament text

169

14. ALAND - entrepreneurial pragmatism

171

15. Consensus at the end of the twentieth century

176

IV. Critical editions

177
Conclusions 186
Bibliography 189

1. References to standard works

190

2. Facsimile editions

190

3. Text editions

191

4. Collations

191

5. Studies on Greek and general topics

191

6. Versions (all references)

193

a) Latin

193

b) Syriac

194

c) Diatessaron

194

d) Armenian

194

e) Georgian

194

f) Coptic

195

g) Ethiopic

195

h) Gothic

195

i) Church Slavonic

195

7. Patristica

195

8. Palaeography and papyrology

195

9. Catalogues

196

10. Handbooks

196

11. Editions of the New Testament in Greek

196

12. Critical comments

197

13. English Literature

197

14. Addenda

197
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