Fundamentals of New Testament Textual Criticism

by Stanley E. Porter; Andrew W. Pitts

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2015

Overview

Fills the need for a truly mid-level, quality textbook on New Testament textual criticism.

Presenting all the essential, foundational elements necessary to grasp textual criticism of the New Testament, Stanley Porter and Andrew Pitts accurately define the subject of textual criticism, discuss the canon and manuscripts of the New Testament, outline methodological principles, and more, concluding with a chapter on New Testament translations and how to evaluate them.

Part of a coordinated Greek study curriculum, this volume is designed to function as a companion to Fundamentals of New Testament Greek and its accompanying workbook; an intermediate grammar of New Testament Greek is forthcoming.

Key Features

• Provides a midlevel textbook on the fundamentals of New Testament textual criticism
• Introduces students to the main debates within textual criticism
• Addresses issues including canon and translation theory

Contents

• What Is Textual Criticism? Definitions and Aims
• Canon: The Domain of New Testament Textual Criticism
• Materials and Methods of Classification
• The Major Witnesses to the Text of the New Testament 5
• Text-Types
• What Is a Textual Variant? Definitions and Boundaries 8
• Methodology (1): Modern Text-Critical Methodologies
• Methodology (2): Weighing External Evidence
• Methodology (3): Weighing Internal Evidence (1): Transcriptional Probabilities
• Methodology (4): Weighing Internal Evidence (2): Intrinsic Probabilities
• Modern Critical Editions: A Brief History
• A Guide to the Text and Apparatus of UBSGNT4/5 and NA27/28
• Text and Translation
• Appendix: Tools for Further Text-Critical Study

Top Highlights

“Step 1: Check the date of the witness and the date of the type of text that it embodies.” (Page 104)

“‘Textual criticism is the study of copies of any work of which the autograph (the original) is unknown, with the purpose of ascertaining the original text.’” (Page 2)

“Eclectic methods emphasize the contribution and evaluation of various witnesses to the text of the NT, in terms of both external evidence (Greek manuscripts, church father citations, and early versions) and internal evidence (scribal tendencies).” (Page 92)

“Key Principle: Variants should be explained as doctrinally motivated alterations only when more standard (and common) canons for accounting for textual variation fail.” (Page 120)

“Step 2: Check the geographical distribution of the witnesses that endorse a particular variant.” (Page 105)

Praise for the Print Edition

This very readable textbook provides a helpful and balanced introduction to text criticism aimed at just the right level for beginning students. It is clear, introduces multiple views, gives good reasons for the approaches it favors, and—an unexpected bonus—offers in two relevant chapters useful, concise introductions to canon formation and translation theory.

—Craig S. Keener, Asbury Theological Seminary

Because of the complexity of the field of textual criticism, most introductions are either too detailed or too basic. This exceptional volume by Stanley Porter and Andrew Pitts provides a welcome balance between these two extremes, introducing students to all the critical issues without overloading them with unnecessary detail. It also covers topics that most introductions overlook, such as the development of the New Testament canon and modern English translations. For anyone looking for a balanced, thorough, and yet readable introduction to textual criticism, this is it.

—Michael J. Kruger, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte

Fundamentals of New Testament Textual Criticism is an excellent treatise on a vitally important subject. Stanley Porter and Andrew Pitts were seeking to produce a textbook that falls midway between Bruce Metzger’s Text of the New Testament and my own New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide, and they have succeeded brilliantly. . . . Their careful research deepens our understanding of the role of textual criticism in exegesis, and I am confident that this book of theirs will be widely used both inside and outside of the classroom.

—David Alan Black, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Title: Fundamentals of New Testament Textual Criticism
• Authors: Stanley E. Porter, Andrew W. Pitts
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2015
• Logos Release Date: 2019
• Pages: 218
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Bible. N.T. › Criticism, textual
• ISBNs: 9780802872241, 0802872247
• Resource ID: LLS:FNDMNTLSNCRTCSM
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:00:42Z

About the Authors

Andrew W. Pitts is assistant professor of biblical studies at Arizona Christian University in Phoenix.

Stanley E. Porter is president, dean, professor of New Testament, and holder of the Roy A. Hope Chair in Christian Worldview at McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario.