Canonicity
How We Got the Bible
by
Robert Dean, Jr.
When Napoleon
seized the Vatican in 1809 he exiled the Pope to Avignon, transported the
Vatican library to France in 50 wagons, and carried off a prize to Paris—an
ancient Greek manuscript of the Bible. There it remained until 1815 when it was
finally returned to Paris along with its owner. Vatican authorities kept it
under lock and key desperately hoping this recently rediscovered treasure would
be soon forgotten. But in 1845, a brilliant young English scholar–self
taught–applied for permission to investigate this find in the Vatican library.
Unable to avoid granting permission, the Vatican put every obstacle in his
path. He was not allowed to take pen or paper with him, he was searched going
in and coming out, and two clerics stood by him to turn the pages so he could
not look too long at any one passage. He was only allowed six hours to examine
the text. When he left he knew he had seen one of the most remarkable evidences
of how God had preserved the Bible. Yet it would be over 20 years before this
manuscript was printed.
In 1866 Count
Konstantin von Tischendorf another young, brilliant scholar, and one of the
real heroes in the study of canonicity was granted permission to once more
examine this manuscript. He was also given many restrictions; only 14 days and
three hours each day. But with his photographic memory he was able to publish
the most perfect edition of the manuscript which had yet appeared in 1867. This
forced the Vatican to finally publish a correct copy in 1881.
This is only one of
many exciting episodes in the story of the Bible. Many people know little of
these events. Yet again and again they provide overwhelming evidence of the
power and truth of God's Word.
Remember:
If there is no God, nothing matters; If there is a
God nothing else matters.
If God has not spoken, we can know nothing; But if
God has spoken, it opens the door to all knowledge.
Therefore, nothing in life is more important then
knowing the Word of God
I. Canon
A. Greek: kanona , a rule involving a
standard for conduct — `rule, principle.' hosoi to kanoni touto
stoichesousin `as many as follow this rule' (Louw-Nida).
B. Definition: An objective rule or standard given
by God and is inherent in the concept of inspiration. The list of books that
meet certain tests or rules and were thus authoritative and by definition
limited to a few writings.
C. Inspiration must precede canonicity.
1. Inspiration: [Greek, theopneustos,
literally “God-breathed”] God the Holy Spirit so supernaturally governed the
human writers of Scripture, that without waiving their human intelligence,
vocabulary, individuality, literary style, personality, emotions, education, or
any other human factor, His complete and coherent message to mankind was
recorded without error in any subject it addresses in the original languages of
Scripture, the very words bearing the authority of divine authorship.
All Scripture is inspired [theopneustos] by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in
righteousness; (2 Tim. 3:16)
But know this first of all, that no prophecy of
Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever
made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
(2 Peter 1:20-21)
2. Corollaries to the Doctrine of Inspiration
1. The Canon once complete is sufficient, it is
enough, it is all that is necessary, and communicates everything man requires
to have salvation, enjoy a relationship with God, grow to spiritual maturity,
and possess maximum happiness no matter the circumstances, situations, or
suffering. 2 Peter 1:3–4
2. The Scripture attests to its own authenticity and
authority. This is inherent if it is what it claims to be, i.e., the voice of
God, the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), God's authoritative revelation of
Himself to mankind. When the Pharisees confronted Jesus for a witness to
validate His claims of Deity, He appealed to Scripture, if they failed to
listen to the self-authenticating words of Moses, they would not believe Him,
or any empirical or rational argument (see Luke 16:29-31).
a. This is not a circular argument. To what does
Jesus Christ, the ultimate reference point in all reality, refer for
validation? There is no higher authority.
b. Each book is canonical and authoritative the
instant it was written, each carrying its own authority within. Authority and
validation is not and never was bestowed by a group of men or church councils.
They merely recognized what was already there.
3. God guided the process of revelation and the
transmission and preservation of the text. Part of the doctrine of the
Providence of God. Just as the church is the body of Christ and the Scripture
is the mind of Christ, so Christ authenticated His Word. Ultimately, canonicity
is determined by Jesus Christ who caused His church to recognize His Word,
through the witness of God the Holy Spirit.
4. Inherent in the idea of canon is its limitation,
it is limited to a few writings. The New Testament canon was completed in c. 95
AD, recognized by a formal decision in 397 AD which merely validated hundreds
of informal decisions catalogued throughout the three preceding centuries.
Thus, there are no longer any canonical books to discover, even if other
writings by an apostle were discovered or verified they would not be canonical.
Not everything an apostle wrote was canonical or inspired.
**Excludes: New books by cults, i.e., the Book of
Mormon, The Book of Science and Scripture, etc.
New revelations and prophecies. A revelation or
prophecy by definition originates with God and would thus have the same
inherent authority and infallibility as the Scripture. Thus, to claim new
revelation or prophecy the 100% accuracy rule of Scripture must prevail. If not
100% accurate then the prophet is false and a blasphemer.
II. Old
Testament Canon: The Hebrew Old Testament canon is historically
divided into three sections: Law or Torah (Genesis-Deuteronomy), The Prophets,
Former and Latter (Joshua-Kings; Isaiah-Malachi excluding Daniel), and the
Writings (Job-Ecclesiastes, Daniel) The difference between the Prophets and the
Writings was determined by the office of the author, thus Daniel, Ezra,
Nehemiah, and Chronicles were written by men who did not hold the office of
prophet so were.
A. Internal Evidence for Old Testament Canonicity.
The following verses claim Inspiration for the
Torah.
And it came about, when Moses finished writing the
words of this law in a book until they were complete, that Moses commanded the
Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, “Take this
book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your
God, that it may remain there as a witness against you. (Deut. 31:24-26)
Josh 1:7-8; 23:6; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 14:6; 21:8; 23:25;
Ezekiel 6:18; Neh 13:1; Dan 9:11; Mal 4:4
The following verses claim inspiration and
canonicity for the Prophets: Josh. 6:26, cf., 1 Kings 16:34; Josh 24:29–33,
cf., Judges 2:8–9; 2 Chron. 36:22–23; cf., Ez 1:1–4; Dan 9:2, cf., Jer
25:11–12.
B. Major question: how was canonicity determined and
what is the extent of the canon? Differing traditions have different canons.
Protestants have a 39 book Old Testament; Roman Catholics include the
Apocrypha; Greek orthodox are different yet, and so is the Syriac Church. Which
is right? The answer must be consistent with Jewish determinations of
canonicity. In other words if there is evidence of Jewish acceptance or even
disputation on these books, then support can be adduced for acceptance of the
Apocrypha, if not, these writings must be rejected, despite the light they shed
on historical issues.
C. Qumran Scrolls (Dead Sea) Found in a cave in the
Wadi Qumran, a wadi is a dried up stream bed in the desert. This was the
location of the Essenes, a Jewish sect that flourished around the time of
Christ. They were very strict in their observance of the Law, their writings
show they were looking for a teacher of Righteousness to appear, and were
deeply concerned with understanding the Scripture. In the caves of Qumran
hundreds of scrolls were found. Their significance is without measure. Not only
do they help us see that the canon was fixed and closed before the First
Advent, but also show the accuracy of the Old Testament text. The Masoretic
Text of the Old Testament, the oldest text we had prior to the discovery of the
Dead Sea Scrolls, was dated to about 950 AD. Over 1300 years after the last Old
Testament book was written.
The Isaiah Scroll is the most complete and reveals
very few differences (not more than 200), most were minor spelling changes,
grammar updates, modernization of phrases. None of course affect any theology.
One interesting note, when the translators of the RSV Old Testament began
looking at the MT they had a presupposition that it was an inferior text with
many errors. When the St. Marks Isaiah scroll was compared with the MT Isaiah
text about 200 differences were discovered. After comparing the two in light of
general principles of textual criticism, even the liberals had to admit the
superiority of the MT and the accuracy of its preservation. Of these 200
variations only 13 were accepted, and Millar Burrows, one of the translators,
and Prof. of Old Testament studies at Yale Divinity School, as well as one of
the early experts on the Scrolls admitted later that after further reflection
he regretted most of those changes.
1. 175 of 500 manuscripts are biblical texts.
2. All Old Testament books are represented except
Esther
3. Commentaries deal only with the biblical canon;
no commentaries are written on apocrypha, disputed, or noncanonical books.
4. 20 of the 39 Old Testament books are quoted as
Scripture.
5. Conclusion: No evidence existed among the Essenes
to classify apocryphal books as Scripture.
NB: Essenes, Palestinian Jews, Hellenistic Jew,
Pharisees, Christians all agreed on the extent of the Old Testament canon.
There were no difference or disagreements.
D. Other Evidence. In the Diaspora Jews were divided
into three communities with little communication between them: Babylonian,
Palestinian, and Egyptian. Each of these groups had their own approach to the
Scriptures, yet each group affirmed the same 22 or 24 books as the Scripture.
In fact the very term The Scripture, the Law, the Writings, implied a limited
selection of literature that was considered more authoritative than others.
1. Ecclesiasticus, a book in the Apocrypha,
written about 125 BC in which Jeshua or Joshua the son of Sirach states that at
the time of his grandfather (about 180-200 BC) there was a three-fold division
of the canon and that the canon was closed. This confirms the view of the
Palestinian community.
2. Judas Maccabaeus (164 BC) compiled a list of
canonical books and recognized the gift of prophecy had ceased (1 Macc 9:27
cf., 4:46, 14:41). This confirms the view of the Palestinian community.
3. The Babylonian Talmud, (written around 200-300 AD
but reports oral tradition from much earlier): Baba Bathra 14b reports a
three-fold division which indicates that by the time of Christ or at least
first century there was a recognized canon in Judaism. This is the testimony of
the Babylonian Community.
4. Philo, c. 40 AD; a contemporary of Jesus and the
Apostles, representing the Egyptian community mentions the same three fold
division. The Law, the Writings, and the Prophets.
5. Josephus (37-100 AD) states that the Jews hold 22
books to be sacred (Contra Apion I.8) and that a collection was kept in
the Temple. View reflects the view of the Palestinian community. This indicates
a closed canon.
6. The Council of Jamnia (90 AD) was not a formal
counsel, but a gathering of scholars who discussed issues about the existing
canon, not to determine the extent of the canon or the existence of a canon,
they again debated the inclusion of Esther, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and
concluded to leave them in the canon. They affirmed the same 22 or 24 book
canon. NB. Liberal theologians claimed that the Bible receives authority from
councils which determined which were authoritative. So anything could be
included. But the evidence shows that no council made this determination for
the Old Testament canon which was apparently recognized and closed by at least
180 BC.
7. Jesus affirms the same 24 book canon and
threefold division:
Luke 24:44 Now He said to them, “These
are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things
which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the
Psalms must be fulfilled.”
In a passage where Jesus is confronting the
Pharisees with their negative volition and historical rejection of the Prophets
He declares:
Matt. 23:35 that upon you may fall the
guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous
Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between
the temple and the altar.
If Jesus were thinking chronologically He would not
have said Zechariah, who was killed around 825 BC but Uriah who was murdered
about 600 BC (Jeremiah 26:23). Jesus clearly was thinking canonically, that is
in terms of the Old Testament canon of the Jews, from the beginning, Abel in
Gen. 4 to the end, Zechariah, in 2 Chron. 24:20–21 (2 Chronicles is the last
book in the Hebrew Bible). Also see Matt 5:17 and Luke 11:51.
8. The New Testament writers never question the
extent or content of the Jewish canon. The use of the term Scripture hJ grafh\
aiű grafai« tw×n profhtw×n, indicates a closed canon. 250 Old Testament quotes
in the New Testament; none are from the disputed books or the Apocrypha. Only
Esther, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes from the accepted canon are not
quoted.
9. Church Fathers: accepted only 39 (22 or 24) Old
Testament books. Augustine liked the Apocrypha but did not consider it
authoritative, neither did Jerome, the translator of the Latin Vulgate, who
included it in the Vulgate only because of its historical value.
10. The Question of the Apocrypha. Why was it
included? First, Jerome and Augustine and other church Fathers believed the
material was informative and had historical value so was translated and added
at the end, but Jerome, Augustine, and Rufinus, to name a few, rejected the
Apocrypha as canonical. (1, 2 Maccabes, Judith, Tobit, Wisdom of Solomon,
Susannah and Bel and the Dragon, Ecclesiaticus, Esdras). Though there is much
truth in these books, truth alone is not enough to gain canonical authority.
These books were never considered canonical until after the Reformation in
reaction to the Protestants. Even Cardinal Cajetan, Luther's famous opponent,
rejected the canonicity of the Apocrypha.
11. Conclusion: By the early 2nd century
BC Jews considered the canon to have been comprised of 22 books, the gift of
prophecy to have temporarily ceased, and they did not include or even dispute
the inclusion of the Apocrypha.
E. Criterion for Old Testament Canonicity
1. Authorization by a prophet. The book bore the
imprint of having been written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the
book had been accepted as authoritative.
2. Internal Evidence: Was the message of the book
internally consistent and did it measure up to the standards of the Scripture.
Remember, books are canonical not because Israel determined them to be; but
because they were recognized as such from their inception and down though the
ages.
3. External Evidence: Was a book consistent with
other books and were prophecies fulfilled to the letter.
III. The New
Testament Canon.
A. The New Testament books were all written between
AD 40-45 (James) and AD 90-95 (Revelation). However, no attempt was made to
collect them all together or to recognize an authoritative canon until well
into the next century. One reason for this was the early church expected Christ
to return shortly, so they saw no pressing need to collect the New Testament.
B. Factors leading to canonization.
1. Attempts by heretics, such as Marcion, to arrange
an authoritative collection. Marcion was anti-Semitic and had a canon of a
heavily edited version of Luke, and 10 Pauline epistles.
2. Attempts by others such as the Montanists to
claim additional revelation.
3. Persecution for possession of Christian writings,
the edict by Emperor Diocletian (AD 303) ordered the burning of all sacred
writings. One might die for Romans, but what about the Shepherd of Hermas, or 1
Clement. If it was not the Word of God why die for it.
4. The content of the New Testament validated its
authority and as different churches collected different writings, the need for
a canon was realized.
5. The use of Apostolic writings in Worship. Which
were authoritative, which were not?
C. The Collection of the Canon. The Church is
founded on apostolic authority, not apostolic writings. It is their authority
that validates the writings.
Remember the books were authoritative and canonical
from the moment of writing because they were the Word of God. The role of the
Church was to attest to their inspiration. Ultimately it was Christ through the
witness of the Spirit that validated the Scripture for His Church. Writers of
Scripture attested to their own writings as the Word of God and to the writings
of others, Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 4:15; and Paul's quote from Luke 10:7 in 1 Tim.
5:18 which equated it with Scripture of the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 25:4.
1. The Period of separate circulation (70-170),
During this period the individual books were being
circulated. Some such as the circular epistles like Colossians, and those to
churches in close proximity (Corinth, Thessalonica, Philippi) were gathered in
local churches and read. Others which were written to individuals (Timothy,
Titus, Philemon) were less well known but gradually grew in recognition.
Hebrews was frequently debated because the author was unknown.
Clement of Rome (c. AD 96) mentions at least
eight New Testament books in his epistles, Ignatius of Antioch cites about
seven books (c. AD 106); Polycarp mentions about 15 (c. AD 140).
Irenaeus (AD 185) mentions 21 Hipplytus (AD 170-235, mentions 22.
During this time the books which were questioned but
not excluded were: Hebrews (unknown author), James, 2 Peter, 2,3 John,
Revelation.
2. Period of separation, the issue at this time is
extent (170-303),
During this period various collections are coming
together. The issue is which writings were to be excluded. Marcion (AD 140)
stimulates identification because of his false canon; the Edict of Diocletian
does as well. The Muratorian Canon (AD. 170) is the earliest known collection
excluding only Hebrews, James, and 1, 2 Peter. Irenaeus (AD 185) mentions 21,
Hipplytus (AD 170-235, mentions 22. The Old Syriac version excludes 2 Pet., 2,3
John, Jude and Revelation, and the Old Latin (AD 200 excludes 1, 2 Peter,
James, and Hebrews.
3. Period of completion (303-397).
Eusebius tells us that certain books were still
debated though accepted: James, Jude, 2 Peter, and 2, 3 John. Though most
accepted them. Revelation still had not gained complete acceptance primarily
because it ended with a curse on anyone who added or took away from it.
During this period the formal acceptance and
recognition takes place. Council of Laodicea (AD 363) mentions the present
collection of 27; Athanasius mentions 27 in his Easter letter of AD 367 and
these are the recognized canon at the local Council of Hippo (AD 393) and the
Third Synod of Carthage (AD 397).
D. Criterion for New Testament Canonicity.
1. Apostolic authority
2. Acceptance by the churches
3. Internal Witness; the books were self
authenticating in their authority.
4. In the final analysis it was the oversight of
Christ for His Church through the Spirit of God that directed them in the
collection of the Canon.
IV. The Reliability
of the New Testament
Just how reliable are the New Testament documents?
There are now more than 5,300 known Greek
manuscripts of the New Testament. Add over 10,000 Latin Vulgate and at least
9,300 other early versions (MSS) and we have more than 24,000 manuscript copies
of portions of the
New Testament. This means that no other document of
antiquity even begins to approach such numbers and attestation. In comparison,
the Iliad by Homer is second with only 643 manuscripts that still survive. The
first complete preserved text of Homer dates from the 13th century.
This contrast is startling and tremendously
significant.
Perhaps we can appreciate how wealthy the New
Testament is in manuscript attestation if we compare the textual material for
other ancient historical works. For
Caesar's Gallic War (composed between 58 and 50 B.C)
there are several extant MSS, but only nine or ten are good, and the oldest is
some 900 years later than Caesar's day.
Of the 142 books of the Roman history of Livy (59
B.C-A.D 17), only 35 survive; these are known to us from not more than twenty
MSS of any consequence, only one of which, and that containing fragments of
Books III-VI, is as old as the fourth century.
Of the fourteen books of Histories of Tacitus (c.
A.D. 100) only four and a half survive; of the sixteen books of his Annals, ten
survive in full and two in part. The text of these extant portions of his two
great historical works depends entirely on two MSS, one of the ninth century
and one of the eleventh....
The History of Thucydides (c. 460-400 B.C.) is known
to us from eight MSS, the earliest belonging to about the beginning of the
Christian era. The same is true of the History of Herodotus (c. 480-425 B.C.).
Yet no classical scholar would listen to an argument that the authenticity of
Herodotus or Thucydides is in doubt because the earliest MSS of their works
which are of any use are over 1,300 years later than the originals.75
The fact of the many documents plus the fact that
many of the New Testament documents are very early (hundreds of parchment
copies from the 4th and 5th centuries with some seventy-five papyri fragments
dating from A.D. 135 to the 8th century) assures us we have a very accurate and
reliable text in the New Testament.
V. How We Got the
English Bible.
A. Early Attempts. Remember English is a combination
of Old Breton, Anglo-Saxon, Norman, Danish, French, and German. As a distinct
language it does not come into existence until about the tenth century AD.
(Paul did not write in English or use the KJV). During this period various
Bible stories were reduced to song, Caedmon, the Venerable Bede, and Alfred the
Great, all played a role. Alfred was responsible for translating some small
sections of the Latin into Old English.
B. John Wycliffe (1320-1384) “the Morning star of
the Reformation:
Wycliffe lived during the Babylonian Captivity of
the Papacy. A time of deep distrust in the Papacy and reaction to the abuses of
the clergy. His followers were known as Lollards, “poor priests” who preached,
read, and translated the Bible into English. His principle was to use the
easiest and most common English. New Testament translated in 1380 and Old
Testament in 1388 made this the first complete Bible in the English language.
NB The Guttenberg invention of moveable typeset
changed the world. At this same time there was a renaissance of interest in
Greek culture and the Greek language. The onslaught of the Moslem hordes
precipitated thousands of refugees from Greece who brought many manuscript
treasures with them.
Greek was taught publicly at the Univ. of Paris in
1488; the first Greek Grammar appeared in 1476, a Greek lexicon came out in
1492 and in 1488 a Hebrew Bible was published, then 1503 the first Hebrew
grammar and in 1506 the first Hebrew lexicon. This precipitated an interest in
studying the Bible in the original languages and set the stage for the
Protestant Reformation.
C. William Tyndale (1492-1536)
Unsuccessful at translating in England so he left
for the Continent to complete the task. During this period he spent time with
Luther in Wittenburg, and in Cologne. . Copies were smuggled into England where
Archbishop Warham and the Bishop of London bought them all and burned them. He
printed his first New Testament in 1526 with subsequent revisions in 1535. He
was kidnapped in Antwerp, taken to Flanders and in 1536 found guilty of heresy,
and executed on Oct 6 by being strangled to death and then burned. Before he
died he cried out, “Lord, open the King of England's Eye's.” That prayer was
answered quickly.
Tyndale was a man of vast scholarship, he new seven
languages well and his knowledge of Greek was superb. His English style was so
great that 80% of the KJV is Tyndale. His translation created a hunger for the
Bible in the vernacular, and was instrumental in bringing about the answer to
his own prayer.
D. Miles Coverdale (1488-1569)
Coverdale was Tyndale's assistant, published his own
version, which was the Tyndale New Testament and partial Old Testament plus
Coverdale's own work on the Old Testament which was based on the Latin since he
did not know Hebrew. This was the first complete English Bible in print (1535).
Coverdale had the ear of the king and was aided by Thomas Cromwell. Because of
his conciliatory attitude, Coverdale also played key roles in the later Great
Bible and Bishop's Bible.
E. Thomas Matthew (pseudonym of John Rogers).
Also an assistant to Tyndale, he published a
revision of Tyndale's New Testament and Tavener's Old Testament with notes and
references in 1537. Both Cromwell and Cranmer gave this their support and the
translation was dedicated to King Henry and Queen Jane. Rogers adopted the
Reformation theology and was burned at the stake on Feb 4, 1555 by Queen Mary,
“Bloody Mary.”
F. The Great Bible. (1539)
Coverdale was the general editor. This was
authorized by Henry 8. It was enormous in size, with ornate, elaborate
decorations. It was the first English version to remove the Apocrypha to an
appendix. It was authorized by the King to be read and was a version of the Matthew's
revision of Tyndale minus the marginal notes which were offensive to the church
in England..
G. Cranmer's Bible
Cranmer was the Archbishop of Canterbury who was
very Protestant and very brave. This was a 2nd edition of the Great
Bible with a preface by Cranmer. It went through 8 editions and was extremely
popular. When the Roman Catholic reaction set in Thomas Cromwell (1840) was
executed. Then after Henry VIII died, and his son Edward's short reign, his
sister, the Roman Catholic Mary Tudor, known as Bloody Mary, took the throne
and burned over three hundred Protestants at the stake. Cranmer was Archbishop
and was also burned at the stake.
H. Geneva Bible (1560)
The first English Bible to incorporate verse
divisions which were from Robert Stephen's 1551 edition of the Greek Text. He
is said to have inserted verse divisions as he road horseback from Paris to
Lyons. That might explain some of the unusual verse breaks. This translation
was done by scholars who had fled to Calvin's Geneva. It became the popular
version and was preferred by the Puritans over the KJV. This was the Bible used
by Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan army, the Pilgrims, John Bunyan,
Shakespeare, and even King James himself, but he despised one or two of the
marginal notes which implied that a ruler could be removed for injustice.
I. Bishop's Bible
1568 A revision of the Great Bible by 8 Bishop's and
was supplanted by the KJV.
J. King James Version of 1611 (Never authorized and
not a true version)
Based on Erasmus Greek Text (TR). Revised in 1629,
1638, 1653, 1701, 1762, 1769, and several more times unofficially. Over 100,000
changes were made. It unfortunately depended to some degree on the Bishop's
Bible and included some anachronistic Latinisms and other problems which eventually
had to be corrected.
K. Discovery of the Alexandrian Manuscripts:
Sinaiticus. In 1844 Tischendorff visited the
monastery at St Catharine on Mount Sinai, there as he was burning papers from a
waste basket to light the fire in his room he discovered the papers were an
ancient manuscript of the LXX. He retrieved much of it and took them to the
university library at Leipzig, in 1853 he returned and the steward of the
monastrprodeced a manuscript wrapped in a red cloth which contained much of the
Old Testament and all the New Testament plus two other early Christian works,
Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas. It like Vaticanus was a fourth
century document.
Codex Ephraemi, a fifth century mss erased during
the twelfth century and written over. Tischendorf used a chemical process to
recover what had originally been written.
Papyrii
NB. The Textus Receptus which was the basis
of the Greek text behind the earlier versions was based on only 8 or 9 rather
old Greek MSS which had evidence of textual corruption. With the exception of
the NKJV, all modern translations are based on the Westcott-Hort textual theory
or an eclectic version thereof, which relies heavily on the four uncials found
in the late 19th century plus the papyri. Much debate takes place over this
between the Majority Text advocates who emphasize the value of the Byzantine
family of documents and the Westcott-Hort/eclectics. This writer is not a
textual critic and prefers to analyze each passage on its own merits.
K. English Revised Version (1881): the
first English translation based on the newly discovered MSS and the
Westcott-Hort textual theory.
L. American Standard Version (1901): the
predecessor to the NASB.
M. Revised Standard Version (1952): a
revision of the KJV and the English Revised, but was attacked heavily by
conservatives because of the liberal bias of its translators.
N. New American Standard Version (1968): an
excellent word for word translation based on the original Greek. Stylistically
it is a little wooden and stiff in places in the English. In the Old Testament
they accepted uncritically the Hebrew definitions in Brown, Driver, and Briggs
Hebrew-English Lexicon, despite many lexical advances in the middle of the
twentieth century. Overall this is the best translation even though it relies
too heavily on Westcott-Hort theory.
O. New International Version (1978): A fine
attempt at a universally accepted English version that would work on both sides
of the Atlantic. Unfortunately, it sounds too much like a paraphrase, and
interpretive rather than precise translations are abundant. For example, the
Greek sarkikos from sarx, meaning flesh and indicating the sin nature, is
translated `worldly' in 1 Cor. 3:1-3. There are many other such inexcusable
translations.
P. New King James Version: a modernization
of the AV, with more up to date English, yet still preserving the marvelous
cadence of the original. Unfortunately it suffers from reliance on the textus
receptus and perpetuates those textual errors.
V. References:
D.A. Carson, The King James Version Debate.
R. Laird Harris, Inspiration and Canonicity of
the Bible.
Bruce Metzger, The Text of the New Testament.
Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, From God to
Us.
Wilbur Pickering, The Identity of the New
Testament.
R. B. Thieme, Jr. Canonicity.
©Robert L. Dean, Jr. 1999