The New Testament in the Original Greek
Encyclopedia
The New Testament in the Original Greek is the name of a Greek language version of the New Testament
published in 1881. It is also known as the Westcott and Hort text, after its editors Brooke Foss Westcott
(1825–1901) and Fenton John Anthony Hort
(1828–1892). It is a critical text
, compiled from some of the oldest New Testament fragments and texts that had been discovered at the time. The two editors worked together for 28 years.
Westcott and Hort state: "[It is] our belief that even among the numerous unquestionably spurious readings of the New Testament there are no signs of deliberate falsification of the text for dogmatic purposes."
According to Hort, "Knowledge of Documents should precede Final Judgments upon Readings". Two manuscripts were favoured by Westcott and Hort: Vaticanus and Sinaiticus
. They also believed that the combination of Codex Bezae
with the Old Latin
and the Old Syriac
represents the original form of the New Testament text, especially when it is shorter than other forms of the tradition.
, of which the newest example (thus from the critical text view less reliable) is the Textus Receptus
. The Western text-type
is much older, but tends to paraphrase, so according to them also lacks dependability. The Alexandrian text-type
, exemplified in the Codex Ephraemi, exhibits a polished Greek style. The two scholars identified their favorite text type as "Neutral text", exemplified by the two 4th century manuscripts codex Vaticanus (known to scholars since the 15th century) and Codex Sinaiticus
(discovered only in 1859), both of which they relied on heavily but not exclusively for this edition. This text has only a few changes of the original. This edition is based on the critical works especially of Tischendorf and Tregelles.
Westcott and Hort worked on their Testament from 1853 until its completion in 1881. It was followed by an Introduction and Appendix by Hort appearing in a second volume in 1882. In 1892, a revised edition was released by F. C. Burkitt
.
All critical editions published after Westcott and Hort were close to their text with only one exception (von Soden). Hermann von Soden's editions stands much closer to Tischendorf
than to the text Westcott-Hort. All editions of Nestle-Aland
remain close in textual character to the text WH. Aland
reports that, while NA25 text shows, for example, 2,047 differences from von Soden, 1,996 from Vogels, 1,268 from Tischendorf, 1,161 from Bover, and 770 from Merk, it contains only 558 differences from WH text.
According to Bruce M. Metzger, "the general validity of their critical principles and procedures is widely acknowledged by scholars today."
In 1981 Metzger said:
Philip Comfort gave this opinion:
, and the texts of Bover and Merk, differs very little from the text of the Westcott-Hort.
Sortable articles
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
published in 1881. It is also known as the Westcott and Hort text, after its editors Brooke Foss Westcott
Brooke Foss Westcott
Brooke Foss Westcott was a British bishop, Biblical scholar and theologian, serving as Bishop of Durham from 1890 until his death.-Early life and education:...
(1825–1901) and Fenton John Anthony Hort
Fenton John Anthony Hort
Fenton John Anthony Hort was an Irish theologian and editor, with Brooke Westcott of a critical edition of The New Testament in the Original Greek.-Life:...
(1828–1892). It is a critical text
Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
, compiled from some of the oldest New Testament fragments and texts that had been discovered at the time. The two editors worked together for 28 years.
Westcott and Hort state: "[It is] our belief that even among the numerous unquestionably spurious readings of the New Testament there are no signs of deliberate falsification of the text for dogmatic purposes."
According to Hort, "Knowledge of Documents should precede Final Judgments upon Readings". Two manuscripts were favoured by Westcott and Hort: Vaticanus and Sinaiticus
Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Sinaiticus is one of the four great uncial codices, an ancient, handwritten copy of the Greek Bible. It is an Alexandrian text-type manuscript written in the 4th century in uncial letters on parchment. Current scholarship considers the Codex Sinaiticus to be one of the best Greek texts of...
. They also believed that the combination of Codex Bezae
Codex Bezae
The Codex Bezae Cantabrigensis, designated by siglum Dea or 05 , δ 5 , is a codex of the New Testament dating from the 5th century written in an uncial hand on vellum. It contains, in both Greek and Latin, most of the four Gospels and Acts, with a small fragment of the 3 John...
with the Old Latin
Vetus Latina
Vetus Latina is a collective name given to the Biblical texts in Latin that were translated before St Jerome's Vulgate Bible became the standard Bible for Latin-speaking Western Christians. The phrase Vetus Latina is Latin for Old Latin, and the Vetus Latina is sometimes known as the Old Latin Bible...
and the Old Syriac
Peshitta
The Peshitta is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition.The Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated into Syriac from the Hebrew, probably in the 2nd century AD...
represents the original form of the New Testament text, especially when it is shorter than other forms of the tradition.
WH edition
Westcott and Hort distinguished four text types in their studies. The most recent is Syrian, or Byzantine text-typeByzantine text-type
The Byzantine text-type is one of several text-types used in textual criticism to describe the textual character of Greek New Testament manuscripts. It is the form found in the largest number of surviving manuscripts, though not in the oldest...
, of which the newest example (thus from the critical text view less reliable) is the Textus Receptus
Textus Receptus
Textus Receptus is the name subsequently given to the succession of printed Greek texts of the New Testament which constituted the translation base for the original German Luther Bible, the translation of the New Testament into English by William Tyndale, the King James Version, and for most other...
. The Western text-type
Western text-type
The Western text-type is one of several text-types used in textual criticism to describe and group the textual character of Greek New Testament manuscripts...
is much older, but tends to paraphrase, so according to them also lacks dependability. The Alexandrian text-type
Alexandrian text-type
The Alexandrian text-type , associated with Alexandria, is one of several text-types used in New Testament textual criticism to describe and group the textual character of biblical manuscripts...
, exemplified in the Codex Ephraemi, exhibits a polished Greek style. The two scholars identified their favorite text type as "Neutral text", exemplified by the two 4th century manuscripts codex Vaticanus (known to scholars since the 15th century) and Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Sinaiticus is one of the four great uncial codices, an ancient, handwritten copy of the Greek Bible. It is an Alexandrian text-type manuscript written in the 4th century in uncial letters on parchment. Current scholarship considers the Codex Sinaiticus to be one of the best Greek texts of...
(discovered only in 1859), both of which they relied on heavily but not exclusively for this edition. This text has only a few changes of the original. This edition is based on the critical works especially of Tischendorf and Tregelles.
Westcott and Hort worked on their Testament from 1853 until its completion in 1881. It was followed by an Introduction and Appendix by Hort appearing in a second volume in 1882. In 1892, a revised edition was released by F. C. Burkitt
Francis Crawford Burkitt
Francis Crawford Burkitt was a British theologian and scholar. He was Norris Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, from 1905 until shortly before his death. Burkitt was a sturdy critic of the notion of a distinct "Caesarean Text" of the New Testament put forward by B. H...
.
Reception
The edition of Westcott and Hort began a new epoch in the history of textual criticism.All critical editions published after Westcott and Hort were close to their text with only one exception (von Soden). Hermann von Soden's editions stands much closer to Tischendorf
Constantin von Tischendorf
Lobegott Friedrich Constantin Tischendorf was a noted German Biblical scholar. He deciphered the Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, a 5th century Greek manuscript of the New Testament, in the 1840s, and rediscovered the Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th century New Testament manuscript, in 1859.Tischendorf...
than to the text Westcott-Hort. All editions of Nestle-Aland
Novum Testamentum Graece
Novum Testamentum Graece is the Latin name editions of the original Greek-language version of the New Testament.The first printed edition was the Complutensian Polyglot Bible by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, printed in 1514, but not published until 1520...
remain close in textual character to the text WH. Aland
Kurt Aland
Kurt Aland was a German Theologian and Professor of New Testament Research and Church History. He founded the Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung in Münster and served as its first director for many years...
reports that, while NA25 text shows, for example, 2,047 differences from von Soden, 1,996 from Vogels, 1,268 from Tischendorf, 1,161 from Bover, and 770 from Merk, it contains only 558 differences from WH text.
According to Bruce M. Metzger, "the general validity of their critical principles and procedures is widely acknowledged by scholars today."
In 1981 Metzger said:
“The international committee that produced the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament, not only adopted the Westcott and Hort edition as its basic text, but followed their methodology in giving attention to both external and internal consideration”.
Philip Comfort gave this opinion:
The text produced by Westcott and Hort is still to this day, even with so many more manuscript discoveries, a very close reproduction of the primitive text of the New Testament. Of course, I think they gave too much weight to Codex Vaticanus alone, and this needs to be tempered. This criticism aside, the Westcott and Hort text is extremely reliable. (...) In many instances where I would disagree with the working in the Nestle / UBS text in favor of a particular variant reading, I would later check with the Westcott and Hort text and realize that they had often come to the same decision. (...) Of course, the manuscript discoveries of the past one hundred years have changed things, but it is remarkable how often they have affirmed the decisions of Westcott and Hort.
Other editions of Greek New Testament
The text of Nestle-AlandNovum Testamentum Graece
Novum Testamentum Graece is the Latin name editions of the original Greek-language version of the New Testament.The first printed edition was the Complutensian Polyglot Bible by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, printed in 1514, but not published until 1520...
, and the texts of Bover and Merk, differs very little from the text of the Westcott-Hort.
See also
- Editio RegiaEditio RegiaEditio Regia , it is the third and the most important edition of the Greek New Testament of Robert Estienne . It is one of the most important printed editions of the Greek New Testament in history, the Textus Receptus. It was named Editio Regia because of the beautiful and elegant Greek font it...
- Novum Instrumentum omneNovum Instrumentum omneNovum Instrumentum omne was the first published New Testament in Greek . It was prepared by Desiderius Erasmus and printed by Johann Froben of Basel. Although the first printed Greek New Testament was the Complutensian Polyglot , it was the second to be published...
- Editio Octava Critica MaiorEditio Octava Critica MaiorEditio Octava Critica Maior is a critical edition of the Greek New Testament produced by Constantin von Tischendorf. It was Tischendorf's eighth edition of the Greek Testament, and the most important, published between 1864 and 1894.- Edition :...
- Novum Testamentum GraeceNovum Testamentum GraeceNovum Testamentum Graece is the Latin name editions of the original Greek-language version of the New Testament.The first printed edition was the Complutensian Polyglot Bible by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, printed in 1514, but not published until 1520...
Further reading
- Bruce M. Metzger, The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration (3rd edition, 1992), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-507297-9, p. 129–136
- Palmer, Edwin Palmer, ΚΑΙΝΗ ΔΙΑΘΗΚΗ. The Greek Testament with the Readings Adopted by the Revisers of the Authorised Version. London: Simon Wallenberg Press, 2007. ISBN 1843560232
External links
Editions- The New Testament In The Original Greek (New York 1882)
- The New Testament in the original Greek: the text revised by Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort, Published by Macmillan, 1907.
- The New Testament In The Original Greek (1925)
Sortable articles
- Bible Version Verse Comparison Charts
- Comparison of the Wescott/Hort text with other manuscript editions on the Manuscript Comparator
- Greek Text of Hort's "The New Testament in the Original Greek", Vol. 1 with variants