A site defending Westcott and Hort against unnecessary and incorrect attacks. It is generally believed that these were from the 50 that Eusebius prepared for Constantine. Revision of theChalloner Revisionof theDouay-Rheims Bible. I often see people pointing to Acts 8:37 and other passages as an example and pointing out how that verse is not in modern versions. 50+ premium resources (>$2,400 value!). It is the latter edition that was taken as the basis for the presentUnited Bible Societies edition. INDIANA BIBLE COLLEGE | INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, Modern Bible Versions, and Westcott and Hort The result of it all is a methodological quagmire where objective controls on the conclusions of critics are nearly nonexistent. It is in draft form, and currently being edited for accuracy and readability. The Westcott and Hort Greek text is now available to all Bible lovers in The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures. Westcott and Hort, in turn, were rationalists in their approach to the textual problem in the New Testament and employed techniques within which rationalism and every other kind of bias are free to operate. However, they were not thoughtlessly bound to the Vaticanus manuscript as some scholars have claimed, for by assessing all the elements they frequently concluded that certain minor interpolations had crept into the neutral text that was not found in the group more given to interpolations and paraphrasing, i.e. First, many of the papyrus Alexandrian manuscripts are in terrible shape, some being 200 years older than codicesVaticanus and Sinaiticus, which would mean that they must have been read very often by true believers. A reading combining two simple, alternative readings is later than the two readings comprising the conflation, and manuscripts rarely or never supporting conflate reading are text antecedent to mixture and are of special value. - Receive these reports by email Textual criticism is flawed because mans judgment is by nature flawed with bias. [6]In her book, she accuses Westcott of being involved in the occult. I have never personally come across anyone that actually believes it, but some scholars do. Have you read my 644 page book: FROM SPOKEN WORDS TO SACRED TEXTS: Introduction-Intermediate New Testament Textual Studies, Please Help Us Keep These Thousands of Blog Posts Free for All. For centuries, manuscripts were preserved, even when the Catholic priests could no longer understand them. In 1853 these two Cambridge professors, Westcott and Hort, began to prepare a Greek Text based primarily on the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus manuscripts. It goes without saying that no Bible-believing Christian who is willing to extend the implications of his faith to textual matters can have the slightest grounds for confidence in contemporary critical texts (emphasis added) (Zane C. Hodges, Rationalism and Contemporary New Testament Textual Criticism, Bibliotheca Sacra, January 1971, p. 35).Zane Hodges is not a fundamental Baptist, but I believe he is more honest about the influence of Westcott and Hort upon modern textual scholarship than James White. Almost all Catholic priests were biblically illiterate, so one wonders who these so-called true believers were and how were they reading Gods Word to the point of wearing it out. The NABRE is the latest official English Catholic Bible translation released. An update to the 1966 Jerusalem Bible which uses more extensive gender neutral language, New Jewish Publication Society of America Version. It must be replaced by a new translation from texts that they considered to be older and better. Codex Bezae (D). However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes. Sinaticus and alexandrinus not only disagree with the overwhelming majority, they disagree with each other. I no. Much of our material is available for free, such as the hundreds of articles at the Way of Life web site. The Alexandrian text-type, exemplified in the Codex Ephraemi, exhibits a polished Greek style. New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, Westcott and Horts Greek New Testament, Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament, Hebrew J documents, as well as various other families of Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. It had nothing to do with it being the better text, i.e., the text that more accurately reflected the original. 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. 118:8 Putting our confidence in God and not man, it seems apparent our Lord has kept His promise and that His Word is faithfully preserved in over 5000 witnesses! . Can his verdict be true? To prefer the TR (Textus Receptus) against modern critical Greek texts. In one sense it matters not. During the eighteenth-century scholars assembled a great amount of information from many Greek manuscripts, as well as from versional and patristic witnesses. Jeromes Latin Vulgate, produced in the 5thcentury to make the Bible accessible to all, became a means of keeping Gods Word hidden. Tobin Pederson, When it comes to the various Bible versions of our modern day, most readers assume that all Bibles are created equal, with perhaps differing degrees of readability. Revised from the public domain JPS 1917 edition, and placed together with a revised edition of the Hebrew Roots New Testament (based on Hebrew and Aramaic sources) each with useful footnotes, and an informative preface to the whole work. This text type is called Byzantine and most of its copies can be sourced to Constantinople. Textual scholars use the abbreviations "WH" [1] or "WHNU". (2.20), The reading is to be preferred that most fitly explains the existence of the others. The critical text of Westcott and Hort of 1881 has been commended by leading textual scholars over the last one hundred and forty years, and still stands as the standard. This new text caused Bible translators to doubt God's preserved words and long-held Christian doctrines, resulting in Bibles translated after 1881 to contain thousands of changes from the . Christian Publishing House Blog, Byzantine Text-Type of Greek New Testament Manuscripts Christian Publishing House Blog, Is the King James Version (KJV) the ONLY True Bible Translation? I suppose I am a communist by nature. Riplinger, pg 624, Westcott our Bible as well as our Faith is a mere compromise. Riplinger, pg 625. Have you ever read Pickerings book? They follow the type of text found in the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, which the Reformation era Greek editors believed was a doctrinally corrupt text that was modified during the theological battles occurring in the two centuries after the apostles. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! (2.28). "[11] humbly submitting themselves to Christ as they do it. Instead they used the corrupted manuscripts of the Gnosticism-Origen-Eusebius- Jerome-Augustine lineage. (Joseph Van Beeks tract: KJV vs NIV, pgs 5 & 6), As to the personal beliefs of Westcot and Hort: 1) They never claimed or testified that the Bible was verbally inspired or inerrant. baseline is the original Greek and Hebrew, so what we compare all versions to is the best text we can produce, our favourite translation. So in modern, more reliable, translations we lose 1 John 5:7 ..these three are one ( not in any Greek NT manuscript before 1500) and 1 Tim 3:16 God manifest in the flesh. Today, for instance, we have in excess of 5600 manuscripts we can consult. In fact, Constantine had ordered 50 copies of the whole of the Bible for the church in Constantinople. So, why reject efforts to do so with the 1881 English Revised Version (ERV), the 1901 American Standard Version (ASV), the 1952 Revised Standard Version (RSV), the 1995 New American Standard Bible (NASB), the 2001 English Standard Version (ESV), and the forthcoming Updated American Standard Version (UASV)? Informally referred to as WH they produced the WH text of the New Testament. This version is now in thepublic domaindue to copyright expiration. Any man who discounts the continuing significance of Westcott-Hort in the field of Bible texts and versions is probably trying to throw up a smoke screen to hide something. Of course, the motivation behind the King James Version Onlyist would certainly argue otherwise. the Western manuscript family. We dare not and must not ignore these things. Westcott, Hort, and Blavatsky are all forerunners of the modern day New Age movement which aims at one world religion. Plus Calvin wasnt involved in Bible translation work that is significant for today. B. F. Westcott wrote, A corrupted Bible is a sign of a corrupt church, a Bible mutilated or imperfect, a sign of a church not yet raised to complete perfection of the truth. (The Bible in the Church, 1864, 1875) The reader can determine for himself or herself if it is mere coincidence that as the church grew corrupt, the most corrupt manuscript of all grew right along with it for a thousand years. Westcott and Hort's The New Testament in the Original Greek a critical Greek text based primarily on Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus. From the eighth century forward, the corrupt Byzantine text was the standard text and had displaced all others; it makes up about 95 percent of all manuscripts that we have of the Christian Greek Scriptures. They feel comfortable with the fact that the TR is derived from from manuscroipts derived from the stream of texts that comprise the Majority Text. We can trust these, understand and appreciate the differences, but we would be foolish to ignore the. He is currently helping set up a bible college in Southern Africa . Which group do you think would be more trustworthy? Comparable to theEnglish Standard Versionand theNew American Standard Bible. http://www.kjvonly.org/doug/index_doug.html, A superb debate between two Bible teachers one defending the KJV chaired by Doug Harris, founder of Reachout, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwe_nxeVwE0. The Old Testament translation is based on the Hebrew Masoretic text. Any modern translation that is based upon Westcott and Horts Greek text cannot be trusted, for it is based upon five manuscripts which do not even agree with one other. 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 KJV is a translation like all others. The KJV, on the other hand, is based upon the Majority text, over 5000 witnesses agreeing. Because this Bible is in the public domain, you are free to quote from or reprint it. Codex Vatican (B) Are not these revisions simply following the instructions of the 1611 KJV translators? The Western text-type is much older, but tends to paraphrase, so according to the critical text view also lacks dependability. The Westcott-Hort Greek text is very significant and its editors are highly significant to the history of textual criticism. He regular lectures and trains folk to respond to Jehovah's witnesses and other groups. #1. Westcott and Hort, in turn, were rationalists in their approach to the textual problem in the New Testament and employed techniques within which rationalism and every other kind of bias are free to operate. There are various groupings of texts. The material is copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. Tregelles, Tischendorf, Westcott and Hort). by Dr. James Murdock. () 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. Setting Straight the Indefensible Defenders of the Textus Receptus. There are quite a number of conservative Bible scholars who might disagree with the Greek text of Westcott and Hort and there favoring the Alexandrian family of Greek texts. It is comparable to a judge with a criminal past, making a judgment based upon the witness of five liars, and at the same time ignoring the unified witness of over 5000 men. Until recently the two chief witnesses to the Alexandrian text were codex Vaticanus (B) and codex Sinaiticus (), parchment manuscripts dating from about the middle of the fourth century. You are teaching doctrines of devils. These differences are minor. Third, the size of Sinaiticus with the Old Testament, the New Testament, and apocryphal books, among other books would have weighed about 50+ lbs. Riplinger speaks much on this subject and also aligns them with the New Age movement. For much unlike the 5000+, these five manuscripts are radically different. This argument is simply the weakest and most desperate that this author has ever heard. What lies each of you believe in. Westcott and the Ghostly Guild. The KJV was a superb translation for its day. This Bible version is now Public Domain worldwide due to copyright expiration except in the United Kingdom due to crown letters patent until 2039. copyright 2013, Way of Life Literature Textus Receptus. Of course, I think they gave too much weight to CodexVaticanus alone, and this needs to be tempered. Shows (by hyphenated groups) the English meaning applying to each Greek word. For example, both the W-H and the UBS delete or question almost the same number of verses (WH--48, UBS--45). Second, a number of old Byzantine and Western manuscripts are in good condition as well, which by this argument would indicate that they are also guilty of never having been read because they were full of errors, alterations, additions and deletions, so they would have had little chance of wear and tear. I once saw a Christian rant and rave to some Jehovahs Witnesses and he quoted 1 John 5:7, 1 Tim 3:16 and said the KJV was the true Word of God, it was embarrassing and it reinforced the Witnesses in their faith. Secondly, it was one of two reasons heceasedto interest himself in the the matters the Guild was involved in, shortly after it was formed (notice Chick and Riplinger both falsely use the word lifelong). Westcott & Hort were the dominant forces on the Revision Committee. Christian Publishing House Blog, HOW ACCURATE WAS/IS THE 1881 WESTCOTT AND HORT GREEK NEW TESTAMENT? (No available presumptions whatever as to text can be obtained from number alone, that is, from number not as yet interpreted by descent.) (2.44). (9) You say scribes/copyists do not make changes to the text intentionally and unintentionally, so how do you explain the copyists who write in the margins that a previous copyist made changes? 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.[10]. The Revised Version of the KJV, published in 1881, reflects this increased knowledge. In the early years of this century Kirsopp Lake described Horts work as a failure, though a glorious one. Oct 30, 2011. For these, we're using KJV and NKJV as examples of Textus Receptus, and as a representative of Westcott-Hort, the NIV (and also the NASB or the New American Standard Bible). When the modern Bible reader is asked if they are familiar with the two Textual Bible Critics, Westcott and Hort, most have never heard of them. I once saw a Christian rant and rave to some J, s and he quoted 1 John 5:7, 1 Tim 3:16 and said the KJV was the true Word of God, it was embarrassing and it reinforced. . (Riplinger, New Age Bible Versions, p.407). There are over 5366 manuscripts of the Greek New Testament. This is consistent with Riplingers claim; however, it had no bearing on his ability or skills as a textual scholar to produce and publish The New Testament in the Original Greek, a Greek-language version of the New Testament, which, again, published in 1881. Now take your Bibles and look at Mark 16:9-20. The judge then listens to the other side which holds over 5000 witnesses. There is no historical evidence i am aware of of a forced standardizing of the text. www.wayoflife.org/about/makeanoffering.html. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. Our primary goal with the FBIS is to provide material to assist preachers in the edification and protection of the churches. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. But, except for three or four editors who timidly corrected some of the more blatant errors of the Textus Receptus, this debased form of the New Testament text was reprinted in edition after edition. Once we understand that we become aware of some of the shortcomings of the KJV. Both delete almost the same number of names and titles of the Lord (WH--221, UBS--212). This, like Erasmus in the 1500s, summarised the best information available to produce the most accurate text. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Rev 22:18,19. And what do we know about these men who made themselves the judges over Gods holy Word? [13], The New Testament in the original Greek (1881), The New Testament in the original Greek Introduction and Appendix (1882), Comparison of the Wescott/Hort text with other manuscript editions, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Westcott_and_Hort&oldid=1137236913, This page was last edited on 3 February 2023, at 15:13. They started the Ghostly Guild in 1851 and before that the Hermes Club in 1845. The quote above still appears on Chicks website at the time of this writing. Thus, the idea of true believers wearing out manuscripts is ludicrous. This translation in many ways was the precursor to the modern Critical Text underlying most modern translations. They will leave discussions with us knowing we will not face up to the facts available in the manuscripts. Again, they need not pull quotes from when Westcott and Hort were young men but rather show one unorthodox belief in their commentaries, which have been listed below. _______________________________________________. Masoretic Text,Textus Receptus, Tyndale 1526 NT, some Erasmus manuscripts, and Bezae 1598 TR. We can conclude that any modern translation that uses majestic, literary or grand language is not generally reflecting the text and style of the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. For the reader of the NIV this note in brackets must at least cause doubt to enter ones mind as to the authenticity of these verses. New Jubilees version of the Bible in English Verse byThomas McElwain. The Textus Receptus (Latin for "Received Text") is a Greek New Testament that provided the textual base for the vernacular translations of the Reformation Period. The most recent is the Syrian, or Byzantine text-type (eastern), of which the newest example is the Textus Receptus and thus from the critical text view is less likely reliable. Almost all the websites, articles, films, videos and messages I have come across regarding the KJV, or anti modern versions, pay no attention at all to this viewpoint as they seem more concerned about showing that a translation 400 years old is in some way better than the ones we have today. They passed by the Traditional Text (Textus Receptus) which was the text upon which the King James Version is based. A series of articles on relevant topics about the KJV and Greek text.
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