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Biblical studiesWhat does the text say?

Textual criticism

What is textual criticism?

Textual criticism is the study that seeks to recover the earliest attainable wording of the biblical text from the surviving witnesses: manuscripts, ancient translations and quotations. It weighs competing readings, explains how copies came to differ, and produces critical editions. It establishes wording, not meaning or theological truth, and is distinct from the higher criticism of sources and authorship.

  • 104Sources
  • 10Traditions
  • 16Dated entries
  • 11Minutes

Study v1.1, 16 October 2026

Textual criticism

At a glance

Why it matters for reading Scripture

Before anyone can say what the text says, the original wording must be known. Textual criticism weighs the manuscripts and the variants, and answers the question "has the Bible changed?"

What the study found

The evidence supports neither an unchanged Bible nor one changed beyond recovery: the earliest attainable text is recoverable with confidence in most places, while some passages remain unresolved.

Where traditions divide

Positions run from the mainstream critical text to Byzantine priority, Textus Receptus advocacy and King James Onlyism; the Muslim charge of corruption is answered separately.

How the traditions compare

  • Textual criticism

    Which text is closest to the original?

    • the mainstream critical text
    • Byzantine priority
    • Textus Receptus advocacy
    • King James Onlyism

    The Muslim charge of corruption is answered separately.

    Positions

  • Critical text (reasoned eclecticism)

    Weighs external and internal evidence together, case by case, and prefers the reading that best accounts for the existence of the others.

    Michael W. Holmes describes it as the approach of most current critics. The Münster editors reconstruct the initial text with the help of the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method, which itself makes no textual decisions.

    Sources1–3

  • Thoroughgoing eclecticism

    Decides chiefly on internal grounds, such as authorial usage, the history of Greek and paleography, and does not favor a reading merely because it occurs in a superior, old or majority witness.

    Its proponents include G. D. Kilpatrick and J. K. Elliott.

    Sources4–5

  • Byzantine priority

    Holds that the Byzantine Textform, the form of text that predominated in the Greek-speaking world from at least the fourth century until printing, best preserves the text.

    It is a text-critical method, not a defense of the textus receptus: it rejects conjectural emendation and weighs witnesses after reducing related manuscripts genealogically. Maurice A. Robinson explains the loss of early Byzantine exemplars by copying revolutions from papyrus to vellum and from uncial to minuscule.

    Sources6–7

  • Majority Text

    Holds that a reading overwhelmingly attested by the manuscript tradition is more likely to be original than its rivals.

    On that ground the edition of Zane C. Hodges and Arthur L. Farstad rejects the textus receptus readings at Acts 8:37 and 1 John 5:7 to 8, which most manuscripts lack.

    Sources8

  • Textus receptus position

    Holds that God has providentially preserved his Word and that the preserved text is found in the Masoretic Hebrew and the Received Text, the editions of the Greek New Testament that follow the early printed editions of Erasmus.

    The Trinitarian Bible Society, through which the position is chiefly documented, holds that critical texts were constructed without adequate regard to the historical place given to manuscripts.

    Sources9–10

  • Confessional Text

    Grounds its preference for the textus receptus in the Reformed confessions, holding that God has kept his written Word pure in all ages in the original-language apographs.

    Textual work, on this view, must proceed ministerially, under the authority of Scripture. It denies that the King James translators were immediately inspired.

    Sources11

  • King James Onlyism

    Covers a range of positions: a preference for the King James Version, its exclusive use, belief that the text underlying it is the preserved text, and, at the far end, claims that the English itself is inspired or can correct the Greek and Hebrew.

    The Dean Burgon Society defends the King James Version as a true, faithful and accurate translation, while Peter Ruckman, at the far end of the range, taught that it is perfect and infallible.

    Sources12–13

  • Orthodox Judaism

    Treats the Masoretic Text as authoritative, and Maimonides lists the omission or addition of even a single letter among the faults that disqualify a Torah scroll.

    Changes to the text are considered sacrilegious, though small spelling variants between scribal traditions are known.

    Sources14–16

  • Roman Catholic Church

    Divino afflante Spiritu (1943) holds that the original text has more authority than any translation and that the Vulgate's authenticity is juridical rather than critical.

    The Pontifical Biblical Commission's The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church (1993) says textual criticism begins the series of scholarly operations, seeking a text as close as possible to the original. For translation, the instruction Liturgiam authenticam (2001) makes the Nova Vulgata the point of reference for the canonical text.

    Sources17–19

  • Eastern Orthodox Church

    Uses the Septuagint for the Old Testament, though Eugen Pentiuc, as his reviewers report, holds that the Orthodox have never designated an official Old Testament text and are not against the Hebrew text.

    For the New Testament the reference text is the Patriarchal edition of 1904, whose textual basis is disputed: Ioannis Karavidopoulos describes it as based entirely on Byzantine lectionaries, while Jovan Stanojević finds it closer to the textus receptus.

    Sources20–24

How the field developed

  1. Early church
    Before c. 240

    Origen compiles the Hexapla, setting the Hebrew, the Hebrew in Greek letters, Aquila, Symmachus, the Septuagint and Theodotion in six columns and marking differences with the obelus and the asterisk. Field held that it was composed before Origen's letter to Africanus of about 240.25

  2. Late antiquity
    383 or 384

    Jerome, finding "almost as many forms of texts as there are copies", revises the Latin Gospels against the Greek; the sources date this stage to 383 or 384.2627

  3. Late antiquity
    6th to 10th century

    The Masoretes, at academies in Babylonia and Palestine, count the verses, words and letters of the Hebrew text so that later changes can be detected, and the Tiberian vocalization becomes dominant.28

  4. Medieval
    c. 920 to 930

    The Aleppo Codex is written in Tiberias, about 930 according to Yad Ben-Zvi and about 920 according to JTA, which names Aaron Ben Asher as its vocalizer.2930

  5. Reformation
    1516

    Erasmus's Greek New Testament appears on 1 March under the title Novum Instrumentum omne. The printed text descended from it, later called the textus receptus, governs Protestant Bibles for three centuries.31

  6. Reformation
    1633

    The preface to the Elzevir edition calls its text the one now received by all, from which the name Textus Receptus derives.31

  7. Modern
    1734

    Johann Albrecht Bengel's Greek New Testament appears at Tübingen. Bengel recognized that witnesses must be weighed, not counted, and is credited with the rule that the difficult reading stands before the easy one.31

  8. Modern
    1776 to 1780

    Benjamin Kennicott's collation of Hebrew manuscripts appears at Oxford, the first systematic examination of them, showing the practical uniformity of the Masoretic text.32

  9. Modern
    1831

    Karl Lachmann's Greek text is the first to be recognized as a decisive break from the textus receptus.33

  10. Modern
    1844 and 1859

    Constantin von Tischendorf obtains 43 leaves of Codex Sinaiticus at St Catherine's Monastery in 1844 and, on his third visit in 1859, examines the 347 leaves of the codex.3435

  11. Modern
    1881

    Westcott and Hort publish The New Testament in the Original Greek after 28 years of work, and the Revised New Testament appears in Britain on 17 May.3637

  12. Modern
    1898

    Eberhard Nestle's Novum Testamentum Graece is first published and becomes the base of the modern hand editions.3839

  13. Modern
    1947

    The first Dead Sea Scrolls are found near Qumran. The scrolls have changed how the history of the Hebrew text is understood.40

  14. Modern
    1959

    Kurt Aland founds the Institute for New Testament Textual Research (INTF) at Münster.41

  15. Modern
    1997

    The first fascicle of the Editio Critica Maior, the Letter of James, appears. The Coherence-Based Genealogical Method was developed by Gerd Mink at the INTF during work on this edition.412

  16. Modern
    2025 to 2026

    The sixth edition of the United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament is published, dated in the sources from 8 December 2025 to 3 March 2026. Its text is identical to that of the 29th Nestle-Aland edition, which is announced for 28 February 2027.424344

How to study textual criticism

The questions it asks

  • What does the discipline aim to recover: the words the authors wrote, the earliest text that can be reached, or one of several early editions?
  • How closely does the initial text, the earliest form ascertainable by current methods, stand to what the authors wrote?45
  • For the Hebrew Bible, can a single original be defined where books circulated in more than one edition?46
  • Which reading best accounts for the existence of the others?1
  • How did copyists change the text, by accident and by design, and how are competing readings weighed?

Its method

Start

  1. Gather the witnesses: Greek manuscripts are the principal evidence, with ancient versions and patristic citations as further witnesses47.

  2. Find the points at which the witnesses differ, the variants, and register them in an apparatus4748.

  3. Weigh the external evidence: witnesses are weighed rather than counted, and manuscripts copied from a common ancestor count as a single witness3149.

  4. Weigh the internal evidence: the fit of each reading with the context, style and logic of its passage, and whether an error of sight, hearing or memory, or a deliberate change, explains how it arose49.

  5. Use the classic rules of thumb with care: the more difficult reading is the more probable only all other things being equal, and the shorter-reading rule has been challenged4950.

  6. Adopt the reading that best satisfies both external and internal criteria and best accounts for the existence of the others511.

  7. For the Hebrew Bible, retrovert the Septuagint into Hebrew where a one to one correspondence permits it, and separate genuine variants from pseudo-variants that exist only in the translator's mind52.

  8. Admit conjectural emendation, a reading no surviving manuscript contains, only as a last resort; Byzantine priority rejects it outright496.

What to read

Its primary witnesses

  • The Masoretic codices, among them the Aleppo Codex, dated about 930, and the Leningrad Codex, the oldest complete copy5354.
  • The Dead Sea Scrolls, of which about 230 Qumran manuscripts are counted as biblical scrolls, with every book of the Hebrew Bible except Esther represented55.
  • The Samaritan Pentateuch, with approximately 6,000 variants against the Masoretic Text56.
  • The Septuagint, which ISBE says was made before a uniform Hebrew text existed57.
  • Greek New Testament manuscripts, listed by Gregory-Aland number as papyri, majuscules, minuscules and lectionaries, with about 5,700 entries in 20235859.
  • The early papyri, among them the Chester Beatty and Bodmer papyri6061.
  • The great codices of the fourth and fifth centuries: Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus, Ephraemi Rescriptus, Bezae and Washingtonianus62.
  • The early versions: Old Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Gothic, Armenian, Georgian and Ethiopic63.
  • Patristic citations, which can be dated and located63.
  • Tatian's Diatessaron, a harmony of the four Gospels compiled about AD 15064.

Standard reference works

  • Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (1977) and Biblia Hebraica Quinta (fascicles from 2004), both based on the Leningrad Codex6566.
  • The Hebrew University Bible Project, based on the Aleppo Codex, and The Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition, which prints an eclectic text6768.
  • The Göttingen Septuagint and the Rahlfs-Hanhart hand edition (1935; revised 2006)6970.
  • Novum Testamentum Graece, 28th edition (2012), with the 29th announced for 28 February 20273944.
  • The United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament, sixth edition, whose date the sources give differently4342.
  • The Editio Critica Maior, with the Catholic Letters, Acts, Mark and Revelation published71.
  • The Tyndale House Greek New Testament (2017) and the SBL Greek New Testament (2010)7273.
  • Bruce M. Metzger's A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, which the German Bible Society says is replaced by H. A. G. Houghton's commentary keyed to the sixth UBS edition7475.
  • Dominique Barthélemy's Critique textuelle de l'Ancien Testament76.
  • Emanuel Tov's Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible (fourth edition, 2022) and Ernst Würthwein's The Text of the Old Testament (third English edition, 2014)7778.
  • The New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room, run by the INTF79.

Scholarship referenced in this study

The works below shaped the field and are cited in this study, from the earliest to the most recent. Hover over a book, or select it, to see its author and the sources behind it.

  • 1734Novum Testamentum GraecumJohann Albrecht BengelNovum Testamentum Graecum (1734)Johann Albrecht Bengel (24 June 1687 to 2 November 1752)Sources80
  • 1881The New Testament in the Original GreekBrooke Foss WestcottThe New Testament in the Original Greek (1881)Brooke Foss Westcott (12 January 1825 to 27 July 1901)Sources3681
  • 1898Novum Testamentum GraeceEberhard NestleNovum Testamentum Graece (1898)Eberhard Nestle (1 May 1851 to 9 March 1913)Sources82
  • 1905 to 1906Biblia HebraicaRudolf KittelBiblia Hebraica (1905 to 1906)Rudolf Kittel (28 March 1853 to 20 October 1929)Sources83
  • 1958The Ancient Library of QumranFrank Moore CrossThe Ancient Library of Qumran (1958)Frank Moore Cross (13 July 1921 to 17 October 2012)Sources84
  • 1964The Text of the New TestamentBruce Manning MetzgerThe Text of the New Testament (1964)Bruce Manning Metzger (9 February 1914 to 13 February 2007)Sources85
  • 1982The Greek New Testament According to the Majority TextZane C. HodgesThe Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text (1982)Zane C. Hodges (15 June 1932 to 23 November 2008), with Arthur L. FarstadSources86
  • 1992Text History of the Greek ExodusJohn William WeversText History of the Greek Exodus (1992)John William Wevers (4 June 1919 to 22 July 2010)Sources87
  • 1997Editio Critica Maior, first volumeBarbara AlandEditio Critica Maior, first volume (1997)Barbara Aland (12 April 1937 to 10 November 2024)Sources88
  • 2004Early Syriac Translation Technique and the Textual Criticism of the Greek GospelsPeter J. WilliamsEarly Syriac Translation Technique and the Textual Criticism of the Greek Gospels (2004)Peter J. WilliamsSources89–90
  • 2018To Cast the First StoneJennifer Wright KnustTo Cast the First Stone (2018)Jennifer Wright Knust, with Tommy WassermanSources91
  • 2020Manuscripts of the Book of RevelationGarrick V. AllenManuscripts of the Book of Revelation (2020)Garrick V. AllenSources92

Listed because this study draws on their published work; no association with or endorsement of Numa Verse is implied. Suggest a correction.

Key terms

The words that carry the most weight in this field, each defined from the sources of this study. Turn a card over to read its definition.

The original, completed text of a book of Scripture; none survives9347.

The earliest inferable state of the text, from which all the extant copies derive; Ronald Hendel insists that it is not the original text46.

The earliest text attainable by current methods, defined by different scholars as before the archetype, as the archetype itself, or as the text the author dispatched459495.

Any source that attests the text, whether manuscript, version or citation; in the CBGM a witness is the text in its state, not the physical manuscript473.

A point at which witnesses differ47.

The register of variants printed with an edited text48.

A group of witnesses sharing a characteristic text; Britannica now calls the geographic scheme only a rough classification4796.

The printed Greek New Testament descended from Erasmus's edition of 1516, named from the preface to the Elzevir edition of 163331.

A reading proposed by an editor that no surviving manuscript of the text contains.

A method developed by Gerd Mink at the INTF that builds a local stemma for each variation unit, infers the relations among witnesses and reconstructs the initial text; it makes no textual decisions itself23.

Where it sits

Builds on

Textual criticism

Leads to

From the Journal

Fragments of ancient papyrus under a brass magnifying glass on dark clothAI-generated imageTextual criticism

How do we know what the New Testament originally said?

No original survives, so scholars compare thousands of copies, early translations, and quotations to work back toward the earliest text. Most differences are minor, and modern Bibles mark the significant ones.Numa Verse Editorial · November 2026 · 6 min readA long ancient scroll partly unrolled across a stone table in low golden lightAI-generated imageTextual criticism

Has the Bible been changed over the centuries?

Hebrew copies of the Old Testament made a thousand years apart agree closely. Scholars also find real differences between them, mostly in spelling and small details, and in a few books, larger ones.Numa Verse Editorial · November 2026 · 6 min readTwo open Bibles, one old and one modern, side by side on a lectern in a beam of lightAI-generated imageTextual criticism

Why does the Lord's Prayer end differently in different Bibles?

The familiar ending, "For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever", is missing from the oldest manuscripts of Matthew. It is very old, but most scholars hold it entered the text from Christian worship, which is why modern Bibles print it in a note. The churches still pray it, each in its own way.Numa Verse Editorial · November 2026 · 4 min read

Questions people ask

The evidence supports neither the claim of an unchanged text nor the claim of a text changed beyond recovery. The surviving manuscripts vary in a great many small ways and a few significant ones; what can be recovered is the earliest attainable text, in most places with confidence but not with certainty, and some passages remain unresolved97. Ehrman, Wallace and Gurry all state that the known variants do not overturn core Christian doctrines, though they disagree on whether doctrine is the right measure of significance9899100101.

On 29 September 2023 the Gregory-Aland list held about 5,700 entries, 5,541 of them neither destroyed nor presumed missing by the INTF post's own count59102. A number designates a distinct witness, not necessarily one physical object, and specialists put the number of Greek manuscripts at about 5,100 to 5,300 rather than the 24,000 sometimes cited59103.

About half a million, on Peter Gurry's estimate, which counts non-spelling differences in wording among Greek manuscripts and excludes translations and patristic citations100. Over half of them appear in only one manuscript, and Daniel Wallace holds that only about 1 percent are both meaningful and viable10099.

No: scholars on both sides of the debate over textual change reject the claim104. Bart Ehrman writes that the Council of Nicaea did not debate or decide which books should belong in Scripture104.

Contribute to textual criticism

Register to contribute

  1. 1Reasoned Eclecticism in New Testament Textual Criticism (Spark, Bethel University)https://spark.bethel.edu/bible-theology-faculty/23/ (opens in a new tab)
  2. 2Kohärenzbasierte Genealogische Methode (INTF)https://www.uni-muenster.de/INTF/forschung/cbgm/index.html (opens in a new tab)
  3. 3Genealogical method (INTF, University of Münster)https://www.uni-muenster.de/INTF/Genealogical_method.html (opens in a new tab)
  4. 4069555P front matter (SBL Press)https://www.sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/pubs/069555P-front.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  5. 5Review of Kilpatrick, Principles and Practice (Scripta Theologica, Universidad de Navarra)https://revistas.unav.edu/index.php/scripta-theologica/article/download/17392/11542/ (opens in a new tab)
  6. 6The Case for Byzantine Priority (appendix to Robinson-Pierpont, byzantinetext.com PDF)https://byzantinetext.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/editions-rp-11-appendix.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  7. 7TC article, Robinson 2001 (TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism, vol. 6)https://jbtc.org/v06/Robinson2001.html (opens in a new tab)
  8. 8The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text, Grace Theological Journal 4.1 (1983)https://www.gospelstudies.org.uk/biblicalstudies/pdf/gtj/04-1_119.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  9. 9Statement of Doctrine of Holy Scripture (Trinitarian Bible Society)https://www.tbsbibles.org/page/DoctrineofScripture (opens in a new tab)
  10. 10The Received Text (Trinitarian Bible Society)https://www.tbsbibles.org/page/ReceivedText (opens in a new tab)
  11. 11Definition (Journal of Confessional Bibliology)https://confessionalbibliology.com/about/definition/ (opens in a new tab)
  12. 12Dean Burgon Society, About (SermonAudio)https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/deanburgonsociety/about/ (opens in a new tab)
  13. 13Peter Ruckman obituary (Dignity Memorial)https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/pensacola-fl/peter-ruckman-6900884 (opens in a new tab)
  14. 14Mishneh Torah, Tefillin, Mezuzah and the Torah Scroll 10:1 (Sefaria)https://www.sefaria.org/api/texts/Mishneh_Torah,_Tefillin,_Mezuzah_and_the_Torah_Scroll.10.1?context=0 (opens in a new tab)
  15. 15The Masoretic Text (My Jewish Learning)https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-masoretic-text/ (opens in a new tab)
  16. 16Seeing the Differences in Torah Scrolls (Museum of the Bible Magazine)https://www.museumofthebible.org/magazine/collections/seeing-the-differences-in-torah-scrolls (opens in a new tab)
  17. 17Divino Afflante Spiritu (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_30091943_divino-afflante-spiritu.html (opens in a new tab)
  18. 18The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, Part I (Felix Just, Catholic Resources)https://www.catholic-resources.org/ChurchDocs/PBC_Interp1.htm (opens in a new tab)
  19. 19Liturgiam Authenticam (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20010507_liturgiam-authenticam_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  20. 20Baynes, review of Pentiuc (Religion, hosted by Holy Trinity Orthodox Church)https://trinityorthodox.ca/documents/BaynesReviewPentiucOTinEasternOrthodoxTradition.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  21. 21Roddy, review of Pentiuc (Theological Studies)https://theologicalstudies.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/27-Roddy-The-Old-Testament-.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  22. 22Antoniades edition (ByzantineText.com)https://byzantinetext.com/study/editions/antoniades/ (opens in a new tab)
  23. 23Karavidopoulos, Sacra Scripta 1/2012 (sacrascripta.reviste.ubbcluj.ro)https://sacrascripta.reviste.ubbcluj.ro/publicatii/sacra_scripta/2012/KARAVIDOPOULOS%20-%20SACRA%20SCRIPTA%201_2012-2.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  24. 24Orthodox New Testament Textual Scholarship (Gorgias Press)https://www.gorgiaspress.com/orthodox-new-testament-textual-scholarship (opens in a new tab)
  25. 25Hexapla, J. F. Fenlon (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07316a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  26. 26Preface to the Four Gospels (NPNF 2.6, CCEL)https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf206.vii.ii.viii.html (opens in a new tab)
  27. 27St. Jerome, L. Saltet (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08341a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  28. 28Masoretic text (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/topic/Masoretic-text (opens in a new tab)
  29. 29The Aleppo Codex (Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi)https://ybz.org.il/?p=162954 (opens in a new tab)
  30. 30From Maimonides to Brooklyn: the mystery of the Aleppo Codex (JTA)https://www.jta.org/archive/from-maimonides-to-brooklyn-the-mystery-of-the-aleppo-codex (opens in a new tab)
  31. 31Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the Greek New Testament, E. Nestle, tr. W. Edie (Williams and Norgate, 1901; Project Gutenberg)https://gutenberg.org/files/76224/76224-h/76224-h.htm (opens in a new tab)
  32. 32Kennicott, Benjamin, C. H. Toy and J. Jacobs (Jewish Encyclopedia)https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9280-kennicott-benjamin (opens in a new tab)
  33. 33Critical editions and the development of text-critical methods, part 2 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Core)https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/DE25CD6A8FFAE2C2FB3A94AC33D2370B (opens in a new tab)
  34. 34Tischendorf and the Discovery of Sinaiticus, Part 2 (BiblicalTraining, lecture by Daniel Wallace)https://www.biblicaltraining.org/learn/institute/nt605-textual-criticism/nt605-23-tischendorf-and-the-discovery-of-sinaiticus-part-2 (opens in a new tab)
  35. 35History of Codex Sinaiticus (Codex Sinaiticus Project)https://codexsinaiticus.org/en/codex/history.aspx (opens in a new tab)
  36. 36The New Testament in the Original Greek, Volume 1, front matter (Cambridge University Press)https://assets.cambridge.org/97811080/07085/frontmatter/9781108007085_frontmatter.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  37. 37Biblical literature: The King James and subsequent versions (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/topic/biblical-literature/The-King-James-and-subsequent-versions (opens in a new tab)
  38. 38Novum Testamentum Graece (Nestle-Aland) (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft)https://www.die-bibel.de/en/novum-testamentum-graece-nestle-aland (opens in a new tab)
  39. 39The Nestle's History (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft)https://www.die-bibel.de/en/the-nestles-history (opens in a new tab)
  40. 40Discovery and Publication (Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library, Israel Antiquities Authority)https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/learn-about-the-scrolls/discovery-and-publication (opens in a new tab)
  41. 41History of the INTF (INTF, University of Münster)https://www.uni-muenster.de/INTF/en/institut/geschichte/index.html (opens in a new tab)
  42. 42UBS6 Greek New Testament with Apparatus (accordancebible.com)https://www.accordancebible.com/?p=1339411 (opens in a new tab)
  43. 43Greek New Testament (UBS6) (Hendrickson Publishers)https://www.hendricksonpublishers.com/p/greek--testament-ubs6/9783438053107 (opens in a new tab)
  44. 44Novum Testamentum Graece NA29. (shop.die-bibel.de)https://shop.die-bibel.de/Novum-Testamentum-Graece-NA29./5320 (opens in a new tab)
  45. 45Head, "Editio Critica Maior: An Introduction and Assessment" (Tyndale Bulletin)https://tyndalebulletin.org/article/29300.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  46. 46Hendel, Steps to a New Edition of the Hebrew Bible, text PDF (SBL Press)https://www.sbl-site.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/9780884141952_txt.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  47. 47Text and Manuscripts of the New Testament, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (internationalstandardbible.com)https://internationalstandardbible.com/T/text-and-manuscripts-of-the-new-testament.html (opens in a new tab)
  48. 48Steps to a New Edition of the Hebrew Bible (review by Gary A. Rendsburg, Biblical Archaeology Society, 10 October 2018)https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/reviews/steps-new-edition-hebrew-bible/ (opens in a new tab)
  49. 49Biblical Criticism (Textual), Catholic Encyclopedia 1908 (New Advent)https://newadvent.org/cathen/04497a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  50. 50A Fresh Approach to New Testament Scribal Habits (Alan Farnes, Logos, 20 April 2018)https://www.logos.com/grow/a-fresh-approach-to-new-testament-scribal-habits/ (opens in a new tab)
  51. 51Alands' Basic Rule 2 for Textual Criticism (Hypotyposeis blog; no author shown on page)https://hypotyposeis.org/weblog/alands-basic-rule-2-for-textual-criticism/ (opens in a new tab)
  52. 52The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research (review by Richard S. Hess, Denver Journal 20, October 2017)https://denverjournal.denverseminary.edu/the-denver-journal-article/the-text-critical-use-of-the-septuagint-in-biblical-research/ (opens in a new tab)
  53. 53A Jewel from the Crown (Biblical Archaeology Society)https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/exhibits-events/a-jewel-from-the-crown/ (opens in a new tab)
  54. 54Throwback Thursday: The scribe who wrote the Bible, by Kim Phillips (Cambridge University Library, Genizah Research Unit)https://genizahfragments.lib.cam.ac.uk/2022/06/23/throwback-thursday-the-scribe-who-wrote-the-bible/ (opens in a new tab)
  55. 55Introduction (Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library, Israel Antiquities Authority)https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/learn-about-the-scrolls/introduction (opens in a new tab)
  56. 56Samaritan Pentateuch (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/topic/Samaritan-Pentateuch (opens in a new tab)
  57. 57Text of the Old Testament, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (internationalstandardbible.com)https://internationalstandardbible.com/T/text-of-the-old-testament.html (opens in a new tab)
  58. 58Manuscripts 101: GA Numbers (CSNTM, 24 October 2022)https://www.csntm.org/2022/10/24/manuscripts-101-ga-numbers/ (opens in a new tab)
  59. 59How many Greek New Testament manuscripts are there really? The latest numbers (INTF blog, NTVMR)https://ntvmr.uni-muenster.de/intfblog/-/blogs/1891824 (opens in a new tab)
  60. 60The Chester Beatty Papyri (F. F. Bruce, The Harvester, 1934, PDF at gospelstudies.org.uk)https://www.gospelstudies.org.uk/biblicalstudies/pdf/ffb/papyri_bruce.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  61. 61The Bodmer Papyri: An Inventory of "P.Bodmer" Items (Brent Nongbri, Variant Readings, 24 September 2017)https://brentnongbri.com/2017/09/24/the-bodmer-papyri-an-inventory-of-p-bodmer-items/ (opens in a new tab)
  62. 62Biblical literature: Uncials (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/topic/biblical-literature/Uncials (opens in a new tab)
  63. 63Biblical literature: Versions (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/topic/biblical-literature/Versions (opens in a new tab)
  64. 64Diatessaron (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/topic/Diatessaron (opens in a new tab)
  65. 65Biblia Hebraica (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft)https://www.die-bibel.de/biblia-hebraica (opens in a new tab)
  66. 66Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ) (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft)https://die-bibel.de/en/biblia-hebraica-quinta-bhq (opens in a new tab)
  67. 67Hebrew University Bible Project (HUBP) (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)https://openscholar.huji.ac.il/bible_project/hebrew-university-bible-project-hubp (opens in a new tab)
  68. 68The Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition (SBL Press)https://www.sbl-site.org/sbl-press/browse-books/the-hebrew-bible-a-critical-edition/ (opens in a new tab)
  69. 69Septuaginta-Unternehmen (Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen)https://adw-goe.de/forschung/abgeschlossene-forschungsprojekte/akademienprogramm/septuaginta-unternehmen/ (opens in a new tab)
  70. 70Zur Geschichte der Septuaginta (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft)https://www.die-bibel.de/zur-geschichte-der-septuaginta (opens in a new tab)
  71. 71Editio Critica Maior (ECM) Publications (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft)https://www.die-bibel.de/en/editio-critica-maior-ecm-publications (opens in a new tab)
  72. 72The Greek New Testament, Produced at Tyndale House, Cambridge (Crossway)https://www.crossway.org/bibles/the-greek-new-testament-produced-at-tyndale-h-tru/ (opens in a new tab)
  73. 73The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition, front matter (eBible.org)https://ebible.org/grcsbl/FRT01.htm (opens in a new tab)
  74. 74Textual Commentary on the Greek NT (DTS Bookstore)https://bookstore.dts.edu/textual-commentary-greek-nt (opens in a new tab)
  75. 75Kommentar zum Text des Greek New Testament (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft)https://www.die-bibel.de/kommentar-zum-text-des-greek-new-testament (opens in a new tab)
  76. 76Historique (Institut Dominique Barthélemy, Université de Fribourg)https://www.unifr.ch/institut-barthelemy/fr/institut/historique.html (opens in a new tab)
  77. 77Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible (Fortress Press)https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506483481/Textual-Criticism-of-the-Hebrew-Bible (opens in a new tab)
  78. 78The Text of the Old Testament, 3rd Edition (Accordance)https://www.accordancebible.com/product/text-of-the-old-testament-the-an-intro-to-the-biblia-hebraica-3rd-edition/ (opens in a new tab)
  79. 79New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room (INTF)https://ntvmr.uni-muenster.de/ (opens in a new tab)
  80. 80J.A. Bengel (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/J-A-Bengel (opens in a new tab)
  81. 81Brooke Foss Westcott (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Brooke-Foss-Westcott (opens in a new tab)
  82. 82Nestle, Eberhard (Deutsche Biographie)https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz71156.html (opens in a new tab)
  83. 83Kittel, Rudolf (Deutsche Biographie)https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz70360.html (opens in a new tab)
  84. 84Frank Moore Cross, 91 (Harvard Gazette)https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2012/10/frank-moore-cross-91 (opens in a new tab)
  85. 85Bruce Manning Metzger (1914-2007) (Hugoye, Beth Mardutho)https://hugoye.bethmardutho.org/article/hv10n2obmetzger.html (opens in a new tab)
  86. 86Life of Zane C. Hodges (zanehodges.org)https://zanehodges.org/zane-c-hodges/ (opens in a new tab)
  87. 87"John William Wevers (1919-2010): A Biographical Note", BIOSCS 43 (IOSCS)https://septuaginta.uni-goettingen.de/static/ioscs/pdf/volumes/bioscs43.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  88. 88Trauer um Prof. Barbara Aland (1937-2024) (INTF, Universität Münster)https://www.uni-muenster.de/INTF/barbara_aland_gestorben.html (opens in a new tab)
  89. 89Dr Peter Williams (Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge)https://www.divinity.cam.ac.uk/directory/peter-williams (opens in a new tab)
  90. 90IGNTP Committee (IGNTP, University of Birmingham)https://itseeweb.cal.bham.ac.uk/igntp/committee.html (opens in a new tab)
  91. 91Jennifer Wright Knust (Scholars@Duke)https://scholars.duke.edu/person/jennifer.knust (opens in a new tab)
  92. 92Garrick Allen (University of Glasgow)https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/critical/staff/garrickallen/ (opens in a new tab)
  93. 93Excerpt 9780801097539 (Baker Academic)https://cdn-static.supadu.com/baker-academic-us/pdf/Excerpt_9780801097539.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  94. 94A Question About the "Initial Text" of New Testament Documents (Brent Nongbri blog)https://brentnongbri.com/2020/06/06/a-question-about-the-initial-text-of-new-testament-documents/ (opens in a new tab)
  95. 95Review of Novum Testamentum Graecum: Editio Critica Maior (DTS Voice, Dallas Theological Seminary)https://voice.dts.edu/review/novum-testamentum-graecum-editio-critica-maior/ (opens in a new tab)
  96. 96Biblical literature: Critical scholarship (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/topic/biblical-literature/Critical-scholarship (opens in a new tab)
  97. 97The Editio Critica Maior (Universität Münster, INTF)https://www.uni-muenster.de/INTF/ECM.html (opens in a new tab)
  98. 98My Very First Post: Do Textual Variants Matter?? (The Bart Ehrman Blog)https://ehrmanblog.org/?p=16007 (opens in a new tab)
  99. 99Daniel B. Wallace, "The Gospel According to Bart", JETS 49/2 (2006) 327-349 (Evangelical Theological Society)https://ets.galaxie.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/files_JETS-PDFs_49_49-2_JETS_49-2_327-349_Wallace.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  100. 100Interviews With the Authors: Myths and Mistakes, Peter J. Gurry (CSNTM, 16 December 2019)https://new.csntm.org/2019/12/16/interviews-with-the-authors-myths-and-mistakes-peter-j-gurry/ (opens in a new tab)
  101. 101The Original Blog Post: Misquoting Misquoting Jesus (The Bart Ehrman Blog, 22 October 2020)https://ehrmanblog.org/the-original-blog-post-misquoting-misquoting-jesus/ (opens in a new tab)
  102. 102How many Greek New Testament manuscripts are there really? The latest numbers (INTF Blog, ntvmr.uni-muenster.de)https://ntvmr.uni-muenster.de/intfblog/-/blogs/how-many-greek-new-testament-manuscripts-are-there-really-the-latest-numbers (opens in a new tab)
  103. 103Michael Kuykendall, review of Myths and Mistakes (Journal of Baptist Theology and Spirituality)https://jbtsonline.org/?p=2109 (opens in a new tab)
  104. 104Did the Council of Nicaea Take Away Reincarnation and Give us the Bible? (The Bart Ehrman Blog, 8 January 2017)https://ehrmanblog.org/did-the-council-of-nicaea-take-away-reincarnation-and-give-us-the-bible/ (opens in a new tab)

Page record

Reviewed and approved by Duane Herholdt, BA (Theology), Chief Executive Officer, Numa Verse

Study version: v1.1, 16 October 2026 (theology map v1.27)

Last reviewed: 6 November 2026

How these pages are made

  • 6 November 2026: First draft from the approved assessment v1.1.