Questions tagged [textual-criticism]
The art/science of textual criticism attempts to reconstruct the oldest or original wording of a given text.
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How should Psalm 22:16 read?
Psalm 22:16 seems textually quite difficult. The NET for example reads:
Yes, wild dogs surround me –
a gang of evil men crowd around me;
like a lion they pin my hands and feet.
Yet, they note that ...
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What is the argument against the authenticity of 1 John 5:7-8 in the KJV?
I was reading through Lee Strobel's The Case for the Real Jesus and came across a passage in the book that indicates the inauthenticity of 1 John 5:7-8 in the King James Version:
1 John 5:7-8 (KJV)
...
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Is 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 an interpolation?
One of the answers to the question about what 1st Corinthians 14:34-35 means suggests that the passage is a later interpolation. From the quote by J.W. Wartick, included in the answer, there are ...
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Why is the Septuagint (LXX) significant?
What is the LXX and why is it so noteworthy that there is a Greek translation of the OT? Wouldn't it be better to directly reference manuscripts in the original languages?
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Was the text of Matthew 28:19 changed?
Scholars such as F. C. Conybeare1 have claimed that the Trinitarian baptismal formula of Matthew 28:19 was not original to the text of Matthew.
Matt 28:19 (NIV)
19 Therefore go and make disciples ...
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Understanding Jesus' apparent lie in John 7:8
John 7:8:
"...You go to the festival. I am not[a] going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come."
The all important footnote:
[a] John 7:8 Some manuscripts not yet
It seems ...
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Is John 7:53-8:11 original to John's gospel?
I've read several recent commentaries on John 8 and all agree that the story of the woman caught in adultery almost certainly wasn't there in the original manuscript. Is it original?
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Is the ending of the Gospel of Mark (16:9-20) original?
Some scholars believe that the ending of Mark is unoriginal due to it appearing to have a different style and the fact that it's missing from some key manuscripts. At the same time, several early ...
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Is there any reason to think that Mark 7:19 has a later addition?
This is Mark 7:19 from the NIV:
For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
Every time I see a ...
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Did God say that Adam will die on the same day he ate the fruit?
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,
for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis
2:17, NKJV)
but you must not eat from the tree of the ...
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Who led the people of Israel out of Egypt in Jude 5?
Lest anyone think this is a "stump the chumps" question, I am specifically interested in support for a particular reading of this text. It is disputed which manuscript should be followed in Jude 5. ...
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What is the original text of Deuteronomy 32:8-9?
4QDeutj
"When Elyon gave the nations as an inheritance, when he separated the
sons of man, he set the boundaries of the peoples according to the
number of the sons of God (bny 'l[hym]). For ...
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What is the original Number of the Beast?
Seems trivial question, because 666 had been widely accepted as the original. However if you investigate further different early versions of the Book of Revelation, they gave different Numbers of the ...
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Coherence-Based Genealogical Method vs. Local Text-Types Theory
The NA28 text marks a departure from the traditional methodology of textual criticism. As described by Jeff Kloha in the Concordia Theology Journal,
Previous generations learned to classify ...
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What are the translations of the Greek word μονογενής in Ancient Versions?Is it "only" or "only-begotten"?
What are the translations of the Greek word μονογενής in Ancient Versions?
What are the rendering of μονογενής into Ancient Versions of the *NT passages?
Hebrew
Arabic:
Ethiopic:
Syriac (Aramaic):
...
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Are the three distinctive Hebrew terms, translated "breath of life," suggesting there was a different mankind at creation than there was at the flood?
The same English phrase, "breath of life," is used to describe three distinct Hebrew phrases.
"Neshamah chay" is in Genesis 2:7 (creation). "Ruwach chay" is in Genesis 6:17 (intention for death at ...
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Why is 1 John 5:7-8, found in the KJV, kept in the NKJV when it is believed to be inauthentic?
1 John 5:7-8
King James Version (KJV)
7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
8 And there are three that ...
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How can we understand differences between the NWT and Latin/Hebrew/Greek on Zechariah 12:10?
Is there any early manuscript that shows a word translatable as "the one" (3rd person) in Zechariah 12:10?
When looking at Zechariah 12:10, this is how it reads in:
New World Translation (NWT)
I ...
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Does the "lost leaf" theory for Mark's abrupt ending fail if written on a scroll?
I really like this explanation of Mark's rather abrupt ending:
There are three possible explanations for Mark ending at 16:8: (1) The author intentionally ended the Gospel here in an open-ended ...
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Should Cainan be included or excluded from the geneology of Jesus?
In the Masoretic Text, Genesis 11:12-13 reads like this:
And Šëm lived after he begat ´Arpa¢šað five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And ´Arpa¢šad lived five and thirty years, and begat ...
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What are the arguments for and against Johannine Comma?
There have been many debates regarding the reliability of the Johannine Comma, a verse in 1 John which many textual critics do not think is authentic. Assuming the verse itself is authentic, what are ...
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Should John 1:18 read "the only begotten God"?
I was reading my New King James version of the Bible and found a footnote for this verse:
John 1:18 (NKJV)
No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son,[a] who is in the bosom of the ...
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Bart D. Ehrman - respected critic? [closed]
I found Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why troublesome to my understanding of the translation process of the bible. It has made me review my understanding of the bible. ...
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How does a Bible translator know if it is a poem?
Let's take 1 Tim 3:16 as an example among many others, where Paul wrote or quoted (ESV):
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the ...
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What is the meaning of "calculate" in Revelation 13:18?
This is perhaps the most famous prophesy in popular culture:
This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his ...
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What manuscript(s) does BHS get Joshua 21:36-37 from?
Note- This is not a duplicate of Is Joshua 21:36-37 authentic or an addition? because I am asking what the source of the hebrew of those two verses is, and for the BHS specifically. So for example,...
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Was nûn deleted from Psalm 145 in the Masoretic Text?
Psalm 145 is an acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet, except that in most of the MT manuscripts verse 13b is missing along with therefore the letter nûn. The ESV renders it like this:
Your kingdom is an ...
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Exodus 12.40: Did it originally mention Canaan?
Just as Moses finally leads the Israelites out of slavery, Exodus 12.40 tells us how long the Israelites had lived in Egypt:
NRSV
The time that the Israelites had lived in Egypt was four hundred and ...
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What is the gender of the verb "to say" in Ecclesiastes 7:27?
In Ecclesiastes 7:27, there is a brief phrase, "says Qohelet" (ʾāmĕrâ qōhelet). In the rest of the book, it seems like masculine verbs are used with Qohelet, despite Qohelet itself having a feminine ...
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Earliest attestation to Luke's gospel
What is the earliest convincing attestation to the gospel of Luke? I believe that Justin Martyr quotes from Luke's gospel ca.150. Is that generally considered unassailable? Are there other earlier ...
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“Voice” or “string” in Psalm 19:4?
I’m trying to figure out what’s going on in Psalm 19:4/5a:
Their voice goes out through all the earth ESV 19:4a
:בְּכָל־הָאָ֨רֶץ ׀ יָ֘צָ֤א קַוָּ֗ם BHS 19:5a
εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἐξῆλθεν ὁ φθόγγος ...
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Who is "His" in NASB "Scepter of HIS kingdom" Hebrews 1:8 if the Father is speaking to the Son?
Hebrews 1:8 NASB 1995
But of the Son He says, “YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.
Who is this "HIS" if the Father is speaking ...
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Omission of "take up the Cross" Mark 10:21
Why do many modern Bibles omit the words "take up the cross" in Mark 10:21?
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How does passing food through the body make all foods clean, as per Mark 7:19 in the modern versions?
The modern translations present a real conundrum with Mark 7:19. The traditional KJV has it as:
Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth
out into the draught, purging ...
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"In A Beginning" vs. "In THE beginning"? Different implications?
Possibly the most famous phrase in the Hebrew Bible is: "In the beginning." Anyone can recite it without ever having read the Hebrew Bible. But is that the accurate translation? With a background in ...
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What is a text critical analysis of Revelation 1:11?
I agree that the phrase "Alpha and Omega" refers to the Father in the three verses of the book Revelation, namely Rev 1:8, 21:6 and 22:13, as in your discussion above. But in the King James ...
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In 1 Corinthians 10:9 why does Paul say that the Israelites "tested Christ"?
1 Corinthians 10 (NIV):
1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the
fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the
cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all
...
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Revelation 6:17 KJV For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Can any one illustrate to me the manuscript evidence supporting "the great day of their wrath" as opposed to "His wrath”?
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(1 John 3:5-10 & 1 John 5:18)Alexandrian manuscripts relatively practical, level-headed while Byzantine manuscripts are rhetorical hyperbole-like
As I was reading 1 John 3:5-10 & 1 John 5:18 in different bible translations belonging to either the Byzantine family or the Alexandrian family of manuscripts.
I noticed that the Alexandrian ...
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Is the use of ἀγάπη (agape) and ἀγαπάω (agapao) evidence the Gospel and Letters of John were written from Ephesus?
John reports Jesus gave a new command which would identify followers of Jesus Christ:
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love (ἀγαπᾶτε) one another; as I have loved (ἠγάπησα) you, that ye ...
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Omission of 'fasting' in Mark 9:29
I would like to know why some versions feel it apt to omit the word "fasting" from Mark 9:29. Is this because it was not concurrent with the correct translation/ meaning of this verse?
For example. ...
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Did Jesus read minds or perceive them?
In this passage, most English translations say "knowing their thoughts". In the footnote it says "perceiving" their thoughts. I feel like this is a pretty monumental difference as perceiving thoughts ...
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What is the proper translation of Hosea 11:12?
I have been researching Hosea 11:12 and have come to realize that it is translated differently in many differing translations of the Bible. It is sometimes translated that Judah walked (or ruled) with ...
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How do the traditions of the LXX and MT versions of Jeremiah relate?
Concerning Jeremiah: does the lengthier text tradition found in the MT represent an expansion of the tradition that backed the LXX? Or does the tradition behind the LXX represent an abridgment of the ...
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How can we reconcile 2 Samuel 6:23 & 2 Samuel 21:7-9?
2 samuel 6:23 (KJV)
23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.
2 samuel 21:7-9 (KJV)
7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of ...
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Matthew originally written in Hebrew?
I recently came across a post which suggested that Mathew was originally written in Hebrew. I had never heard this before... is this a significant scholarly position? If so, what evidence supports it? ...
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Is " Ὁ ὢν" used as a title for Yahweh in LXX Jeremiah?
While looking into a question about the Greek phrase "ο ων" ("the one being") as a title for Yahweh in Koine Greek literature, I ran across this appellation in LXX Jeremiah. It occurs three times in ...
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Based on recent manuscript discoveries, is the LXX more reliable than the MT?
Based on recent manuscript discoveries such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, is the text of the LXX more reliable than the MT?
user1985
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How reliable are the Dead Sea Scrolls as a base to compare against the Masoretic text and the LXX?
I often find people comparing other manuscripts (e.g., Masoretic text, LXX) against the Dead Sea Scrolls in order to determine their accuracy. For example, this thread asked how reliable the LXX was ...
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Whose faith is the subject of Hebrews 11:11?
Πίστει καὶ αὐτὴ Σάρρα δύναμιν εἰς καταβολὴν σπέρματος ἔλαβεν καὶ παρὰ καιρὸν ἡλικίας, ἐπεὶ πιστὸν ἡγήσατο τὸν ἐπαγγειλάμενον (Hebrews 11:11, Westcott and Hort)
The traditional translation of Hebrews ...
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