An Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism

A general survey of the study of New Testament manuscripts that outlines for students of the New Testament the basic tools and skills involved in studying those manuscripts. The present edition is a thoroughly revised and updated version of the late Leon Vaganay’s Initiation a la critique du Nouveau Testament, published in 1933, and each section of that original work has been brought up to date in light of the latest research in the field. Providing as it does a wide overview, rather than a step-by-step introduction, the book looks at its subject thematically, and its four sections cover, respectively, the nature and character of the documents themselves; the methods of studying them; the history of the texts before they were printed; and their history subsequent to their printing. Prominent throughout is a concern to relate the subject to an enquiry into the earliest history of the New Testament (prior to 200 AD), which provides an interesting personal perspective on an issue of some debate, yet without neglecting to examine conflicting opinions and views.