An introduction to the New Testament manuscripts and their texts

Abstract

This review of An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and their Texts written by D. C. Parker contains an introduction of the author, an annotated summary of the work, and the reviewer’s critical comments and suggestion. This is the first major English-language introduction to the earliest manuscripts of the New Testament to appear for over 40 years. This book is comprised of 3 parts containing 11 chapters. Part I describes documents (manuscripts) of the New Testament with three chapters. Part II discusses textual criticism of the New Testament with three chapters. Part III treats, with perspectives of textual studies, each main section of the New Testament respectively, i.e. the Revelations, Paul’s letters, Acts and catholic epistles, and four Gospels, with four chapters. The last eleventh chapter is the author’s short conclusion to the book. A glossary and an index of manuscripts are provided at the end of the book. As an essential handbook for scholars and students, it provides a thorough grounding in the study and editing of the New Testament text combined with an emphasis on the current dramatic developments in the field. Covering ancient sources (versions) in Greek, Syriac, Latin, and Coptic, it describes the manuscripts and other ancient textual evidence, and the tools needed to study them. It deals with textual criticism and textual editing, describing modern approaches and techniques, with guidance on the use of editions. It introduces the witnesses and textual study of each of the main sections of the New Testament, discussing typical variants and their significance. A companion website with full-colour images provides generous amounts of illustrative material, bringing the subject alive for the reader. This work is for scholars and postgraduate students of New Testament textual studies. The author’s comments on the text of the Greek New Testament give some hints to us: “The text is changing. Every time that I make an edition of the Greek New Testament, or anybody does, we change the wording. We are maybe trying to get back to the oldest possible form but, paradoxically, we are creating a new one. Every translation is different, every reading is different, and although there’s been a tradition in parts of Protestant Christianity to say there is a definitive single form of the text, the fact is you can never find it. There is never ever a final form of the text.” The following reviews on this book also might help us to guess easily the value of this book: “This work fills a current need for an up-to-date presentation of the discipline for students, and also will serve as a valuable resource for all scholars in New Testament studies.”(Choice); “Parker offers a fascinating and often humorous look into the world of manuscript studies and textual criticism.”(Laura J. Hunt, Moody Theological Seminary).