(More Bible Studies Available @ www.marktabata.com)
To Receive These (And Other) Free Bible Studies And Updates Via Email, Contact Mark Tabata @ 606-216-1757 (Text Message) Or hazardhomecoc@gmail.com (Email)
Psalm 12:6-7-The words of the LORD are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times. 7 You shall keep them, O LORD, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.
Our knowledge of the New Testament Scriptures comes from three sources: the Greek manuscripts, the early versions, and the quotations of the New Testament from the Christians who lived between the second and fourth centuries (often called the “church fathers”).
The Greek manuscripts are copies that were made of the original writings of the New Testament, of which we have over five thousand. The versions were ancient translations of the Greek New Testament into other languages, of which we have over twenty eight thousand manuscripts. The quotations from the church fathers are instances where the early disciples quote and allude to the New Testament, of which we have over thirty six thousand instances. It has been revealed that if we didn’t have any of the Greek manuscripts or early versions, we could still reproduce the entire New Testament minus eleven verses. (So much for the conspiracy theory that the early Christians didn’t know which Books belonged in the New Testament until the Council Of Nicaea in 325 AD).
When we look at the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, we see that there are many differences between them. One manuscript might have a word spelled differently then another manuscript of the same verse: one may have a line of text skipped when compared to another: another might have a line repeated, etc. These differences between the manuscript copies are called “textual variants.” Of these differences between manuscripts, there are some four hundred thousand! It is not uncommon to hear the claim from atheists, pagans, and members of some denominational churches that this means we cannot trust the New Testament Scriptures.
Is this true?
Let’s study.
The first thing to notice is that the majority of these variants are nothing more then misspelled words or simple scribal errors.
“The overwhelming majority of these four hundred thousand supposed variations stem from differences in spelling, word order, or the relationships between nouns and definite articles. In other words, a copyist simply switched a couple of letters, misheard a word, or skipped a line of text. Such variants are readily recognizable and, in most cases, utterly unnoticeable in translations!…In the end, more than 99 percent of the four hundred thousand or so differences fall into this category of variants that can’t even be seen in translations!” (Timothy Paul Jones, Conspiracies And The Cross, 1531-1540 (Kindle Edition); Lake Mary, Florida; FrontLine)
That these variants do not amount to any significant matter can be easily seen by looking at a copy of the New King James Version of the New Testament. The translators note any differences between the manuscripts in the footnotes. Here is one example chosen randomly:
Acts 13:17-“The God of this people dIsrael †chose our fathers, and exalted the people †when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with ean uplifted arm He †brought them out of it.
Notice the footnote with the word “Israel.” The NKJV has this footnote:
“M omits Israel.”
In other words, one of the Greek manuscripts of this passage does not have the word “Israel” here. Likely the scribe copying that text simply didn’t see that word, and so one manuscript had that one word omitted. Did the accidental omission of that word change the meaning of the text? Not at all! Further, there are dozens of other manuscripts that have the word “Israel,” so nothing has been altered. More to the point, anyone reading the passage can see that the text is talking about the nation of Israel!
Over 99 % of contextual variants are like this: simple scribal errors that do not affect the text at all.
Second, there are obvious reasons for the variants to exist. Some people read about the textual variants and think that this means there was some grand conspiracy to remove or manipulate some teaching of the New Testament. But these claims vanish when we learn the nature of the errors we are discussing.
“Unintentional changes of various kinds all arise from the imperfection of some human faculty. These constitute by far the vast majority of all transcriptional errors. 1. Errors of the eye • Wrong division of words that resulted in the formation of new words—early manuscripts were not punctuated, and letters were not separated into words by spaces. • Omission of letters, words, and even whole lines occurred when the astigmatic eye mistook one group of letters or words for another, sometimes located on a different line. • Repetition results in an error opposite the error of omission. Hence, when the eye picked up the same letter or word twice and repeated it, it is called dittography. • Transposition is the reversal of the position of two letters or words. This is technically known as metathesis. In 2 Chronicles 3: 4, the transposition of a letter would make the measurements of the porch of Solomon’s Temple out of proportion—for example, 120 cubits instead of 20 cubits as in the LXX (Septuagint). • Other confusion of spelling abbreviations or scribal insertions account for the remainder of scribal errors. This is especially true about Hebrew letters, which were also used for numbers and could be easily confused. These errors of the eye may account for many of the numerical discrepancies in the Old Testament (cf. 2 Kings 8: 26; 2 Chronicles 22: 2). 2. Errors of the ear occurred only when manuscripts were copied while listening to someone read them. This may explain why some manuscripts (fifth century onward) read kamelos (a rope) instead of kamēlos (a camel) in Matthew 19: 24. In 1 Corinthians 13: 3, kauthēsomai (he burns) was confused with kauchēsomai (he boasts). 3. Errors of memory. These are not so numerous, but occasionally a scribe might forget the precise word in a passage and substitute a synonym. 4. Errors of judgment. The most common error of this kind is caused by dim lighting or poor eyesight. Sometimes marginal notes were incorporated into the text under the misapprehension that they were part of the text….5. Errors of writing. If a scribe, due to imperfect style or accident, wrote indistinctly or imprecisely, he would set the stage for future error of sight or judgment. Rapid copying was no doubt responsible for many errors in writing. This is viewed especially in the parallel accounts of the Kings-Chronicles corpus.” (Ed Hindson & Ergun Caner (General Editors), The Popular Encyclopedia Of Apologetics: Surveying The Evidence For The Truth Of Christianity, 98-99 (Kindle Edition); Eugene, Oregon; Harvest House Publishers)
Finally, do the textual variants mean that we cannot trust the New Testament? Consider this testimony from scholar James White:
“Westcott and Hort, the men most vilified by KJV Only advocates, indicated that only about one eighth of the variants had any weight, the rest being “trivialities.” Accordingly, this would leave the text 98.33 percent pure no matter whether one used the Textus Receptus or their own Greek text! Likewise, Philip Schaff, writing prior to the more recent discovery of the many papyrus manuscripts, estimated that only four hundred variants affected the sense of the passage, and only fifty of these were actually important. Furthermore, he asserted that not one affected “an article of faith or a precept of duty which is not abundantly sustained by other and undoubted passages, or by the whole tenor of Scripture teaching.” The great scholar Dr. A. T. Robertson, whose familiarity with the most intimate details of the Greek text is abundantly verified by his massive 1,454-page A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research, indicated that areas of real concern regarding textual variants amounted to but “a thousandth part of the entire text.” Because of this, Dr. B. B. Warfield could state that “the great mass of the New Testament, in other words, has been transmitted to us with no, or next to no, variations.” As Dr. Gordon Fee put it, It is noteworthy that for most scholars over 90 percent of all the variations to the NT text are resolved, because in most instances the variant that best explains the origin of the others is also supported by the earliest and best witnesses. The reality is that the amount of variation between the two most extremely different New Testament manuscripts would not fundamentally alter the message of the Scriptures! I make this claim (1) fully aware of the wide range of textual variants in the New Testament and (2) painfully aware of the strong attacks upon those who have made similar statements in the past. KJV Only advocates are quick to attack such assertions, but I stand by mine, and I will document its truthfulness throughout the rest of this book. The simple fact of the matter is that no textual variants in either the Old or New Testament in any way, shape, or form materially disrupt or destroy any essential doctrine of the Christian faith. Any semi-impartial review will substantiate this….F. F. Bruce reproduced the words of Sir Frederic Kenyon: The interval between the dates of original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed. Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established.” (James R. White, The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust Modern Translations? 66-67, 75 (Logos Edition): Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House)
The New Testament Scriptures have come down to us as they were originally written. Archaeology confirms their reliability, just as the sacrifices, sufferings, and deaths of the Apostles prove the trustworthiness of their Message. We have the same Word that the Apostles delivered! The question is: what will we do with it?
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.