Theological Term of the Week: Manuscripts

manuscript

 Handwritten copies of portions of the text of the Bible; ancient copies of Bible passages in the original languages.

• In Scripture: 

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:16-20 ESV)

• From The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, Exposition: Transmission and Translation:

Since God has nowhere promised an inerrant transmission of Scripture, it is necessary to affirm that only the autographic text of the original documents was inspired and to maintain the need of textual criticism as a means of detecting any slips that may have crept into the text in the course of its transmission. The verdict of this science, however, is that the Hebrew and Greek text appear to be amazingly well preserved, so that we are amply justified in affirming, with the Westminster Confession, a singular providence of God in this matter and in declaring that the authority of Scripture is in no way jeopardized by the fact that the copies we possess are not entirely error-free.

• From The Reliability of the New Testament Manuscripts, ESV Study Bible Articles and Resources:

Today, any group of Christians gathered together can all read exactly the same words in their Bibles, that luxury is made possible by the invention of the movable-type printing press over five centuries ago. But such a luxury can also breed a false sense of confidence that the precise original wording of the Bible can be known. When it comes to the NT, the original 27 books disappeared long ago, probably within decades of their composition. Handwritten copies, or manuscripts, must be relied on to determine the wording of the original text. Yet no two manuscripts are exactly alike, and even the closest two early manuscripts have at least half a dozen differences per chapter (most of them inconsequent variations…). The discipline known as NT textual criticism is thus needed because of these two facts: disappearance of the originals and disagreements among the manuscripts.

Learn more: 

1. R. C. Sproul: The Transmission of Scripture
2. John H. Skilton: The Transmission of Scriptures
3. Daniel Wallace: How can you trust the New Testament when the manuscripts are different? (video)
4. Don Stewart: Where Can We Find the Biblical Manuscripts that Still Exist?

Related terms:

• autographs
• Comma Johanneum
• inerrancy of scripture
• longer ending of Mark
• Pericope Adulterae
• text criticism

Filed under Scripture

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Sunday Hymn: God Moves in a Mysterious Way

God moves in a mys­te­ri­ous way
His won­ders to per­form;
He plants His foot­steps in the sea
And rides up­on the storm.

Deep in un­fa­thom­able mines
Of ne­ver fail­ing skill
He trea­sures up His bright de­signs
And works His so­ve­reign will.

Ye fear­ful saints, fresh cour­age take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mer­cy and shall break
In bless­ings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by fee­ble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frown­ing pro­vi­dence
He hides a smil­ing face.

His pur­pos­es will rip­en fast,
Unfolding ev­ery hour;
The bud may have a bit­ter taste,
But sweet will be the flow­er.

Blind unbe­lief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own in­ter­pret­er,
And He will make it plain.

—William Cowper

Sunday Hymn: God Leads His Dear Children Along

In sha­dy, green pas­tures,
So rich and so sweet,
God leads His dear child­ren along;
Where the wa­ter’s cool flow
Bathes the wea­ry one’s feet,
God leads His dear child­ren along.

Refrain

Some through the wa­ters,
Some through the flood,
Some through the fire,
But all through the blood;
Some through great sor­row,
But God gives a song,
In the night sea­son
And all the day long.

Sometimes on the mount
Where the sun shines so bright,
God leads His dear child­ren along;
Sometimes in the val­ley,
In dark­est of night,
God leads His dear child­ren along.

Though sor­rows be­fall us
And ev­ils op­pose,
God leads His dear child­ren along;
Through grace we can conq­uer,
Defeat all our foes,
God leads His dear child­ren along.

Away from the mire,
And away from the clay,
God leads His dear child­ren along;
Away up in glo­ry, eter­ni­ty’s day,
God leads His dear child­ren along.

—George A. Young