DEFINITIONS

THE BIBLE
 
The Bible is a selective written record communicating the intent, origin, history, and development of the relationship between God and humanity.
AUTOGRAPH
 
"Autograph" is the accepted term for the original edition of a particular work as written or dictated by the author. It is the original and earliest copy from which all later copies are ultimately descended (note that it may not be the latest existing copy from which the manuscripts descend). In most instances, it is what the textual critic would like to reconstruct, but it is not possible for Bible books – all we can reconstruct is the archetype.
ARCHETYPE
 
Refers to the latest copy from which a family of copies descends, the "ancestor" of all in that family of copies. Every extant manuscript, of every writing ever made, traces back to an archetype. Needless to say, a very recent autograph can be its own archetype, if it still exists, but that's normally not the case.
 
With reference to the diagram on the left, all textual criticism can directly reconstruct is the archetype C; A is beyond our direct reach, as is any differences between A and C.
 
This is why discovery of older manuscript copies is such a big deal: the older the archetype constructed from these manuscripts, the closer it is to the autograph. For example, the gospel of John was written in AD 90-100 (autograph), the oldest full version (full archetype) dates to Codex Sinaiticus (AD 330-360). But there are partial earlier copies inbetween, and each of these could possibly be the archetype of the section it contains.
CANON (of Scripture)
 
The canon of the Bible is the collection of books considered authoratative for belief and practice by the Church; the books considered inspired by God, that comprise the sacred scriptures of the Bible. It developed through a lengthy organic process, and the books considered canonical by the churches was finally recognised as such by the Councils of Hippo (AD 393) and Carthage (AD 397) which confirmed the New Testament books we have today. By the time of Jesus the current 39 Old Testament books were already accepted by Jewish communities, and in AD 90 The Council of Jamnia recognised what had already been accepted.
 
"Canon" refers to the fixed collection of texts functioning as "scripture", and "scripture" refers more to the regard, function, and status of writings in a given group of people, in this case the Church.
CARBON-14 DATING
 
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was developed in the late 1940s at the University of Chicago by Willard Libby.
 
The older a sample is, the less carbon-14 there is to be detected, and because its half-life (the period of time after which half of a given sample will have decayed) is about 5,730 years, the oldest dates that can be reliably measured by this process date to approximately 50,000 years ago (in this interval about 99.8% of the carbon-14 will have decayed.
CODEX
 
A codex (Latin caudex for "trunk of a tree" or block of wood, book; plural codices) was a book constructed of a number of sheets of paper, vellum, papyrus, or similar materials, with hand-written content. The book was usually bound by stacking the pages and fixing one edge, and using a cover thicker than the sheets. The Romans developed the form from wooden writing tablets.
 
The codex's gradual replacement of the scroll-the dominant book form in the ancient world-has been called the most important advance in book making before the invention of printing. The codex transformed the shape of the book itself, and offered a form that lasted for centuries. The spread of the codex is often associated with the rise of Christianity, which adopted the format for use with the Bible early on.
 
First described by the 1st-century AD Roman poet Martial, who praised its convenient use, the codex achieved numerical parity with the scroll around AD 300, and had completely replaced it throughout the now Christianised Greco-Roman world by the 6th century .
EPISTLE
 
A New Testament epistle is a letter written by early Christian leaders to individuals or groups, typically addressing theological issues, offering moral and spiritual guidance, or responding to specific community challenges. The word epistle comes from the Greek word epistole, which means "letter" or "message."
ESSENES
 
The Essenes were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD, and established the community at Qumran. They emphasized ritual purity, studied and copied books of the Jewish Scriptures, and wrote commentaries on the Books of the Prophets. Their apocalyptic theology resulted in a worldview polarized between good and evil.
INERRANCY
 
Inerrancy of Scripture is the belief that the Bible is without error in its original writings, and that it speaks truly when interpreted correctly. It holds that the Bible is free from material errors and internal contradictions, that the scientific, geographic, and historic details of the scriptural texts in their original manuscripts are completely true and without error, though the scientific claims of scripture must be interpreted in the light of the phenomenological nature of the biblical narratives.
 
Inerrancy is not the same as infallibility: "inerrant" means there are no errors, whereas "infallible" means there can be no errors (in matters of faith and practice)
 
(See triangle image below for the differences between inspiration, infallibility, and inerrancy.
INFALLIBILITY
 
The infallibility of the Bible the belief that the Bible is completely trustworthy as a guide to salvation and the life of faith and will not fail to accomplish its purpose. It means that the Bible is true in what it teaches, and incapable of teaching any error, in matters of faith and practice, since it is breathed out by God who cannot lie. The Bible is infallible if and only if it makes no false or misleading statements on any matter of faith and practice. While we should note the historical and literary context of a teaching, the teaching is true and should be obeyed, irrespective of the context in which we finds ourselves.
 
Infallibility is a stronger term than inerrancy: "infallible" means there can be no errors in matters of faith and practice, whereas "inerrant" means there are no errors.
 
(See triangle image above for the differences between inspiration, infallibility, and inerrancy.
INSPIRATION
 
Inspiration of Scripture is the belief that the Bible is the word of God, written by humans under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This means that God is the source of the Bible's words, but the Holy Spirit so directed the human writers of the Bible that the finished product was precisely what He intended. It is fully "God-breathed", yet also fully "human-recorded", without God reducing the authors to machines or mechanical scribes.
 
The Greek word pneuma, which means "breath", is used to describe how God "breathed into" the writers of the Bible. This ensured that the writers wrote what God wanted to say – God shines through every word, and yet the personalities and abilities of every writer is also clearly manifested.
 
(See triangle image above "Infallibility" for the differences between inspiration, infallibility, and inerrancy.
KETEF HINNOM SCROLLS
 
The Ketef Hinnom scrolls, also described as Ketef Hinnom amulets, are the oldest surviving texts currently known from the Hebrew Bible, dated to c. 600 BC.[2] The text, written in the Paleo-Hebrew script (not the Aramaic-derived Jewish square script Hebrew alphabet more familiar to most modern readers), is from the Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible, and has been described as "one of the most significant discoveries ever made" for biblical studies.
 
The two silver scrolls were uncovered in 1979 at Ketef Hinnom, an archaeological site southwest of the Old City of Jerusalem, and were found to contain a variation of the Priestly Blessing, found in Numbers 6:24–26. The scrolls were dated paleographically to the late 7th or early 6th century BC, placing them in the First Temple period.
MANUSCRIPT
 
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. Before the arrival of printint, all documents and books were manuscripts. Manuscripts are not defined by their contents, which may combine writing with mathematical calculations, maps, music notation, explanatory figures, or illustrations.
More recently, the term has come to be understood to further include any written, typed, or word-processed copy of an author's work, as distinguished from the rendition as a printed version of the same.
PAPYRUS
 
The word papyrus refers to a thin paper-like material made from the pith of the papyrus plant. The word papyrus can also refer to a document written on sheets of papyrus joined together side by side and rolled up into a scroll, an early form of a book. The plural for such documents is papyri. Papyrus is first known to have been used in ancient Egypt.
TEXTUAL CRITICISM
 
Textual criticism is a branch of scholarship that focuses on examining and comparing different versions of a text to establish its most accurate or original form. This discipline is crucial for works that have multiple copies or versions, such as ancient manuscripts, religious scriptures, or classic literature.
 
Here are the main principles used in textual criticism:
 
Manuscript Comparison: Textual critics analyze variations between different manuscripts of a text. By comparing these versions, they identify discrepancies and commonalities that can shed light on the text's evolution over time.
 
Textual Variants: Variants are differences found among manuscripts. Textual critics evaluate these differences to determine which versions are more likely to be original. They consider factors like the age of the manuscript, geographical location, and the type of variation (e.g., accidental errors or deliberate alterations).
 
Internal Evidence: Critics assess the internal consistency of the text. This involves examining the language, style, and context to judge which variants align best with the author's known writing style or the text's historical context.
 
External Evidence: This includes looking at the historical and geographical context of the manuscripts. The dating of manuscripts, their provenance, and how they were transmitted through history can provide insights into which versions might be closer to the original.
 
Genealogical Method: Critics often map out the "family tree" of manuscripts, tracing their lineage and relationships to understand how textual variations might have arisen and spread.
 
By applying these principles, textual critics aim to reconstruct the most accurate version of a text, providing a clearer understanding of its original meaning and content.
 
··· For the specific application of textual criticism to the Bible manuscripts, click here.
THEOLOGY
 
Wikipedia says "theology" is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective. More narrowly it is the study of the nature of the divine. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the supernatural, but also deals with religious epistemology, and asks and seeks to answer the question of revelation. Revelation pertains to the acceptance of God, gods, or deities, as not only transcendent or above the natural world, but also willing and able to interact with the natural world and to reveal themselves to humankind.
 
Merriam Webster's Dictionary, offers a more concise definition: "theology" is
(1) the study of religious faith, practice, and experience; especially the study of God and of God's relation to the world,
(2) a theological theory or system, and/or
(3) a distinctive body of theological opinion.
 
In general discussions, "theology" and its derivatives can refer to any of these three "definitions". When spelled with an uppercase "T", it usually refers specifically to the study of God Himself; with a lowercase "t", it usually refers to the theory/system in a wider sense.
 
Theology is not an exclusively Christian term – it applies to all religions and belief systems. In this study we will use it in the narrower sense of specific Christian theology, unless otherwise indicated.
REVELATION
 
Revelation means to show us something we did not know or see before. In Christianity revelation refers particularly to the way in which God reveals Himself and His purposes; it is the communication of truth and knowledge from God to His children on earth, disclosing divine or sacred reality or purpose to humanity, in a way suited to our language and understanding, telling us what we otherwise would not have known.
 
God has revealed himself to us in the glory of creation, in the perfection of the written word, and in the personal experience of all who seek him, but in formal studies we discern two major types of revelation that can be studied objectively, relating to the audience receiving it:
general revelation, refering to a revelation that is universally available, and
special (or particular) revelation, refering to a revelation made (directly or initially) to a limited group of people, or by means not generally available to all.

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EXPANDED SECTIONS

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SPECIFIC APPLICATION OF TEXTUAL CRITICISM TO BIBLICAL MANUSCRIPTS
 
Textual criticism plays a crucial role in studying Bible manuscripts, given the Bible's complex transmission history and the numerous versions and translations that have emerged over centuries. Here's how textual criticism is applied specifically to Bible manuscripts:
 
Manuscript Comparison: The Bible exists in thousands of manuscripts in various languages, including Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek for the Old Testament and Greek for the New Testament. Textual critics compare these manuscripts to identify differences and similarities. For instance, they might compare the Dead Sea Scrolls, which include some of the oldest known Old Testament manuscripts, with later Masoretic texts or the Septuagint, an ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.
 
Textual Variants: Variants in biblical texts can be substantial, ranging from minor spelling differences to significant textual alterations. Textual critics categorize these variants to understand their origins. For example, differences between the Textus Receptus (a major manuscript tradition used in the King James Version) and the Nestle-Aland text (a critical edition used in modern translations) are scrutinized to determine which readings are more likely to be original.
 
Internal Evidence: Critics analyze the internal coherence of biblical texts, assessing factors like literary style, vocabulary, and theological consistency. For instance, they might evaluate whether certain phrases or themes align with the rest of the book or the broader biblical narrative. For example, the "Johannine Comma" (1 John 5:7-8) is a famous textual variant whose authenticity is debated based on its absence from early Greek manuscripts and its later addition to the Latin Vulgate.
 
External Evidence: This involves studying the historical context of biblical manuscripts. For the New Testament, external evidence includes early church writings and quotations from Church Fathers. The writings of early Christian authors like Origen and Jerome can provide insights into how biblical texts were used and understood in the early church. Additionally, the dating and provenance of manuscripts like Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus are crucial for establishing their textual reliability and historical significance.
 
Genealogical Method: In Bible textual criticism, scholars create a "family tree" of manuscript traditions. This method helps in understanding how different textual versions are related and how they diverged. For instance, textual critics might trace the development of the Septuagint text or the various textual streams of the New Testament to understand how certain readings emerged.
 
Overall, textual criticism of Bible manuscripts seeks to reconstruct the original texts as closely as possible, accounting for variations introduced by scribes and translators over time. This process enhances our understanding of the historical development of the biblical texts and their transmission across cultures and epochs.
Seeing how much of the original manuscripts we can construct with certainty, is also a great source of faith in the trustworthiness of the Bible.
 
Also see Autograph and Archetype

 
 

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