What the layman should know about textual criticism (4): Internal evidence
This article by Prof. Douglas Kuiper introduces laypeople to the principles of internal evidence in New Testament textual criticism, explaining how scribes made both intentional and unintentional changes when copying manuscripts. Understanding these scribal patterns helps textual critics determine which readings are most likely to reflect the original inspired text. The resource is part of a series designed to make this scholarly discipline accessible to non-specialists in the Protestant Reformed tradition.
Previous article in this series: March 1, 2024, p. 280 New Testament textual criticism is the scholarly work of comparing two or more currently available Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, observing the differences in their readings and trying to explain those differences, in order to determine as best as possible which Greek words the Holy Spirit originally inspired. When two or more manuscripts have different readings, how does one decide which reading is probably that of the inspired...
Full article available on sb.rfpa.org