What the layman should know about textual criticism (1): Introduction
Prof. Douglas Kuiper introduces Protestant Reformed laypeople to the discipline of New Testament textual criticism, explaining why modern Bible translations contain footnotes about manuscript variations and what scholars mean when they evaluate textual evidence. This foundational article helps readers understand how biblical scholars work to determine the original Greek text inspired by the Holy Spirit, using concrete examples like the longer ending of Mark and the pericope adulterae.
Suppose you are reading the Bible, the NIV or ESV, for instance. You keep seeing footnotes saying that some manuscripts add or omit a word or phrase, and that other manuscripts use different words. Then you come to Mark 16:9-20, Mark's narrative of Christ's ascension into heaven and His words to His disciples immediately preceding it. You notice that in the ESV the entire passage is sandwiched between double brackets [[…]] prefaced with this remark: "[Some of the earliest manuscripts do not...
Full article available on sb.rfpa.org