Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism

by Jacob Harold Greenlee

F.F. Bruce commented on the first edition 'I am glad to give it my warm commendation. As an introduction to the criticism of the New Testament it has no equal in English.' Since Bruce's comments on the original edition thirty years ago, this clear and comprehensive introduction to New Testament textual criticism has remained a popular text for beginning and intermediate students.

Genres: New Testament, Religion, Theology, Language

176 pages, Paperback

Published November 17, 1995

About the author

Jacob Harold Greenlee was born in Charleston, West Virginia, on May 12, 1918, the first child of Jacob Andrew and Ethel Edith Jarrett Greenlee. He graduated from Charleston High School in 1935.

Dr. Greenlee was an ordained United Methodist minister of the West Virginia Conference. He is the author with wife, Ruth, of a book about their ministry travels, and he has published 12 books dealing with the Greek language of the New Testament and more than 160 published articles. He is listed in more than twenty-five biographical volumes.

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the information interesting. Some of it was easy to follow, other parts I will need to reread.

[Jordan Shirkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short intro to NT textual criticism (shocker based on the title), but probably only for you if you’re into nerdy (important!) Bible stuff. Helpful and surely *just* an introduction, often technical with lots of Greek references without translations. If you don’t have any familiarity Koine Greek, I’d stay away.

Chapter 7 on how our current manuscripts of the NT have been determined and assembled in light of differences, additions, and omissions would likely be worth the read for anyone interested in that aspect of the Bible.

[Ben K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just re-read this after using it in Greek Exegesis 20 years ago. It served as a helpful refresher.

[Chase Sams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most who have rated this book have pretty much said that it was hard to read and gave it bad ratings. If you are reading this without a basic understanding of Greek grammar then yes, this is not for you. The book, though, is very insightful and very helpful to bridge some gaps and give more clarity to those who have spent some time in learning Biblical Greek or have just completed a few classes in it. If you are a Greek student, then I would highly recommend this book, if your professors have not already done so, BUT if you just saw "New Testament Criticism" and it sparked an interest to help with personal basic apologetics, then this is not for you. This is primarily a primer on Greek interpretation with some apologetic insight, not the other way around.

I would recommend Googling what New Testament Textual Criticism is before opening.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greenlee has done a huge amount of legwork to put together this small volume. Most Greek students won't need to look any further. Of course, these days there are lots of good online courses dealing with NT textual criticism (Wallace, for example, has a great video series). But, it's always good to have an accessible reference work. This volume deals with topics like paleography, the reception of the NT texts, MSS, versions and patristic sources, the history of the printed text, the history of textual critical work, and then it gets down to the hard work of the praxis of NT text criticism. Most students won't need anything more technical than this volume. Some scoff at the work of NT textual criticism, but for any theologian at least a basic understanding of transmission, variants, and how to deal with them is a necessity.

[Todd Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an OK book for the average reader. Over half of it is easily digestible and understandable. But, there are some chapters that are more difficult and some sections nearly impossible to fully grasp unless you have a collation of manuscriptal evidence in front of you and a working knowledge of Koine Greek.

If you're looking for an easier read that covers this subject, I'd suggest a book by the same author: The Text of the New Testament: From Manuscript to Modern Edition. This book is a wonderful introduction to the subject that anybody can understand.

[Félise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a textbook used in my Greek class and I feel like it was so informative, it's going to be hard for me to consolidate everything I learned into one assignment that recaps the basics of textual criticism- it's all the important stuff! That said, I appreciate the pacing of it, how you get a background in construction of manuscripts, errors that arise in transmission, why there are textual variants, how history and tradition play into all that, and then all the details of decoding the apparatus. Chapter 7 is where you really plunge into the weeds on that with all kinds of technical details. The examples in the main text and illustrations in the footnotes do help a lot, though.

[Luke Schmeltzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a very concise and helpful introduction to text criticism. It’s strengths was its clear presentation of the historical data and the nature of textual criticism. It’s weakness was probably in its dated-ness (1994) and its lack of theological consideration. Still, it’s a book I’ll keep and lend to others interested in the subject.

[Jim Gulley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fantastic introduction to the history and methods of Greek New Testament textual criticism. Overall, it is highly interesting and relatively easy to understand. Toward the end, when he covers more complex methods, the book becomes less accessible. Highly recommended for any student of Ancient Greek and/or the classics.

[Salvador Blanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great first dip of the toe to the large ocean that is textual criticism. Clear definitions. Great examples of textual variants, and even suggested exercises!

It is definitely for those who have at least taken a Greek grammar class.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this book is old and has certainly been supplanted, it is a good introduction to textual criticism.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good introduction to textual criticism, but honestly the field is so large and complex that this can only be a first stepping stone. Excellent learning and reference tool.

[Adam T. Calvert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not for everyone! ;)

If you don't understand the title to this book (or don't care), then this book might not be for you.

Having said that....Textual Criticism is the science/art behind deciding what Greek manuscripts contain the original, inspired writing of the Greek New Testament.

This really is an interesting field, but it's not for everyone. Probably the most useful bit of information, with which any Christian would want to be advised, is the following quote:

"The third principal source of knowledge of the NT text is the great number of quotations from the NT which are found in the writings of Christian writers of the early centuries. These quotations are so extensive that the NT could virtually be reconstructed from them without the use of NT MSS [manuscripts:]." -p. 46

This is a very interesting statement regarding the evidential support for our New Testament.

But now to the review...

Chapters 1-6 we're the most interesting to me. Greenlee defines textual criticism, gives a background of the writing forms and materials used for New Testament manuscripts, details an account of what manuscripts we have available today, goes over a brief history of the transmission of the text, and then moves into a discussion of different Greek texts used to translate the New Testament into other languages.

This was all very helpful, and probably the most important thing for everyone who does not have a huge interest in textual criticism was the quote already mentioned.

Chapters 7 and 8 are definitely not for those who do not know NT Greek. These chapters are probably very helpful for a NT Greek student who is interested in textual criticism; but for a student who is not, it could be very dry.

In summary, this book has very useful information. But it would certainly be dull to a reader who is not interested in textual criticism, and it would be difficult to read, at times, for those who do not know much Koine Greek.

I appreciated the way Greenlee laid out the rules of textual critisicm in this book and then provided some examples of how to go about applying those rules. It was a great exercise.

However, I do not think the logic underneath the textual criticism rules in this book are exactly air tight. I personally am not yet capable of understanding all that textual criticism entails, but I would recommend this book, along with 'Logical Criticisms of Textual Criticism' by Gordon H. Clark to any student of the Bible who is interested in such matters.

[Ryan Linkous · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is not glitzy or glamorous about this book. It's about textual criticism, which, though its important, it pretty unaccessible to those who don't know Koine Greek. This book is very helpful though to understand a basic history of textual criticism and to lay a solid foundation from which one can engage textual critics. It's a resource that I will continually use throughout my studies because it has some helpful graphs. Thankfully it isn't long so it's a good reference book to have as well.

I really liked Greenlee's Introduction a lot more that David Alan Black's. Greenlee has fuller content and again has key graphs that categorize the origins of different manuscripts. The main advantage of Black is it's about half as long as Greenlee.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent primer on New Testament textual criticism. Mr. Greenlee introduces the background of the transmission of New Testament writings, explaining why there are variations in the texts and how these variants have been resolved throughout history. In the second portion of this book, Mr. Greenlee introduces the major players in New Testament textual criticism and how to use their resources. It is in this part that the book bogs down, becomes tedious, and really is there just as a resource. Though short, this book is good both for those who want exposure to New Testament textual criticism for the first time as well as for those who are starting actually to practice textual criticism.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could easily be separated into two parts. The first part is very informative, and I think that most lay readers would benefit. The second part is for the student of theology, with a knowledge of biblical Greek, who wants to study textual criticism. I am not the latter so I give Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism four stars--although it is probably worthy of five for its intended purpose.

[Robert Schut · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for those interested in beginning a study on the subject of textual criticism. Everything is there. In a beginning book one cannot expect to get into too much detail, but he does provide enough to at least let us know if we want to go further into the subject. I still use this in my research today.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction, brief and concise.

It is, however, a little outdated since it covers some contexts that are seldom addressed these days.

But considering how fast the field of TC is now changing, it is not too far removed!

[Dmatlak · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I'll be a textual critic of the NT anytime soon.

[Donald Hartley]

An excellent introduction to textual criticism. A precursor to Metzer/Ehrman or Aland texts. This revised edition is worth the re-read.

[Donald Hartley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to NT textual criticism. It is brief with wit.

[Sean McGowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good introduction. A bit technical at points, but it has an excellent discussion on how to work through various NT variants.

[Christopher Humphrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earlier this week I completed “Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism” by J. Harold Greenlee. I was introduced to Dr. Greenlee’s book in Seminary. It is a classic introductory text on the fascinating yet tedious study of Textual Criticism. Simply stated, Textual Criticism is the science and art of studying copies of texts to determine what is the original autograph. Although this is an introductory text, this book assumes quite a bit of historical and biblical knowledge. That being said, this is an accessible text for anyone who wishes to learn about this area of study.

When we pick up our copy of the Bible, we can easily take it for granted. We can take it for granted because scholars like Dr. Greenlee have devoted a lifetime of study to this discipline. In learning about the development of the canon of Scripture, this book is also informative on issues such as the media used for recording language over the span of history.

This book is well written and straightforward. After reading this book you will have a new appreciation for how God has chosen to preserve His Word for us. Happy reading!