The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption & Restoration

by Bruce M. Metzger, Bart D. Ehrman

This comprehensive work on the text of the New Testament provides information about ancient and newly discovered manuscripts, and offers various interpretations of the significance of manuscript evidence. It contains references to more than 150 additional books and articles dealing with Greek manuscripts, early versions and critical studies of witnesses to the text of the New Testament. Designed for the student, the author discusses a variety of textual problems, simple and complex. He also gives an objective account of the several schools of textual methodology, while indicating what in his view is the most satisfactory procedure for beginners to practice.

Genres: Religion, Theology, Christianity, New Testament, History, Christian, Nonfiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Bruce Manning Metzger (February 9, 1914 – February 13, 2007) was an American biblical scholar and textual critic who was a longtime professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of the American Bible Society and United Bible Societies. He was a scholar of Greek, New Testament, and New Testament textual criticism, and wrote prolifically on these subjects. Metzger is widely considered one of the most influential New Testament scholars of the 20th century.[1][2]

Reviews

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extremely readable and engaging book. It is perfect for the knowledgeable lay person who wants to gain insight into the transmission history of the New Testament. .

[Aidan Creel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to rate - it was all great info about New Testament manuscripts, the history of their discovery, and the beginning textual criticism, as well as some KJV/Textus Receptus dunks, but by nature of the source material it oscillated between interesting and claw-your-eyes-out dry. Recommended to those interested in learning about manuscripts and the development modern translations, but be prepared!

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

An academic look at how the New Testament came to be what it is. This book addresses the issues of textual variance, scribal emendation (editing/correction), and basically how Bible Translators do their work.
An interesting read for people who wonder about these things.

[Fred Kohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone recommended that I read this book, and I'm glad I did. Portions of the book seemed encyclopedic, and while those portions were not fun to read, I do think they make the book a good one for the more casual student of the N.T. to have in his/her library.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read an older version of this book written by Bruce Metzger, before Bart Ehrman got involved. The main criticism I have is the way the book is organized. Although it is organized, it's not organized as I would have done. The organization doesn't seem as intuitive as it could've been. That criticism aside, this is an extremely helpful and informative book, arguably the seminal work on the topic. The reader will learn a great deal about New Testament manuscripts and the process by which scholars have determined which are the oldest and most reliable manuscripts, as well as the many shortcomings of the Textus Receptus (the "received" Greek text from which the King James and New King James bibles were translated). The book also deals with quite a few specific New Testament passages which have textual issues or questions, and an index of Scripture references will help the reader find the specific passages. This makes the book a helpful reference tool as well. This book will also help the reader better decipher the footnotes in Bible translations which refer to the various New Testament manuscripts. One other minor criticism I have of the book is the way in which it was revised. Rather than completely re-writing the book, Metzger went back and added footnotes for each chapter, as well as appendices at the end of the book. This makes following the revisions kind of cumbersome; but it's still doable, and the additional information is interesting and helpful.

[Joel Wentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea this book existed until a prof recommended it, and now I think it's an essential part of any serious bible student's shelf. Metzger and Ehrmann helpfully summarize every aspect of the preservation of ancient texts, even going into detail into the process of how papyrus and parchment were made and written on in ancient societies. This work is in many ways eye-opening in it's mind-numbingly detailed trace of every important manuscript that has been used in biblical translation. Reading this will certainly give you an appreciation for the work of textual critics, and will hopefully help you marvel at the seemingly-miraculous way the New Testament has been preserved through millenia. This is highly academic, but highly recommended.

[Douglas Fyfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cracking book. Everything you've ever wanted to know about NT text transmission but were afraid to ask.
Lots of detail where required, but you can skip that for the great tales of how we've come to where we are now.
I read a fourth updated edition is out now - it would be good to read what's happened in the 20 years since in this (surprisingly) agile and evolving field.

[Sean McGowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good standard book on New Testament Textual Criticism. However, if one is looking for an introduction, I would go with Dr. James White's King James Only Controversy, or David Alan Black's New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide; then I would read this book.

[Connor Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book that I’ve ever read about biblical criticism, and it really opened my eyes. I got to learn about the textual traditions from Western texts, Alexandria, texts, and Byzantine texts, and what many of our modern translations pull from today. The overwhelming amount of work and scholarship that has gone into preserving the Bible and maintaining integrity of the Bible is astounding and seems to vastly outnumbered that of other ancient texts. That also doesn’t even factor in the amount of references from the early church fathers that further corroborate the Scriptures.

It was interesting learning about the early methods that manuscripts of the Bible were written on such as papyrus and Vellum. In some ways, this book was challenging to my faith because there was so much more that went into preserving the Bible than I had ever suspected, but otherwise it was very encouraging because of just how much is there and increased my confidence in authenticity of the Scriptures. At times, it was really fascinating when looking at specific passages or moments in history where there were divergences, but in other instances, it was super boring and a bit of a slog. Would definitely recommend to anyone wanting to dip their toe in or dive in to biblical text criticism. would not recommend to someone just casually interested though because there is so much there and it could undermine a less mature believers understanding of God‘s word.

[John Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is definitely valuable to people interested in textual criticism. The challenges faced by exegetes and translators is not one people give a lot of thought to. The idea that the New Testament is still under dispute and that several competing schools contend for the right to call their text the most accurate is hard for some people to believe. But ignoring the difficulties in this field doesn't do anyone any good. Definitely worth a read and the secondary resources recommended at the end are really valuable.

[Ethan Whitted · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected this to be an extremely dry book and was only planning on using it for some specific research. However, I ended up reading (or at least skimming in some places) roughly 80–85% of the book! It was a surprisingly approachable introduction to textual criticism and the history of New Testament manuscripts!

This book covers pretty much every aspect you can imagine that relates to the writing and transmission of manuscripts of the New Testament. If you want to know how the text of the New Testament that appears in Bibles today got to be in the manner that it is, Metzger gives an extremely thorough and understandable explanation of exactly how that is and how different scholars throughout history have passed it along.

[Eric Wu · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dry at times, but very informative and will open your eyes to the world of textual criticism.

[Kevin Godinho · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the "go-to" book if you want to learn about the philosophies behind textual criticism. It is very dry. For example, the book starts by telling you what types of materials were used by scribes through the centuries. However, there are some parts that pick up and are a bit more interesting. For example, the time of the Reformation and manuscripts used by Erasmus.

This book will give you exposure to the reality of how ancient manuscripts have been handed down through the generations, the technical work scribes go through in copying manuscripts, and a variety of different errors and mistakes that can occur in the transmission process. For example, a scribe might copy one line and then accidentally pick up his copy on the next line without finishing the previous line. I think anyone who has copied anything can relate to this. Our eyes don't always stay where they're supposed to as we are looking back and forth while copying.

There were some interesting details about scribes adding or subtracting from the text intentionally. For example, to defend a particular doctrine or try to make sense of a difficult text Some scribes may have altered the text because they thought the last scribe made a mistake when they did not. Rather, the newer scribe just didn't understand how to reconcile what was being copied, so it seemed like an error that needed amending. Some changes were innocent mistakes; some were even honorable attempts; others were more malicious.

The Scriptures have been used in liturgy since the beginning, so there are times when liturgical readings and practices could have made it into manuscripts. Lots of real-life things happened as these manuscripts traveled through the ages. It's very interesting. It sort of reminds me of the Incarnation. In the same way that Jesus is fully God and fully man, the Scriptures are God-breathed and written by men and are subject to all the realities any ancient work is subject to, as well as Divine Providence.

What the book doesn't get into is Providence. This is an academic work, but without a doctrine of Providence, we're not looking at the history and transmission of the Canon through Spiritual eyes. That is extremely important to note, and the reader will have to go elsewhere to study that topic in order to determine how to blend the two (the natural and Spiritual histories of the Canon). We can't separate the two realities. The Spiritual is arguably more real than the natural, after all. 

If I were forced to choose a manuscript tradition, due to my appreciation for Orthodoxy, I'd go with the Majority (Byzantine) Text. However, I do also think there is a very real way of doing academic studies in textual criticism while also holding to Divine Providence, so I'm not anti-textual criticism. For example, was the story of the woman caught in adultery originally written by John and included in his gospel? Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Textual critics say that it was not. But a doctrine of Providence doesn't need to have John be the author and for that passage to originate in the gospel of John in order for it to be true, even "inspired," and included by the Spirit for the building up of the Body.

Anyway, there's a snippet of my two cents. I'm no textual critic, nor am I an academic. This is me dipping my toes in the water. So take what I'm saying with a grain of salt.

[Bat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really a sort of handbook of textual criticism, with a handbook's peculiar mix of instructive and referential material. In the first section Metzger writes about the method of productions of manuscripts, the common features of manuscripts, and so on, then he surveys the most important manuscripts (this is where the book leans more toward reference) and the early versions (that is, translations) . The next part discusses the most important printed editions and the textual-critical ideas behind them (which is mostly about, or at least framed in terms of, the so-called "Textus Receptus" and the reaction against it). The third part begins with a survey of the history of textual criticism, then discusses important considerations in criticism (that is, sources of errors in manuscripts), and ends with a sort of quick overview of how criticism is done. It also has some plates depicting some manuscripts, which, while too small to give a really good flavor, are of some use in giving an idea of what the manuscripts look like. As I said, this reads like a handbook or maybe textbook (which is in essence what it is). It would also help to be able to read Greek, though you could certainly read the book without knowing any Greek, but then you wouldn't be able to apply anything in it, though I think the information in it is useful (I certainly cannot read any serious quantity of Greek, and I still found it intersting and useful as an introduction to the field; it would of course probably be worthwhile re-reading parts after I have actually had an opportunity to work with the Greek text). It This book was useful, but it is more of an introductory text than reference, especially in comparison to the other books on this list. One quirk of this book is that most (all?) of the changes since the second edition apparently show up in the appendix, not in the book itself.

[Brandon Hawk · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's difficult to fault the work of a scholar like Bruce Metzger, and in this study (updated and revised by him and Ehrman) the quality of his scholarship shows. The book is most commendable for two main approaches presented: a historical overview of the text of the NT; and an introduction to students wishing to study biblical textual criticism. In both, this book is a laudable introduction.

Throughout the book are woven the two foci, as part one emphasizes "Materials for New Testament Textual Criticism" (e.g. material forms, scribes/scripts, etc.) from the earliest extant texts up to the most recent, part two emphasizes the "History of New Testament Textual Criticism" from the Reformation to the present, and part three emphasizes the "Application of Textual Criticism to the Text of the New Testament." The three, however, are presented not as separate, but as interactive, as issues from all of these aspects often are brought into the other discussions. The book thus outlines the many issues and ways of understanding the very texts of the NT, and points toward new modes of understanding and studying. In this, the book is not just an introduction but an aid to others in mapping out work already done and work still yet to be begun.

This book is obviously most pertinent to beginning students of textual criticism, but it also is appropriate for anyone interested in textual criticism more generally. Although focused on the texts of the Bible, many of the key methods and problems of any textual critic (for any texts) are presented in an accessible and learned way. It is not difficult to recommend this book, as it stands as a valuable tool for those interested in literature and its transmission--especially for the text of one of the most influential works of Western literary traditions.

[Russ Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty dry in many parts that are too technical unless you're gonna actually do some textual criticism yourself. I'm just glad there are people out there doing it! And this looks like a great place to start.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good and bad, depending.

[Taylor Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walks through the basics of textual criticism at an approachable level while not sugar coating the facts of what we have and know concerning the Biblical manuscripts.

[Anthony Ingram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to TC as well as a history of the transmission and overview of major minuscule/majuscule manuscripts. Pretty cool book.

[Shaun LePage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever said, or heard someone say, “The Bible has been copied so many times, how can we possibly know whether we can trust it?” That is the purpose of “textual criticism.“ And, this classic by Bruce Metzger is considered must-reading if you want to understand textual criticism—or, if you want to know how we got the Bible and why we can trust modern translations.

In the preface, Metzger provides a definition: “The art of textual criticism refers to the application of reasoned considerations in choosing among variant readings.” In other words, there are thousands upon thousands of ancient documents that contain all or part of the Bible. Along with thousands upon thousands of ”manuscripts” copied by imperfect human beings, there are thousands upon thousands of differences—called “variants.” How do we know which words were original? Textual criticism is the science of how that question is answered.

The main sections of the book help to tell the story:

I. The materials for the textual criticism of the New Testament. (How books were written before the printing press, and where all those copies came from.)

II. The history of New Testament textual criticism as reflected in printed editions of the Greek testament. (The history of how Christians began to deal with variants, and began printing Greek compilations of the New Testament.)

III. The application of textual criticism to the text of the New Testament. (How the science of textual criticism developed and matured resulting in our modern translations.)

This is not light reading. It will require some heavy lifting. But, the subject is so important and the benefit is enormous. What is the benefit? Confidence—the confidence of knowing that, even though there is no such thing as a perfect translation, the manuscript tradition behind our English translations is reliable. I have grown in my conviction that it was through the manuscript tradition that God chose to preserve His word.

[Mak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very detailed yet fairly approachable history of the GNT, plus an explanation of modern textual criticism of Scripture (and examples). The English version of God’s Word that I hold in my hands is clearly the result of painstaking, meticulous labor over the course of centuries. This process is complex, but well-founded. Praise the Lord that every detail of every word (whether it is consistent or irregular across various manuscripts) must ultimately submit to His gracious sovereignty.

My favorite part of the book quotes Cassiodorous in saying: “By reading the divine Scriptures [the scribe] wholesomely instructs his own mind, and by copying the precepts of the Lord he spreads them far and wide. What happy application, what praiseworthy industry, to preach unto people by means of the hand, to untie the tongue by means of the fingers, to bring quiet salvation to mortals, and to fight the Devil’s insidious wiles with pen and ink! For every word of the Lord written by the scribe is a wound inflicted on Satan. And so, though seated in one spot, the scribe traverses diverse lands through the dissemination of what he has written…. Man multiplies the heavenly words, and in a certain metaphorical sense, if I may dare so to speak, three fingers are made to express the utterances of the Holy Trinity. O sight glorious to those who contemplate it carefully! The fast-traveling reed-pen writes down the holy words and thus avenges the malice of the Wicked One, who used a reed to be used to smite the head of the Lord during his Passion.”

[David Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who is serious about understanding the history and current methods of textual criticism of the New Testament manuscripts, this book would undoubtedly be a must-read. The text contains a wealth of information about how the ancient manuscripts were written, preserved, corrupted, and, finally, restored to a text closer to the original works.

This is not an easy read. It would help one to have a basic understanding of Greek, and a basic understanding of the nomenclature of the various manuscripts and manuscript traditions. Nevertheless, anyone who is sufficiently motivated should reap many rewards from their time spent with this outstanding text.

For a much more approachable introduction to some of the methods of textual criticism, I recommend "Reinventing Jesus," by J. Ed Komoszewski.

[Ming Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough, readable, and fascinating introduction to textual criticism by an evidently knowledgeable and balanced scholar.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section is the materials for New Testament (NT hereafter) textual criticism. This covers the making of ancient books, which involves the materials and forms of ancient books, scribal work, and helps for readers such as lectionaries. Also under the first section is witnesses to the NT Text: Greek manuscripts in papyri, unical, or miniscule form; ancient versions in other languages such as Syriac; and, patristic quotations. The second section delineates the history of NT textual criticism, focusing on key figures and their contributions both in the Textus Receptus era and the Modern Critical Period. The last section discusses the application of textual criticism to the NT text: its origin as a scholarly discipline, varying modern methods, causes of error in the NT text transmission, and practical examples of NT textual criticism in evaluating textual variants in different passages.

This book was immensely informative, especially for its short length. It was highly readable, though often I required time to digest some novel concepts, and despite the Greek, which was all Greek to me. Some quite humorous and memorable elements which lighten the scholarly tone and show the eccentric human elements in textual criticism, include the detailing of accounts like scribes writing to each other in Irish in their manuscript margins about the weather (they were not allowed to talk in the scriptorium, and their supervisor could not read Irish, resulting in potential excuses), a scribal blunder wherein one scribe copied a two-columned manuscript by reading left to right from one column to the other, and the sheer vociferous rhetoric launched by textual critics (Daniel Mace's "'as if there was any manuscript so old as COMMON SENSE'"). On a more serious note, I would have to consider the theological ramifications for verbal plenary inspiration (or probably more properly inerrancy) and providential preservation by Metzger's comments in the last section which involved the practical application of textual criticism to certain problems which he deemed unsolvable.

A good primer on NT textual criticism, and actually quite enjoyable.

[Dave Betts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent.

Chapter 1 ("The Making of Ancient Books") alone made the book a worthwhile purchase for its sheer level of detail on the practices and processes of ancient writing. However, in truth my entire copy of TTOTNT is now largely a fluorescent shade of yellow...such is the volume of insight found within its pages.

The chapter on the practice of New Testament Textual Criticism was one of the standouts for me. Straightforward, to the point, and very helpful.

There are places where, despite the exceptional information, it was too much for one pass and a reader might need to reference this book a few times to really benefit from it. But otherwise, really good indeed.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to read it for one of my seminary NT Greek classes and I'm so glad I did! Fascinating and helpful in understanding how historically the NT was compiled. It does delve into some textual criticism, which turned out to be quite interesting. It's a bit different than Lit Crit.

While Metzger and Ehrman do a pretty fantastic job at making a rather dense, esoteric, academic topic accessible, it's still not light or easy reading.

Spoiler: I suspected I was a theology nerd. This book confirmed it. :)

[Shuli · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you only read one book on NTTC, this is THE ONE.
The author provides a history of the NTTC, a relatively comprehensive list of representative texts in each text-type or family (although this notion is later debated, the grouping helps our understanding of the development), and methodologies and their developments. The author gives a balanced view of different approaches to date with ample examples.
The appendices are great resources by themselves. I am a beginner in this field and I find it most helpful. It is a must-have textbook that I would highly recommend.

[Daniel Kleven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic in the field of NT textual criticism. I was most interested in "Part II: The History of New Testament Textual Criticism" (chs. 3 and 4) and Chapter 5 "The Origins of Textual Criticism as a Scholarly Discipline."

The book displays a (typical) anti-Byzantine bias, but as it has often been considered the "standard" on the subject, it's important to understand. I will definitely be referencing this book in the future.

[Tim Seow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive, encyclopedic yet concise volume on New Testament textual criticism. I've learned so much from this. My only gripe is that while it serves as something of an introduction to textual criticism, it goes into so much depth with a sequence beginning with the details of each manuscript before introducing the text types and critiques of approaches. It seems to me to be more intuitive to begin with these first before going into the details of the manuscripts.

[Filip Sylwestrowicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed thoroughly reading Metzger's classic textbook (in 4th edition co-authored by Ehrman). This book is not without some shortcomings and certainly not up to date but it is probably still THE introduction to textual criticism. More on my blog: https://fsylwestrowicz.com/book-thoug...

[Jonathan Ammon]

Some surprises: little mention or emphasis on lectionaries, little emphasis on patristics, strong views on Alexandrian priority and the secondary nature of the Byzantine text, Metzger doesn't think we have the original ending of Mark at all. Definitely important work but also out of date in some important ways.