Textual Criticism of the Bible
What to Know
This article emphasizes that before exploring the deeper teachings of the Bible and Jesus Christ’s identity, one must first establish the Bible’s historical reliability.
Textual criticism is key: scholars reconstruct original New Testament writings by comparing thousands of existing handwritten copies—far more than what exists for most other ancient works.
The New Testament boasts about 5,800 Greek manuscripts (some within 200 years of the events), which is unparalleled in ancient literature. The Old Testament also has extensive manuscript support, highlighted by the Dead Sea Scrolls, which pushed textual evidence back nearly 2,000 years.
Given the Bible’s vast and early manuscript evidence, questioning its reliability would mean questioning the reliability of all other ancient historical documents as well as historical figures like Alexander the Great.
Before exploring the Bible's true teachings and scriptural truths — often obscured by tradition and diluted interpretations — we must first establish its authenticity, historical accuracy, and the truth of Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
We will begin on this journey by first examining the New Testament, specifically through textual criticism, rather than focusing on the specific writings. The New Testament was originally written in Koine Greek, the common language of the time. Today, we don't have the original manuscripts, known as autographs, of the New Testament books. Instead, we rely on handwritten copies and copies of those copies. Textual criticism is the scholarly practice of reconstructing the original text by comparing these various copies.
It's important to note that textual criticism isn't limited to the New Testament or to only biblical books. It's applied to nearly all classical works because no originals exist for any Greek or Latin classic, including the Bible. This is mainly because ancient people wrote on papyrus, a highly perishable material that can only survive in dry, airy climates. It's actually remarkable we have any surviving papyrus fragments today, considering how easily they degrade.
In 1900, only about nine known papyrus fragments contained parts of the New Testament had been discovered. Today, that number has grown to approximately 115. Among these, 45 papyrus fragments date back to before 300 AD. Collectively, these 45 manuscripts represent about two-thirds of the New Testament, dating to within 200 years of the eyewitness accounts of Jesus. In the context of ancient writings, this is incredibly close to the actual events. In fact, no other ancient document has such early and abundant manuscript evidence.
Beyond these 115 significant and larger manuscripts, there are approximately another 5,800 Greek manuscripts, 10,000 Latin manuscripts, and 9,300 manuscripts in other languages. Some scholars estimate that the number of textual references could exceed one million if we include citations from early church fathers who quoted Scripture in sermons and writings. These numbers are extraordinarily high for ancient texts, underscoring the New Testament's unique position in historical documentation.
The difference is stark when we compare the 5,800 Greek New Testament manuscripts to other classical works. Consider critical editions of works like The Iliad, Caesar's Gallic War, and Beowulf — these are classic texts widely taught in schools, and their authenticity is rarely questioned. However, the number of manuscripts that survive these works is nowhere near the New Testament. The Iliad, for example, has about 650 copies, which is sufficient to produce critical editions but pales in comparison to the New Testament. The earliest complete edition of The Iliad dates from the 10th century A.D., even though the text was written around the 8th century BC. In contrast, we have complete editions of the New Testament from the 4th century A.D., with large fragments dating back to before 300 A.D.—much closer to the events described.
To illustrate this point further, scholars have dated a small fragment containing portions of John, known as fragment P90, to the early 2nd century A.D. Another fragment, known as fragment P104, contains Scripture from Matthew and is dated to the late 1st century A.D. These fragments are incredibly close in time to the events they record, enhancing their reliability.
As briefly explained before with The Iliad, the New Testament's manuscript evidence far surpasses that of any other ancient document. For instance, we have about a dozen copies of Caesar's Gallic War, the earliest dating nearly a thousand years after the events it describes. Tacitus's Histories and Annals are preserved in three manuscripts, and Beowulf survives in only one. The New Testament, by contrast, was widely distributed across the Roman Empire and into North Africa. It was translated into multiple languages, and manuscripts of these translations have been found in numbers that far exceed those of any other ancient document.
While this discussion has focused on the New Testament, similar observations can be made about the Old Testament. Although pinpointing the exact number of Old Testament manuscripts is challenging due to its age, size, and the fact that it was written over a thousand years, estimates suggest there are around 2,000 fragments of Old Testament scripture. Considering the age of these texts, this is truly remarkable.
Some of the oldest complete Old Testament manuscripts include the Aleppo Codex, dating back to 920 A.D., and the Leningrad Codex, dating to 1008 A.D. Both were discovered before the Dead Sea Scrolls, which dates from the 1st to 3rd century B.C. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls pushed back the date of the oldest Old Testament manuscripts by nearly 2,000 years.
When considering both the New and Old Testaments, no other ancient document comes close to this level of manuscript evidence. Despite this, many people still question the accuracy of the Bible and the events it describes. However, if one doubts the reliability of the Bible, they would also have to call in question the reliability of all other ancient historical documents as well.
Sources
Metzger, Bruce M., and Bart D. Ehrman. The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration. Oxford University Press, 2005.
Comfort, Philip Wesley, and David P. Barrett. The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts. Tyndale House Publishers, 2001.
Geisler, Norman L., and William E. Nix. A General Introduction to the Bible. Moody Publishers, 1986.
Wallace, Daniel B. "The Reliability of the New Testament Manuscripts." Bible.org, 2012.
Kenyon, Frederic G. Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts. Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1895.
Greenlee, J. Harold. Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism. Hendrickson Publishers, 1995.
Next: The Evidence of Jesus outside the Bible (through non-Christian sources)