Errors in the Bible? What is “Biblical Textual Criticism”

BOA Summary: A summary of “Biblical textual criticism”

Opening Questions:
Are there errors in the Bible?
How would you define “Biblical textual criticism”?

Define “Biblical Textual Criticism”

See this article from Got Questions:
Textual criticism – what is it?
https://www.gotquestions.org/textual-criticism.html

Source ChatGPT:
Biblical textual criticism is the scholarly discipline that seeks to determine, as closely as possible, the original wording of the biblical books by comparing all available textual evidence. Because the original manuscripts (called autographs) no longer exist, textual critics analyze copies and translations to identify where scribes introduced changes—whether accidentally or intentionally—and to reconstruct the earliest attainable text.

A more detailed definition

Biblical textual criticism is the study and comparison of biblical manuscripts, ancient translations, and quotations by early writers to identify textual variants, evaluate their origins, and determine the earliest recoverable form of the biblical text.

What textual critics examine

For the New Testament, the evidence includes:

• Greek manuscripts (over 5,800 known)
• Ancient translations (Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Georgian, etc.)
• Quotations of Scripture by the early Church Fathers

For the Old Testament, the evidence includes:

• The Masoretic Text
• The Dead Sea Scrolls
• The Septuagint (Greek Old Testament)
• The Samaritan Pentateuch
• Other ancient versions (e.g., Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate)

What is a textual variant?

A textual variant is any difference between manuscripts.

Examples include:

• Different spellings
• Word order changes
• Omitted or added words
• Entire verses or passages (such as Mark 16:9–20 or John 7:53–8:11)

Most variants are minor and do not affect the meaning of the text.

How textual critics evaluate variants

They consider two broad categories of evidence:

1. External evidence
   • Age of the manuscripts
   • Geographic distribution
   • Quality and reliability of the manuscript families
2. Internal evidence
   • Which reading best explains the origin of the others
   • Which reading best fits the author’s vocabulary and style
   • Which reading a scribe would be more likely to create or change

What textual criticism is not

Biblical textual criticism is not:

• Determining whether biblical events actually happened (historical criticism)
• Interpreting the meaning of a passage (hermeneutics or exegesis)
• Judging theological truth or inspiration
• Deciding which books belong in the Bible (canon studies)

Its focus is a single question:

What did the biblical author originally write?

Why it matters

Textual criticism helps scholars produce modern critical editions of the Hebrew and Greek biblical texts, such as the Biblia Hebraica Quinta (Old Testament) and the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece (New Testament). These editions form the basis for most modern Bible translations.

Although there are hundreds of thousands of textual variants among biblical manuscripts, the vast majority are minor differences such as spelling, word order, or other copyist variations. A relatively small number involve meaningful differences, and an even smaller number affect the interpretation of a passage. One of the strengths of biblical textual criticism is that the abundance of manuscripts allows scholars to compare many independent witnesses, making it possible to reconstruct the biblical text with a high degree of confidence. Even scholars who disagree about theology—such as Bruce Metzger, Daniel Wallace, Bart Ehrman, and Eldon Epp—generally agree that the New Testament text is recoverable to a very high degree, while continuing to debate the original wording of specific passages.

Bart Ehrman admits that no doctrines are affected by textual variants in the following quote:

“Bruce Metzger is one of the great scholars of modern times, and I dedicated the book to him because he was both my inspiration for going into textual criticism and the person who trained me in the field. I have nothing but respect and admiration for him. And even though we may disagree on important religious questions—he is a firmly committed Christian and I am not—we are in complete agreement on a number of very important historical and textual questions. If he and I were put in a room and asked to hammer out a consensus statement on what we think the original text of the New Testament probably looked like, there would be very few points of disagreement—maybe one or two dozen places out of many thousands. The position I argue for in Misquoting Jesus does not actually stand at odds with Prof. Metzger’s position that the essential Christian beliefs are not affected by textual variants in the manuscript tradition of the New Testament. What he means by that (I think) is that even if one or two passages that are used to argue for a belief have different textual readings, there are still other passages that could be used to argue for the same belief.”

Source: Bart D. Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, paperback edition, Appendix: “Questions and Responses,” pp. 252–253 (page numbers may vary slightly by printing).

BOA Questions, concerning the Frank Turek, are there Errors in the Bible video :

Does it bother you that we don’t have the original copies of the scriptures?

Do you agree with Frank’s assertion that originals can be recreated by looking at the variants among numerous copies?

Why wouldn’t God just maintain the original?
—answer a: Do you agree that we might venerate it, if we had it, and do you see that as a legitimate problem?
—answer b: If there was an original, it could be altered, so having many copies geographically distributed makes it easier for deliberate changes to be discovered? “So by not preserving the original you actually are able to preserve the original better” Agree or Disagree? Strong argument or not?

What is your reaction to the Bart Ehrman quote above “that the essential Christian beliefs are not affected by textual variants“?

BOA Question: How many known textual variant passages in the Bible could you list?

What are the known known textual variants passages in the Bible:
Source ChatGPT:

The New Testament has hundreds of thousands of textual variants across all surviving manuscripts, but the vast majority are minor (spelling differences, word order, synonyms, accidental omissions, etc.). Only a small number of passages involve variants that affect the text in a way that is meaningful for translation, and an even smaller number are both meaningful and plausibly original.

Bruce Metzger, Kurt and Barbara Aland, Daniel Wallace, and Bart Ehrman all agree that the number of major, well-known textual variants is relatively small, even though they differ on the significance of some of them.

Below are the principal passages that appear in virtually every discussion of New Testament textual criticism.

The three most famous variants

BOA Note: Have students look up these passages in their favorite Bible version to see, if there are any notes concerning the variances:

These receive the overwhelming majority of attention:

1. Mark 16:9–20

The earliest and best manuscripts end Mark at 16:8.

The longer ending appears in later manuscripts and includes:

• appearances of the risen Christ,
• the Great Commission,
• snake handling,
• drinking poison without harm.

Nearly all modern scholars conclude it was added later.

BOA Note: What my NASB Ryrie Study Bible (yes paper, purchased in 1987) says about this verse:
Mark 16:9-20 “These verses do not appear in two of the most truthworthy (BOA – I think this was meant to be trustworthy) manuscripts of the N.T., though they are part of many other manuscripts and versions. If they are not a part of the genuine text of Mark, the abrupt ending at verse 8 is probably because the original verses were lost. The doubtful genuineness of verses 9-20 make it unwise to build a doctrine or base an experience on them (especially vv. 16-18)

2. John 7:53–8:11

The story of the woman caught in adultery.
Many scholars believe it is an authentic early Jesus tradition but not originally part of John’s Gospel.
It appears in different places in different manuscripts.

BOA Note: What my NASB Ryrie Study Bible (yes paper, purchased in 1987) says about this verse:
John 7:53-8:11 “This story, though probably authentic, is omitted in many manuscripts and may not have been originally a part of this Gospel.”

3. 1 John 5:7–8 (Comma Johanneum)

The KJV reads:

“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

This phrase is absent from virtually every ancient Greek manuscript and entered the Textus Receptus through a very late manuscript tradition.

Virtually every modern translation omits it.

BOA Note: What my NASB Ryrie Study Bible (yes paper, purchased in 1987) says about this verse:
1 John 5:7-8 no notes or comments

Variants affecting a doctrine?

This is where scholars disagree in emphasis.

Bruce Metzger wrote:

“The amount of what can in any sense be called substantial variation is but a small fraction of the entire body of textual variation.”

Bart Ehrman has likewise written that essential Christian beliefs are not established solely by disputed textual variants. The debate is usually over whether a particular proof text should be used—not whether the doctrine exists elsewhere.

For example:

• The Trinity does not depend on the Comma Johanneum.
• The deity of Christ does not depend on 1 Timothy 3:16.
• The resurrection does not depend on Mark 16:9–20.
• The forgiveness of sins does not depend on Luke 23:34.

These teachings are supported by numerous other passages whose text is not seriously disputed.

How many “important” variants are there?

Different scholars draw the line differently, but the consensus is roughly:

• Hundreds of thousands of total manuscript differences across all manuscripts.
• Over 99% are spelling, grammar, word order, or other minor differences.
• Around 100–200 variants are commonly discussed because they may affect translation or interpretation.
• Only about 20–40 passages are considered major enough to appear in most Bible footnotes or textbooks on New Testament textual criticism.

This perspective aligns with Bart Ehrman’s statement about his agreement with Bruce Metzger: despite the vast number of textual variants, they would disagree on only “one or two dozen places out of many thousands” when reconstructing the original Greek text.

What is a primary criticism against the reliability of scripture?
Title: Are Original Manuscripts Of Bible New Testament Lost? Bart Ehrman Vs Christian Apologists part 3/4. time 8:24

Note that this video quality is sub par, but it does represent the opposing view.

The primary assertions and questions posed by biblical skeptics in the video above are:
1. The problem is not the number of manuscripts, or the fact that we have more than other authors of antiquity, the problem is the ages of these manuscripts.
a. How many manuscripts of the new testament do we have from the first Christian century? None
b. How many do we have from the early second century, up to around the year 150? One Scrap P52, the size of a credit card, the earliest one we have.
c. How many complete manuscripts do we have from the 2nd and 3rd centuries? None
d. Where/when are the 5500 manuscripts from? 94% are from the 9th century or later.

2. We do not have the originals of the new testament, period.

3. Copies of copies were made for centuries, replicating the mistakes from preceding copies.
There is no telling if corrections were made correctly.

4. The earliest copy that we have of Mark dates from around the year 200, about 130 years after the original.

5. If God preserved the original text intact where is it, why don’t we have it, and why doesn’t He know where it is?

6. Daniel Wallace ‘Christian Apologist’ – are the original New Testament documents lost, yes or course they are.

BOA Questions:
How would you respond to these assertions and questions?
What questions would you ask of the skeptics in return?

Let’s compare Bart Ehrman to Craig Evans on the same topic:


Who is Dr Craig Evans?:
https://www.craigaevans.com/about.html

Video time: 25:57
Video Title: The Reliability of New Testament Manuscripts with Dr. Craig Evans: Digging for Truth Episode 29
From: Associates for Biblical Research

Key Question:
How long where the original autographs in circulation?
What was the longevity of the manuscripts and autographs?
at 18:50
Answer 1:
“Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt, The men who discovered thousands of papyri in the Egyptian desert at Oxyrynchus in the late 19th Century. Knows at the “Oxyrynchus Papyri.” This Incredible find consisted of OT and NT Greek texts and thousands of other documents from the ancient world. The evidence from their excavations shows that ancient texts were often hold onto for 100 to 300 years, and possibly even longer.” Credit Wikimedia Commons

Answer 2:
“Tertullian of Carthage (AD 190) was an important church father of the 2nd and early 3rd centuries. In his work “The Prescription Against Heritics (Chapter 36:1-2). Tertullian argues that a number of original autographs of the NT writers were still available for examination. Over 100 years after they were written.” Credit Wikimedia Commons

Evans: “Tertullian – if you don’t believe me, why don’t you look at the originals of Paul’s letters?Tertullian actually names five different cities seven different letters of Paul that he claims were still in existence. Well in the year 190 that would mean that would make these letters 135 140 years old.
We have hard evidence that literature could last 200 to 300 years.”

Evans: “Bishop Peter of Alexandria – he refers to the original autograph of the Gospel of John, that’s in Ephesus were the faithful venerate it, he says this in about the year 290, that would make the Gospel of John 200 years old. We now know that this is quite possible. Bishop Peter says that by God’s grace it still exists. This is despite the efforts of Emperor Diocletian to destroy manuscripts.
“Emperor Diocletian (AD 244-311) unleashed a wave of persecution against the church in the 290’s. Which included a decree to destroy manuscripts of the Bible across the Roman Empire.” Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Evans: “We have every reason to have confidence that the text of the new testament that we have today is the text of the new testament that the original authors wrote.“

Refers to movie: Fragments of Truth
Fragments of Truth – documentary film featuring Dr. Craig Evans.
Time: 1:17:04

Is the Bible we have what the original authors even wrote? time 30:13
Wes Huff, Sep 22, 2023

What is an accurate accounting/count of old and new testament manuscript copies?

An accurate account of the manuscript evidence for the Old and New Testaments should avoid two common extremes:

1. Overstating certainty, as if every word is beyond question.
2. Overstating uncertainty, as if we have no idea what the originals said.

The evidence is actually quite strong, though different for the Old and New Testaments.

The Old Testament

The Old Testament was written roughly between 1400 BC and 400 BC (depending on one’s dating of the books).

We do not possess the original manuscripts

Like virtually all ancient literature, the original (“autograph”) manuscripts no longer exist.

Instead, we have copies of copies.

Major manuscript witnesses

1. Dead Sea Scrolls (c. 250 BC–AD 70)

5

Discovered beginning in 1947 near Qumran.

They include:

• portions of every Old Testament book except Esther
• over 200 biblical manuscripts
• the complete Great Isaiah Scroll

Their importance is difficult to overstate.

Before their discovery, our oldest complete Hebrew manuscripts were about AD 1000. The Dead Sea Scrolls pushed our Hebrew evidence back roughly 1,000 years and showed that the Hebrew text had been copied with remarkable care.

2. Masoretic Text (AD 900–1000)

The standard Hebrew text used in most modern translations.

Important manuscripts include:

• Aleppo Codex
• Codex Leningradensis

Jewish scribes called the Masoretes copied these manuscripts with extraordinary precision.

3. Septuagint (LXX)

A Greek translation begun around the third century BC.

It is valuable because:

• it predates Christ,
• it sometimes preserves readings older than the Masoretic Text,
• it is frequently quoted by New Testament authors.

4. Samaritan Pentateuch

Contains only the first five books of Moses.

Useful for comparing textual traditions.

5. Other ancient translations

• Syriac Peshitta
• Latin Vulgate
• Targums (Aramaic)
• Coptic translations

These help scholars reconstruct earlier readings.

The New Testament

The New Testament was written approximately AD 45–95.

Unlike the Old Testament, the New Testament has an extraordinarily large manuscript tradition.

Number of manuscripts

Current estimates include approximately:

• 5,800+ Greek manuscripts
• 10,000+ Latin manuscripts
• 5,000–10,000 manuscripts in other ancient languages (Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Georgian, Ethiopic, Gothic, etc.)

In total, scholars often cite 20,000–25,000 New Testament manuscripts or substantial portions.

The exact totals change as new manuscripts are cataloged and existing fragments are reclassified.

Types of manuscripts

Papyri

Earliest manuscripts.

Usually from the second through fourth centuries.

Examples:

• P52 (John, early second century)
• P46 (Paul’s letters)
• P66 (John)
• P75 (Luke and John)

Uncials

Written in capital Greek letters.

Examples:

• Codex Sinaiticus
• Codex Vaticanus
• Codex Alexandrinus

These are among the most important witnesses to the New Testament text.

Minuscules

Later manuscripts written in cursive script.

Numbering in the thousands.

Lectionaries

Scripture readings arranged for public worship.

These also contribute to textual criticism.

How many textual variants are there?

This is one of the most misunderstood questions.

Scholars estimate there are hundreds of thousands of textual variants among New Testament manuscripts.

At first glance, that sounds alarming, but several factors explain the number:

• Every difference between manuscripts is counted as a separate variant.
• If one spelling difference appears in 3,000 manuscripts, it counts as thousands of variants.
• The large number of manuscripts naturally produces a large number of counted differences.

Most scholars agree that:

• the overwhelming majority are spelling, word order, or other minor changes,
• only a small percentage affect translation,
• an even smaller number are both meaningful and plausibly original.

Can the original text be reconstructed?

Most textual critics—whether Christian or not—answer yes, to a very high degree.

For example:

• Bruce Metzger argued that only a tiny fraction of variants are substantial.
• Daniel Wallace estimates that the text of the New Testament is recoverable to well over 99%, while acknowledging uncertainty in some passages.
• Bart Ehrman, despite emphasizing textual variants, has written that essential Christian beliefs are not established solely by disputed textual variants and has acknowledged his broad agreement with Bruce Metzger on the reconstructed Greek text.

There is no universally accepted numerical percentage, so figures such as “99%” should be understood as informed estimates rather than precise measurements.

What about the Old Testament?

The textual picture is somewhat different.

Instead of thousands of Greek manuscripts, scholars compare:

• the Masoretic Text,
• the Dead Sea Scrolls,
• the Septuagint,
• the Samaritan Pentateuch,
• ancient translations.

These witnesses often agree closely, though there are places where they preserve different readings. Modern critical editions (such as the Biblia Hebraica Quinta) evaluate these differences to determine the most likely original wording.

Comparison with other ancient works

The New Testament is unusually well attested compared to most ancient literature:

While manuscript quantity alone does not prove a text is historically true, it does provide a strong basis for reconstructing what the authors originally wrote.

Bottom line

The manuscript evidence for the Bible is both extensive and complex:

• Old Testament: The Dead Sea Scrolls, Masoretic Text, Septuagint, and other ancient witnesses provide multiple lines of evidence that enable scholars to reconstruct the Hebrew text with considerable confidence.
• New Testament: The combination of thousands of Greek manuscripts, ancient translations, and quotations by early Christian writers gives scholars an exceptionally rich textual foundation. Although there are many variants, the vast majority are minor, and the relatively small number of significant variants are well known, openly discussed in modern critical editions, and typically identified in Bible footnotes.

Is there a place where all of the biblical manuscript copies are cataloged or listed?

Source ChatGPT:

Yes. There are several major catalogs, but no single website contains every manuscript with images and full descriptions. Instead, scholars rely on a handful of authoritative databases and catalogs.

Here are the most important ones:

1. The New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room (NTVMR) ⭐ (Best Overall)

The New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room is maintained by the Institute for New Testament Textual Research (INTF) in Münster, Germany.

Website:
New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room (NTVMR)

It includes:

• All known Greek New Testament manuscripts
• Gregory-Aland manuscript numbers
• Dates
• Contents
• Locations (libraries, monasteries, museums)
• Physical descriptions
• Many high-resolution manuscript images
• Transcriptions for numerous manuscripts

For example, you can look up:

• P52
• P46
• Codex Vaticanus
• Codex Sinaiticus
• Codex Alexandrinus
• Codex Bezae

This is the primary research database used by New Testament textual critics.

2. Kurzgefasste Liste

This is the official catalog maintained by the INTF.

It is essentially the master list of every known Greek New Testament manuscript.

Each manuscript receives its Gregory-Aland number.

Examples:

• P52
• P66
• P75
• 01 (Codex Sinaiticus)
• 03 (Codex Vaticanus)
• 1739
• 2814

The data are now integrated into the NTVMR rather than maintained as a separate public database.

3. Codex Sinaiticus Project

Codex Sinaiticus Project

This site contains:

• complete digital images
• transcriptions
• translations
• scholarly notes
• manuscript history

You can literally turn the pages online.

From: https://www.codexsinaiticus.org/en/codex/
About Codex Sinaiticus:
“What is Codex Sinaiticus?

Codex Sinaiticus, a manuscript of the Christian Bible written in the middle of the fourth century, contains the earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament. The hand-written text is in Greek. The New Testament appears in the original vernacular language (koine) and the Old Testament in the version, known as the Septuagint, that was adopted by early Greek-speaking Christians. In the Codex, the text of both the Septuagint and the New Testament has been heavily annotated by a series of early correctors.

The significance of Codex Sinaiticus for the reconstruction of the Christian Bible’s original text, the history of the Bible and the history of Western book-making is immense.”

4. CSNTM (Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts)

Founded by Dr. Daniel Wallace.

Website:
Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM)

CSNTM:

• photographs manuscripts worldwide,
• preserves digital copies,
• discovers previously uncataloged manuscripts,
• contributes images to the scholarly community.

They have digitized hundreds of manuscripts.

5. Pinakes (Greek Manuscripts)

Pinakes Database

Maintained in France.

Covers many Greek manuscripts, not only biblical ones.

Useful for locating manuscripts in European libraries.

Old Testament catalogs

The Old Testament is more complicated because there is no Gregory-Aland-style numbering system.

Major resources include:

Dead Sea Scrolls

The Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library

Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library

Includes:

• thousands of high-resolution images,
• translations,
• fragment descriptions,
• cave information.

Biblia Hebraica resources

Critical editions such as:

• Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS)
• Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ)

These are printed scholarly editions rather than online manuscript catalogs. Their textual apparatus lists significant variants from the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, Samaritan Pentateuch, and other witnesses.

If you’re interested in textual variants

The best resources are:

• Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece (NA28) – the standard critical Greek New Testament, with a textual apparatus listing the most important variant readings.
• UBS Greek New Testament (UBS5) – similar to NA28 but focused on variants that affect translation decisions.
• Bruce Metzger’s A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament – explains why the editors chose one reading over another at many significant variant locations.

If your goal is apologetics

Since many of your recent questions have focused on biblical textual criticism, I would recommend this progression:

1. NTVMR to see the actual manuscripts and their catalog information.
2. CSNTM to explore manuscript images and learn about ongoing preservation work.
3. NA28 or UBS5 to study the significant textual variants.
4. Metzger’s Textual Commentary to understand the reasoning behind the editorial decisions.
5. Blue Letter Bible or Logos to compare how modern English translations reflect those decisions.

This combination gives you access to the same core manuscript evidence and scholarly tools used by many professional New Testament textual critics.

Related Suggested Resources:

Mobile Ed: NT308 The Reliability of New Testament Manuscripts (1 hour course)
by Craig A. Evans; Logos Mobile Education
Publisher: Lexham Press, 2014–2019
also at: https://www.scribd.com/document/42609010/The-Reliability-of-the-New-Testament-Manuscripts
and at: https://biblia.com/api/plugins/embeddedpreview?resourceName=LLS:NT308EVANS
also see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMXZ05QAYR4

Quotes from this course:
“And if we’re referring to the Gospels, we have virtually the entire Gospel text about 200 years or so after the time of the writing of the originals. We don’t just have a handful of manuscripts—we have hundreds that are old. We have thousands that predate the Gutenberg printing press, which means that through comparison and examination, reconstruction, and hard work—what’s called textual criticism—we can with confidence reconstruct the text as it was originally written, or at least come within about 99 percent of it. This is a record of preservation that by far and away surpasses that of all other texts from antiquity.”

“When we look at these manuscripts and compare them to other non-Christian manuscripts and traditions—well, maybe I should say there is no comparison. Of 20,000 lines of the Greek nt—according to Professor Bruce Metzger, long-time respected textual critic at Princeton Theological Seminary—of the 20,000 lines that make up the Greek NT, only 40 lines are in doubt, and not one of those lines contains anything that relates to important NT or important Christian teaching“

BOA Questions:

Have you ever studied “Biblical textual criticism”?

What is the evangelistic and apologetic significance of knowing this information?

What are the biggest objections that you’ve heard concerning the accuracy of our Bible?

How would you answer this objection: this information demonstrates that the Bible is not perfect, so how could it be the Word of God?

Where you aware of the list of known textual variants passages in the Bible prior to this, regardless, how does this list inform your view of the Bible?

BOA answer to the above question: The “good news” about the list of known textual variants is that they are “known” and “listed” and have been thoroughly investigated and discussed. Nothing to hide here.

What summary statement would you give on this lesson and on the topic of Biblical inerrancy?