The Bibliographical Test for the Reliability of the New Testament

The abundance of manuscript copies makes it possible to reconstruct the original text with virtually complete accuracy. (Geisler and Nix, GIB, 386)[1]

The Number of Manuscripts and Their Closeness to the Original

Without question, the New Testament boasts the best-attested manuscript transmission when compared with other ancient documents. The bibliographical test validates and confirms that the New Testament has been accurately transmitted to us through the centuries. (Jones, BTU)[2]

Counting and Dating the Early New Testament Manuscripts

1. Greek[3]
2. Armenian[4]
3. Coptic[5]
4. Gothic[6]
5. Ethiopian[7]
6. Latin Translations[8]
7. Syriac[9]
8. Georgian[10]
9. Slavic[11]

Wallace concludes that “all told, probably between fifteen and twenty thousand texts of the ancient versions of the New Testament remain. There are no exact numbers because not all the manuscripts have been carefully catalogued.” (Wallace, correspondence to J. McDowell and M. J. Tingblad, June 3, 2016)[12]

The New and Old Testament Manuscript Attestations

Influential biblical scholar F. F. Bruce writes: “There is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament.” (Bruce, BP, 178)[13]

Visualizing the Number of Biblical Manuscripts

1. The New Testament Manuscripts

A stack of extant manuscripts for the average classical writer would measure about four feet high; this just cannot compare to the more than one mile of New Testament manuscripts and two-and-a-half-miles for the entire Bible. (Wallace, lecture at Discover the Evidence, Dec. 6, 2013)[14]

2.The Old Testament Scrolls

NUMBER OF EXTANT OLD TESTAMENT SCROLLS[15]

3. Old Torah Scrolls, Additional Discoveries, and New Technologies[16]

Comparison with Surviving Manuscript Copies of Selected Classical Literature

“No one questions the authenticity of the historical books of antiquity because we do not possess the original copies. Yet we have far fewer manuscripts of these works than we possess of the NT.” (Glenny, PS, 96)[17]

1. A Caution When Comparing Surviving Biblical and Classical Manuscripts[18]

2. Surviving Manuscripts of Selected Classical Writers

1. Homer— The Iliad[19]

More manuscript discoveries have been made of the Iliad than any other classical work. And yet, the total number of MSS of the Iliad extant is less than 2,000. (Wallace, correspondence to J. McDowell, October 15, 2013)[20]

1. Herodotus— Histories[21]

1. Sophocles— Plays[22]

1. Plato— Tetralogies[23]

1. Caesar— Gallic Wars[24]
2. Livy (64 or 59 BC– AD 17)— History of Rome[25]

1. Tacitus (AD 56– c. 120)— Annals[26]

1. Pliny the Elder (AD 23/ 24– 79)— Natural History[27]

1. Thucydides— History[28]

1. Demosthenes— Speeches[29]

3. Summary New Testament scholars and biblical linguistic experts Stanley E. Porter and Andrew W. Pitts observe, When compared with other works of antiquity, the NT has far greater (numerical) and earlier documentation than any other book. Most of the available works of antiquity have only a few manuscripts that attest to their existence, and these are typically much later than their original date of composition, so that it is not uncommon for the earliest manuscript to be dated over nine hundred years after the original composition. (Porter and Pitts, FNTTC, 50)[30]

Important New Testament Manuscripts

We are able to assess the importance of the following manuscripts from how much of the Bible they include and from the dates that scholars have assigned to them. Factors that help determine the age of a manuscript are: • Materials used • Letter size and form • Punctuation • Text divisions • Ornamentation • The color of the ink • The texture and color of parchment (Geisler and Nix, GIB, 242– 246) • Carbon-14 dating[31]

1. John Rylands MS (AD 130)
2. Bodmer Papyrus II (AD 150– 200)
3. The Diatessaron (c. AD 170)
4. Chester Beatty Papyri (AD 200)
5. Codex Vaticanus (AD 325– 350)
6. Codex Sinaiticus (AD 350)
7. Codex Alexandrinus (AD 400)
8. Codex Ephraemi (AD 400s)
9. Codex Bezae (c. AD 450)
10. Codex Washingtonensis (or Freericanus) (c. AD 450)
11. Codex Claromontanus (AD 500s)

Patristic Quotations from the New Testament

Besides textual evidence derived from New Testament Greek manuscripts and from early versions, the textual critic has available the numerous scriptural quotations included in the commentaries, sermons, and other treatises written by the early Church fathers. Indeed, so extensive are these citations that if all other sources for our knowledge of the text of the New Testament were destroyed, they would be sufficient alone for the reconstruction of practically the entire New Testament. (Metzger and Ehrman, TNT, 126; cf. Greenlee, INTTC, 54)[32]

1. Accuracy of Manuscripts Supported by Writings of the Early Church Fathers

2. Early Citations of the New Testament by the Church Fathers

Although quotations of Scripture among the church fathers up through the thirteenth century number well over one million, of particular significance are the quotations that date prior to (roughly) AD 325. Porter and Pitts observe: Quotations of the NT from early church fathers . . . play an important role in reconstructing the NT text in that they give us insight into what text types were available and in use when and where they wrote. In some cases, this makes the church fathers a more certain source than Greek manuscripts since the date and geographical location of the church fathers are usually easy to ascertain. (Porter and Pitts, FNTTC, 69)

However, biblical scholar Joseph Angus offers these cautions concerning the early patristic writings: • Quotes are sometimes inaccurate. • Some copyists were prone to mistakes or made intentional alterations. (Angus, BH, 56)

1. Clement of Rome (AD 95) [33]

Origen, in De Principus, II. 3, calls Clement a disciple of the apostles. (Anderson, BWG, 28) Tertullian, in Against Heresies, chapter 23, writes that Peter appointed Clement. Irenaeus adds in his own Against Heresies, III. 3, that Clement “had the preaching of the Apostles still echoing in his ears and their doctrine in front of his eyes.” Clement quotes from the Synoptic Gospels, Acts, 1 Corinthians, Titus, Hebrews, and 1 Peter.[34]

1. Ignatius (AD 70– 110)[35]

Ignatius was the third bishop of Antioch (the apostle Peter is thought to have been the first there). Ignatius was martyred. He had “been a hearer” of the apostle John. (Jurgens vol. 1, 17) His seven epistles contain quotations from Matthew, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, James, and 1 Peter.

1. Polycarp (AD 70– c. 156)[36]

Martyred at eighty-six years of age, Polycarp was bishop of Smyrna (modern-day Izmir) and a disciple of the apostle John. His second Letter to the Philippians includes allusions and paraphrases that reflect his deep assimilation of the New Testament letters and are nearly quotations from the following books: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, Hebrews, 1 Peter, 1 and 2 John. The letter also cites Psalms, Proverbs, and Isaiah from the Old Testament.

1. Clement of Alexandria (AD 150– 212)[37]

Clement’s 2,400 quotes of Scripture draw from all but three books of the New Testament.

1. Tertullian (AD 160– 220)[38]

Tertullian was a presbyter of the church in Carthage. He quotes the New Testament more than 7,000 times, of which 3,800 are from the Gospels.

1. Hippolytus (AD 170– 235)[39]

Hippolytus includes more than 1,300 quotes of Scripture.

1. Justin Martyr (AD 133)[40]

Born into paganism, Justin studied various Greek philosophies before his conversion. He battled the heretic Marcion and later was martyred in Rome. His Apologies (defenses of the faith) either quote or allude to the four New Testament gospels, along with 1 Corinthians and Hebrews, and to the Old Testament books of Genesis, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, and Malachi.

1. Origen (AD 185– 253/ 254)[41]

This vociferous writer compiled more than six thousand works. He lists more than eighteen thousand New Testament quotes. (Geisler and Nix, GIB, 353)

1. Cyprian (d. AD 258)[42]

A bishop of Carthage, Cyprian used approximately 740 Old Testament citations and 1,030 from the New Testament.

1. Others Other early church fathers who quoted from the New Testament include Barnabas (c. AD 70), Hernias (c. AD 95), Tatian (c. AD 170), and Irenaeus (c. AD 170).[43]

Geisler and Nix rightly conclude that there were some 32,000 citations of the New Testament prior to the time of the Council of Nicea (325). These 32,000 quotations are by no means exhaustive, and they do not even include the fourth-century writers. Just adding the number of references used by one other writer, Eusebius, who flourished prior to and contemporary with the Council at Nicea, will bring the total number of citations (prior to AD 325) of the New Testament to over 36,000. (Geisler and Nix, GIB, 353– 354)

To all of the above we could add the later church fathers: Augustine, Amabius, Laitantius, Chrysostom, Jerome, Gaius Romanus, Athanasius, Ambrose of Milan, Cyril of Alexandria, Ephraem the Syrian, Hilary of Poitiers, Gregory of Nyssa, and many others.[44]

Apocryphal Gospels

Stanley Porter and Andrew Pitts note how second-century apocryphal gospels can also help reconstruct the original text of the NT:

“A number of apocryphal Gospels (Jesus stories written in the second century and beyond) can be dated roughly with the second century and can be used in efforts to reconstruct the NT text as well, since they contain a number of canonical Gospel parallels. However, because they are not continuous text manuscripts of the NT, they must be used cautiously. (Porter and Pitts, FNTTC, 103)”[45]

Did the Biblical Text Become Corrupted During Transmission over Centuries?

we must allow that certain scribes may have had doctrinal agendas that impact their transmission of the text from time to time, this was the exception rather than the rule. . . . Ancient scribes generally considered it their duty to copy rather than interpret or alter the text to suit their or others’ doctrinal beliefs. This is not to say doctrinal alterations did not happen from time to time, but it certainly was not part of regular scribal practice. . . . This is where Ehrman himself is inconsistent. He admits that doctrinally motivated alteration was the exception, not the rule, but builds his entire case upon variants that are often easily explained by using . . . standard transcriptional probabilities. (Porter and Pitts, FNTTC, 119– 20)[46]

“No biblical discovery has ever undermined our confidence in scripture.” (Carroll, lecture, 2013) “In the last 130 years,” explains Daniel Wallace, “there has not been a single manuscript discovery that has produced a new reading for the New Testament that scholars think is authentic . . . not a single manuscript that tells us a totally different story about Jesus.”[47]

Results of the Bibliographical Test

The New Testament is the most remarkably preserved book of the ancient world. Not only do we have a great number of manuscripts but they are very close in time to the originals they represent. Some partial manuscripts of the NT are from the second century AD, and many are within four centuries of the originals. These facts are all the more amazing when they are compared with the preservation of other ancient literature. (Glenny, PS, 95)[48]

[1] McDowell, Josh; McDowell, Sean. Evidence That Demands a Verdict (p. 96). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. 

[2] Ibid, 96

[3] Ibid, 97

[4] Ibid, 98

[5] Ibid, 98

[6] Ibid, 99

[7] Ibid, 99

[8] Ibid, 99

[9] Ibid, 100

[10] Ibid, 101-102

[11] Ibid, 102

[12] Ibid, 102

[13] Ibid, 103

[14] Ibid, 105

[15] Ibid, 106

[16] Ibid, 106

[17] Ibid, 108

[18] Ibid, 109

[19] Ibid, 110

[20] Ibid, 111

[21] Ibid, 111

[22] Ibid, 111

[23] Ibid, 112

[24] Ibid, 112

[25] Ibid, 113

[26] Ibid, 113

[27] Ibid, 113

[28] Ibid, 114

[29] Ibid, 114

[30] Ibid, 114-115

[31] Ibid, 115

[32] Ibid, 119

[33] Ibid, 119-120

[34] Ibid, 120

[35] Ibid, 121

[36] Ibid, 121

[37] Ibid, 121-122

[38] Ibid, 121-122

[39] Ibid, 121-122

[40] Ibid, 121-122

[41] Ibid, 122

[42] Ibid, 122

[43] Ibid, 122

[44] Ibid, 122

[45] Ibid, 122-123

[46] Ibid, 123-124

[47] Ibid, 125

[48] Ibid, 125