New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide, Baker Academic, 1994
Introduction
New Testament Textual Criticism by David Alan Black is a basic introduction to textual criticism of the New Testament. Textual Criticism is the field of study that seeks to determine the original words of the New Testament writings. This is necessary because among the thousands of complete and partial manuscripts of the New Testament there are many differences called “variants”. The vast majority of variants are insignificant (punctuation, spelling, etc.), but some are more significant and involve words, phrases, and sometimes sentences. While no doctrine of Christianity is made or broken based on these variants, it is still important for the Christian to know that they have the inspired words of God.
The task of textual criticism is to analyze the variants and to determine the original reading of the New Testament. New Testament Textual Criticism provides a very concise introduction to the very complex field of textual criticism.
Synopsis
The book consists of three chapters and three appendices:
Chapter One
Chapter one introduces the scope of textual criticism and the various types of documents used during textual criticism. The documents that are used in textual criticism include New Testament manuscripts in ancient Greek, in other ancient languages, and citations in the writings of early Christians. Black provides an explanation of the importance of each as well as an explanation of the symbol system used to identify these documents. Black also gives an introduction to the material used to write in ancient times (papyrus, vellum, etc.) and to the two primary writing styles of ancient Greek (uncial and minuscule).
Chapter Two
Chapter two gives a brief history of New Testament textual criticism from Erasmus to the present and gives an overview of the various principles and philosophies of textual criticism in use today. These philosophies are described as Radical Eclecticism, Reasoned Eclecticism, Reasoned Conservatism, and Radical Conservatism. Black presents the various views and gives a brief analysis of the pros and cons of each philosophy.
Chapter Three
Chapter three goes through several examples of analyzing variants in the New Testament to show how textual criticism actually works. Black demonstrates how the principles of textual criticism guide the process and how different assumptions can lead to different answers.
The Appendices
The appendices provide a summary of the types of errors found in ancient manuscripts, a summary of the various New Testament manuscript categories, and a worksheet for practicing textual criticism. Black also includes a helpful list of recommended readings for those interested in pursuing textual criticism further.
Analysis
New Testament Textual Criticism by David Alan Black is indeed a very concise guide. From cover to cover there are 79 pages and the main body of the text (chapters 1-3) totals 47 pages. Not only that, but the words are large, well spaced, and the margins are wide. This book can easily be read in one sitting. Black does not pretend to be giving an in depth discussion on the topic. The book is aimed at giving an introduction to the basic concepts of textual criticism for those with no previous knowledge. This is a goal the book achieves; it provides enough information to make sense of textual criticism and does not get bogged down in details.
Textual criticism is not a united field and there are disagreements about how textual criticism should be done. Black does a good job of presenting the various philosophies of textual criticism fairly and does not push his own views onto the reader. For those interested in learning more details about the methodology and assumptions of each philosophy, Black provides a list of recommended readings from the perspective of the various philosophies.
For Beginners (Kind Of)
While the book is aimed at beginners, it also assumes that most of its readers will be moving on to practice textual criticism on their own. In this regard it seems like it has college level students in mind. There is also an implicit assumption that the readers of the book will primarily be preachers and teachers. Despite this apparent assumption, the book still serves as a good standalone introduction for those not going any deeper into textual criticism and for the average Christian interested in the subject.
Pastoral Concern
I did appreciate Black’s pastoral emphasis in the book. While acknowledging the variations between the New Testament manuscripts he also reminds the reader that most of these variations are insignificant and the few that are significant do not add or remove any Christian doctrine. Some of the variations do involve doctrine, but these doctrines are found elsewhere in the Bible as well and do not rely on any single verse. At the end of the book Black also provides some general tips for handling textual variants in a preaching or teaching situation. I would have liked to have gone a bit more in depth on this final point, perhaps with some examples of teaching from problem passages, but that wasn’t the purpose of the book so I’ll give it a pass.
Conclusion
New Testament Textual Criticism is an excellent introduction to the field of textual criticism. It assumes that most of it’s readers will be going further into the study of textual criticism, but it remains a useful primer for those only interested in the absolute basics. If you already know the basics of New Testament textual criticism then there probably won’t be anything new for you in this book. However, if you want a very brief introduction to textual criticism, New Testament Textual Criticism is an excellent place to start. Due to its short length I would highly recommend finding a cheap, used copy (here’s the Amazon page).
Studies in the Bible 