Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
List of illustrations
List of abbreviations
Signs
1. Ancient writing materials and practices
A. On What Materials Books where written
1. Introduction
2. Papyrus
3. Parchment
B. In what form Books were made
1. Itroduction
2. The Roll
3.The Codex
C. Some Technical Details
1. Quire and Folio
2. Recto and Verso
3. Column and Ruling
4. Opisthograph and Palimpsest
5. Pen and Ink
6. Uncial and Minuscule
7. Punctuation and abbreviation
8. Sections, Canons, and Lections
9. Prologues and Colophons
10. Stichometry and Euthaliana
11. Paleography
II. History of textual criticism
A. The Listing of Manuscripts
1. Introduction
2. Wettstein and Tischendorf
3. Gregory and His Successors
4. von Soden
B. The Scientific Study of the Text
1. The Probem of Textual variants
2. The Establishment of the Textus Receptus
3. The Development of a Critical Approach
4. Modern Critical Editions
5. The recognition of Text types and the evaluation of textual variants
C. The Witnesses
1. Introduction
2. Paruri
3. Parchment Uncials
4. Minuscules
5. Lectionaries
6. Versios
7. Church Fathers
III. Encounter with Manuscripts
Introduction
A. A Sequence Beginning with the Oldest known fragment
1. Papyrus rylands Greek
2. Papyrus Bodmer II
3. Papyrus Colt
B. A Sequene Extendingto a relatively early and Immediately available fragment
1. Papyrus Bodmer II
2. Papirus Bodmer XV
3. Pacific School of Religion Papyrus 2
C. A Sequence Etending from the Papyri to the Parchments, and from the uncials to the Minuscules, and Grouped by theoretical text types
1. Introduction
(a) Proto-Alexandrian witnesses
(a) Papyri
2. Papyrus Bodmer II
3. Papyrus Bodmer XV
(b) Parchments
4. Codex Vaicanus (B)
(b) Western Witnesses
5. Codex Sinaiticus
6. Codex Bezae
7. Codex Washingtonensis (W)
(c) Koine or Byzantine Witnesses
(a) Parchments
8. Codex Alexandrinus (A)
9. Codex 666
(b) Paper
10. Codex 1345
(d) Lectionaries, Versions, and Church Fathers
11. Lectionaries
12. Versions
13. Church Fathers
(e) Text Critical conclusions
14. Jn 1:3-4
15. Jn 1: 18
IV The Future Task
Appendix: A Table of the letters 9f the Greek Alphabet as written in several of the Oldest New Testament
Papyri
Index of Scriptural References
Index of Greek Words
General Index

The field of textual criticism remains an exciting one. Thousands of manuscripts have been recovered in recent years. Using the methods of textual criticism, translators have been able to discern from these manuscripts a probable reading of the original New Testament text, a difficult but important task. / Several scholarly books describing the process of textual criticism have already been written, but Encountering New Testament Manuscripts is uniquely different in its approach. Here students have an opportunity to see and read portions of the chief manuscripts for themselves and to learn firsthand the principles of textual criticism. / Included are 24 photographs of some of the oldest and most important manuscripts, including papyri, parchment, and paper texts with both uncial and miniscule script. Through the steps of transcribing the original manuscripts and organizing the various evidences presented, the student learns to develop conclusions about the reading of the original text. / A comprehensive introductory chapter surveying the nature and history of textual criticism and a concluding chapter on the question of methodology make this book a complete course on the subject. Helpful indices and lists of important New Testament manuscripts make it an excellent resource volume as well.