Exegetical Manuscripts and the Greek New Testament
Ancient writings are transmitted in two ways: the direct evidence of surviving manuscripts of the work itself, and indirect evidence from quotations and translations. Although indirect evidence is normally accessed through scholarly editions, manuscript digitisation now makes possible the extensive examination of these sources’ own direct tradition, opening up questions of how this relates to the other evidence for the transmission and reception of a canonical text. The Greek New Testament offers a uniquely rich corpus for this investigation, with abundant manuscripts of both its direct tradition and early exegetical writings. Furthermore, there is currently a surprising degree of inconsistency and confusion in the identification of direct New Testament witnesses. While several hundred compilation commentary manuscripts featuring complete or partial biblical text are considered to be copies of the New Testament, other exegetical works are excluded despite sharing the same format. Chief among the latter are the influential expositions by John Chrysostom, even though the latest research has suggested that these writings have affected copies of the Epistle to the Romans and that their manuscripts could provide a missing link with the biblical text of later commentaries. This project will be the first comprehensive exploration of these exegetical manuscripts. It will systematise the study of this material by re-evaluating the categorisation of Greek New Testament manuscripts, introducing a new class of witness. The place of exegetical works in biblical textual transmission will be examined across multiple books. In addition, the project will develop the methodology of analysing textual affiliation based on ‘high entropy variants’ determined from the manuscript tradition rather than the traditional selection of test passages. The results will not only have a significant effect on New Testament textual study but also provide a new paradigm applicable to other writings.
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Imported from OpenAIRE United Kingdom | Grant 101262723.
Open sourceOverview
Grant agreement 101262723 | EXEGENT
Open sourceAncient writings are transmitted in two ways: the direct evidence of surviving manuscripts of the work itself, and indirect evidence from quotations and translations. Although indirect evidence is normally accessed through scholarly editions, manuscript digitisation now makes possible the extensive examination of these sources’ own direct tradition, opening up questions of how this relates to the other evidence for the transmission and reception of a canonical text. The Greek New Testament offers a uniquely rich corpus for this investigation, with abundant manuscripts of both its direct tradition and early exegetical writings. Furthermore, there is currently a surprising degree of inconsistency and confusion in the identification of direct New Testament witnesses. While several hundred compilation commentary manuscripts featuring complete or partial biblical text are considered to be copies of the New Testament, other exegetical works are excluded despite sharing the same format. Chief among the latter are the influential expositions by John Chrysostom, even though the latest research has suggested that these writings have affected copies of the Epistle to the Romans and that their manuscripts could provide a missing link with the biblical text of later commentaries. This project will be the first comprehensive exploration of these exegetical manuscripts. It will systematise the study of this material by re-evaluating the categorisation of Greek New Testament manuscripts, introducing a new class of witness. The place of exegetical works in biblical textual transmission will be examined across multiple books. In addition, the project will develop the methodology of analysing textual affiliation based on ‘high entropy variants’ determined from the manuscript tradition rather than the traditional selection of test passages. The results will not only have a significant effect on New Testament textual study but also provide a new paradigm applicable to other writings.