By: Erika Diaz-Castro
Curiosity and concern may arise in response to learning that errors were introduced when the Bible was copied and recopied. These responses are appropriate and point to the need for an area of biblical scholarship called textual criticism. If you’re new to this field of study, this article will help you gain a basic understanding of what it is, why it matters, and why you can still trust the Bible today.
What is Textual Criticism?
In today’s context, the word criticism may have negative connotations attached to it. It is commonly used to refer to “the act of criticizing usually unfavorably” or “a critical observation or remark.”1 However, textual criticism is entirely different. “Textual criticism refers to the scientific investigation that seeks to determine and restore the original text of a document or collection of documents by removing the errors introduced into it as it was copied and recopied.”2 This scientific investigation follows an evidence-based, systematic method. Internal and external evidence are evaluated to determine if a particular work or variant of a work is the most plausible original text.
The Necessity of Textual Criticism
The reality is that the original documents containing the biblical text are not available. As a result, it’s important for students of God’s Word to honestly deal with the fact that “no one source contains the biblical text. We have multiple witnesses to the biblical text, including manuscripts in Hebrew, Greek, and a number of other languages as well. These manuscripts vary to different degrees, reflecting differences from each other in everything from spelling to the structure of an entire book of the Bible.”3
The available sources were transcribed or copied by scribes, which inevitably resulted in the introduction of errors into the biblical text. Additionally, a historical reality is that forgeries of biblical texts were also produced. Thus, textual criticism is not only significant, but necessary to recover the original text.
With the available witnesses, and the discovery of more, scholars believe there is enough evidence to accomplish the task of recovering what was written in the original text. Textual criticism matters because the work done over the last several hundred years has led scholars to continue to confidently identify the Bible as God’s inspired word.
The Introduction of Errors During Transcription
“The Old Testament text was updated in several ways during the period from the writing of individual books until 300 BCE. . . Most scholars agree, however, that this grammatical revision did not change the content of the OT.”4 The New Testament text was reproduced by individual Christians in the early beginnings of the Church, with one or more books copied and shared with local communities. In the fourth century, Christianity shifted from the minority to the official religion of the Roman Empire. As a result, commercial book manufacturers called scriptoria produced copies of the New Testament books. A specially trained corrector checked over the books produced in scriptoria to ensure greater accuracy.
Nonetheless, errors were inevitable. It is believed that most errors were unintentional, including errors of sight, hearing, or memory, or, in the case of Old Testament scribes, incorrect assignment of vowels.5 Yet, it is also believed that some errors were made intentionally, though not maliciously, to “fix” what a scribe might have thought was a mistake or to improve a text.6
As previously mentioned, textual criticism requires rigorous examination of internal and external evidence to identify the most plausible original reading of a text. Internal evidence refers to evidence that comes from within the text being evaluated, i.e., author style. External evidence refers to ancient witnesses, i.e., Greek manuscripts of the New Testament texts and writings from the early church fathers. A thorough examination of all the available evidence helps the textual critic to identify variants, and consider the factors related to the strengths and weaknesses each variant possesses as a possible original.
How Scholars Deal with Errors, Variants, and Biblical Integrity
While it is true that many variants across these texts are insignificant and easily resolved, it would be untrue to make that claim about all variants. In his discussion of variants and their impact on Christian doctrines and ethics, Gurry identifies multiple variants that are, in fact, difficult and must be dealt with. In the examples he deals with, there are theological implications for each variant, none of which have any effect on the general message presented throughout the whole of Scripture. Citing textual criticism experts including Bruce Metzger, Daniel Wallace, and even Bart Ehrman, Gurry concludes, “It is best to admit that, in relatively rare cases, variants really do have some bearing on some doctrines and ethical practices of the Christian faith, but none of these doctrines or ethical practices is established from these disputed texts.”7 In other words, variants that are difficult to deal with and debated amongst experts are few and far between, and do not compromise the integrity of the Bible because those texts do not change the general meaning of the text, nor do they form the basis of core Christian doctrines or ethical practices within Christianity. As such, believers can rest assured that the integrity of God’s Word is preserved, despite the existence of these rare, difficult variants.
As Christians, we believe the Bible is not only the inspired Word of God, but a revelation of truth. We can remain confident, encouraged, and reassured knowing textual critical scholars believe “even the most textually corrupted of our manuscripts and editions still convey the central truths of the Christian faith with clarity and power.”8
Notes
- Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed., s.v. “criticism.”
- Charles L. Quarles, New Testament Textual Criticism for the 21st Century: A Practical Guide (Hendrickson Publishers, 2025), 3.
- Ellis R. Brotzman and Eric J. Tully, Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction (Baker Academic, 2016), 1.
- Brotzman, Old Testament Textual Criticism, 25.
- Brotzman, Old Testament Textual Criticism, 121.
- Bruce Manning Metzger and Bart D Ehrman, The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration (Oxford University Press, 2005), 16-33.
- Elijah Hixson, and Peter Gurry, Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism, IVP Academic, 2019, EBSCOhost.
- Elijah Hixson and Peter Gurry.