Resources
Books
If you are interested in understanding how 27 individual documents became our New Testament, and what issues are significant in the study of the text of the New Testament, the best book for beginners is:
Textual Criticism of the Bible: Revised Edition by Amy Anderson and Wendy Widder. It is a simple introduction that any curious layperson should grasp and enjoy. Textual Criticism of the Bible: Revised Edition will give you the foundation to move into more challenging reading, of which The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption & Restoration by Bruce Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman would be a good next choice.
More advanced students of textual criticism are encouraged to browse amongst the following works:
Textual Criticism of the Bible: Revised Edition by Amy Anderson and Wendy Widder. It is a simple introduction that any curious layperson should grasp and enjoy. Textual Criticism of the Bible: Revised Edition will give you the foundation to move into more challenging reading, of which The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption & Restoration by Bruce Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman would be a good next choice.
More advanced students of textual criticism are encouraged to browse amongst the following works:
- Aland, Kurt, and Aland, Barbara, The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism, 2nd ed., Eerdmans, 1995.
- Amphoux, Christian-B. and Elliott, J. Keith. The New Testament Text in Early Christianity; Lausanne: Editions du Zebre, 2003.
- Anderson, Amy S., The Textual Tradition of the Gospels: Family 1 in Matthew, Brill 2004.
- Ehrman, Bart D., The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament, 2nd ed.,Oxford University Press, 2011.
- Epp, Eldon J. and Gordon D. Fee. Studies in the Theory and Method of New Testament Textual Criticism, Eerdmans, 1993.
- Evans, Craig, and Tov, Emanuel, eds.; Exploring the Origins of the Bible: Canon Formation in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective, Baker Academic, 2008.
- Gamble, Harry Y. Books and Readers in the Early Church: A History of Early Christian Texts, Yale University Press, 1997.
- Greenlee, J. Harold. Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism, Baker Academic, 1993.
- Harrison, R.K. and B.K. Waltke, D. Guthrie, and G.D. Fee. Biblical Criticism: Historical, Literary and Textual, Zondervan, 1997.
- Hixson, Elijah and Peter J. Gurry, eds. Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism, IVP Academic, 2019.
- Hurtado, Larry, The Earliest Christian Artifacts: Manuscripts and Christian Origins, Eerdmans, 2006.
- Jones, Timothy Paul, Misquoting Truth: A Guide to the Fallacies of Bart Ehrman’s “Misquoting Jesus,” IVP Books, 2007. (You would want to read Ehrman’s book in conjunction with this.)
- Knust, Jennifer and Wasserman, Tommy. To Cast the First Stone, Princeton University Press, 2018.
- McKendrick, Scot. In a Monastery Library: Preserving Codex Sinaiticus and the Greek Written Heritage; London: The British Library, 2006.
- Metzger, Bruce M. Manuscripts of the Greek Bible: An Introduction to Palaeography, Oxford University Press, 1981.
- Parker, D. C., The Living Text of the Gospels, Cambridge University Press, 1997
- Wallace, Daniel B., ed., Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament: Manuscript, Patrisic, and Apochryphal Evidence, Kregel, 2011.
Electronic Resources
- Biblical Literacy Project. This is Amy Anderson’s Facebook group. It is broader than just textual criticism, but many of the postings have to do with discoveries of ancient manuscripts, the study of papyrology, or conferences on textual criticism, for example.
- The New Testament Gateway and the New Testament Blog: Produced by Mark Goodacre, Associate Professor of New Testament at Duke University. The New Testament Gateway is a web directory of internet resources on the NT that is known all over the world as the place to go for information on every area of NT studies. His section on textual criticism is very complete and just about every electronic image of a NT MS is listed here. The scholarship of Dr. Goodacre’s blog is rigorous and sensible, written in plain language, and he has a winsome sense of humor. Following his blog will keep you on the cusp of the most recent scholarship.
- Evangelical Textual Criticism: This blog is a lively ongoing discussion of leading textual critics who are also theologically conservative, often containing announcements, book reviews, and interesting debates about issues in textual criticism and related topics.
- Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts & New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary: These are two of the most active centers of textual criticism and palaeography in the US.
- New Testament Textual Criticism Facebook Group - frequented by both scholars and beginners. With nearly 8,400 members, this is an active group.
- Jessica Shao on the Codicology of GA 2860