Jovial (25 Oct 2014)
"Dating Manuscripts"


At http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/oct2014/pastorbob1019-6.htm , it was alleged,

"The main reason why the Westcott & Hort text is accepted today as the correct Greek text is because it is derived from two sets of Vatican manuscripts (A & B) that date from 325 AD. In contrast, the Textus Receptus, which was accepted as the correct text until 1880, can only be dated to manuscripts dating from about 375 AD"

This is false.  Wescott & Hort and its subsequent revisions (through NA28) were based on a FAMILY of mauscripts that date from the 1st through 9th century AD, which can be found enumerated at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandrian_text-type .  We can't really date Codex Vaticanus or Sinaiticus to the exact year 325 AD.  Most scholars do indeed date these manscripts to the early 4th century AD, but getting as precise as 320 AD vs 330 AD is impossible, although much of the above post relied on dates being that exact in the false arguments that followed.

The Textus Receptus is based on 7 manuscripts from the 11th to 15th centuries, not from 375 AD , as falsely claimed by "Pastor Bob".  Those 7 manuscripts were;

  • 1, 12th century, Named Codex Baslinensis or Miniscule 1, having all of NT except Revelation.
  •  1rK, 12th Century, Miniscule 2814.
  • 2e, Miniscule 2, 11-12th century.
  • 2ap, Miniscule 2815, 12th century
  • 4ap, Miniscule 2816, 15th century.
  • 7, Miniscule 7, 12th century AD
  • 817, Miniscule 817, 15th century AD.

This is another example of what I at http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/sep2014/jovial913-3.htm  in which I stated that KJV Onlyists frequently spread dishonest information about Greek manuscripts.

The truth is that there is very little difference between the earliest manuscripts used in the Wescott Hort critical reading and the much later manuscripts from the 11th-15th century used in the Textus Receptus.  As I said at my earlier post, " a letter-for-letter comparison shows the various Text Types in over 85% agreement and over 99% agreement when you get down to the content level and begin excluding things that don't matter, like whether David should be spelled "Dabid","Dabaid" or Hellenized to "DabiduV""  But KJV Onlyists want to attack the integrity of the Greek manuscripts in general by claiming that the earlier ones were "corrupt", despite the fact that there is very little difference between the earliest and the latest ones.

Shalom,

Joe