MAJOR TEXT FAMILIES AND MANUSCRIPTS

Introduction to Text Families
Manuscripts are grouped by scholars into "text families".
These text families represent manuscripts or texts that manifest similar characteristics that indicate some connection in their history or development.

1.   Text Families:

a.   The Byzantine Family – tend to be secondary sources (copies of other manuscripts).  Sometimes called the Koine family.  Favored by the Greek Orthodox Church, hence the term Byzantine, but since it combines elements form earlier types of texts, is considered inferior in part to other families.

b.   The Western Family – Considered by Hort to be inferior and the result of undisciplined growth and combination of other texts sources.  Favored by the Western church fathers.  Codex D (Bezae) and the old Latin manuscripts are represented in this family.

c.   The Caesarean Family – Probably originated in Egypt and eventually found its way to Jerusalem. Represents a mixture of Byzantine (Koine) and Western texts influences.

d.   The Alexandrian Family – Generally considered the most carefully prepared manuscript or text types.  Found in Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, P46, P66, P75, et al.

2.   Major Manuscripts:

a.   Codex Sinaiticus – 4^th century – Discovered at St Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai.  Once contained the complete Bible, but only the New Testament survives in the present form of this manuscript.

b.   Codex Alexandrinus – A, 5^th century – Seemingly found in Constantinople.  Represented the Alexandrian text type, hence its title.   Old Testament and most of the New Testament.  A valuable text type which ranks highly along with both Vaticanus and Sinaiticus.

c.   Codex Vaticanus – B, 4^th century – Old and New Testaments and the Apocrypha.  One of the most valuable of all manuscripts of the Greek Bible.  Found in the Vatican library in Rome.

d.   Codex Ephraemi – E, 5^th century Palimpsest (found under the writing of a later manuscript).  Contains only part of the Old Testament and 145 leaves of the New Testament.  A mixed text type.

e.   Codex Bezae – D, 5^th or 6^th century Greek and Latin manuscript.  Contains some remarkable variations and inconsistencies.

f.    In addition to these major manuscripts there are many other valuable textual resource manuscripts.

3.   Important Greek Papyri of the New Testament:

These papyrus manuscripts  or manuscript fragments date from as early as the 2nd century, with many from the 3^rd and 4^th century.  They form a valuable witness to the original autographs.

a.   P⁵² The John Rylands Fragment of the Gospel of John, only 2 ½ inches by 3 ½ inches is the oldest papyrus fragment  known to exist.  It dates from the mid 2^nd century.  Its value lies in the fact that it was discovered in Egypt, indicating that he Gospel of John was known in Egypt as early as the mid 2^nd century of Christianity, possibly only 60 years after the gospel was written.

b.   P⁴⁵, the first Chester Beatty papyrus, originally containing the Four Gospels and Acts dates from the first half of the 3^rd century,  approximately 250 AD.

c.   P⁴⁶, the second Chester Beatty papyrus originally contained ten of the Pauline Epistles, also dates from the first half of the 3rd century, approximately 250 AD.

d.   P⁴⁷, the third Chester Beatty papyrus is a mutilated fragment of the Book of Revelation dating from the latter half of the 3^rd century, approximately 275 AD.

e.   P⁶⁶ , in the Bodmer Library in Cologny, Geneva, is perhaps the most important papyrus manuscript, is of the Gospel of John dating from approximately 200 AD.

f.     Many other early papyrus manuscripts or manuscript fragments that are available add to the large and impressive textual base available to textual scholars.

4.   Important Early Translations or Versions:

a.   Several Old Latin Versions (translations) date from the last quarter of the 2^nd century (175 AD).

b.   Several Syriac translations date  from the 4^th and 5^th centuries.  They originated in Syria.

                        i.     Noted among these Syriac Versions are the Curetonian Syriac, the Sinaitic Syriac, and the Peshitta.

c.   Coptic Versions in which the text was written in the Egyptian language, but using the Greek alphabet.  The Sahidic and Boharic Versions are the most important and date from at least the 4^th century.

d.   Gothic, Armenian, Georgian, and Ethiopic Versions, although much later, add to the impressive library of early translations available to the text scholar.

5.   One final important source of textual evidence available to the textual scholar are the many quotations and references to Biblical texts in the Patristic  or Early Church Fathers.  These quotations reveal which Biblical texts were readily available and used as early as the 2^nd century of Christianity.  The provide a rich textual resource for the text scholars to use in comparative studies with the manuscripts, papyri, and versions of early Christianity.

6.   Concluding Comments on Text Families and Manuscripts:

a.   Text scholars have at their disposal an enormous pool of manuscripts, versions, and other resources with which to work as they reconstruct the autographs of both the Old and Testaments.

b.   It is interesting to note that when Wycliffe, Erasmus, Tyndale, and the King James scholars were developing their text base and making their translations, most of the major manuscripts and papyri had not yet been discovered.  The earliest manuscripts and these early scholars had at their disposal were 10^th century manuscripts and the 4^th century Latin Vulgate.  Erasmus worked with approximately 6 manuscripts, and the King James Version and Textus Receptus were based on approximately 10 manuscripts, all later than the 10^th century.

c.   In spite of the limited resources available to these early scholars, their work was exemplary, and produced Bibles of high and excellent quality.

d.   Modern discoveries have smoothed out and corrected some early problem areas, yet in spite of this, not major Christian doctrine has been seriously challenged by the new discoveries.