In Search of a True Text

1
In Search of a True Text

• Source Bart Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus Who
  Changed the Bible and Why (San Francisco Harper
  Collins, 2005)

2
Problems with finding the Historical Jesus in the
Gospels

• They were written years later by men who not only
  knew the end of the story, they were caught up in
  factional struggles.
• By modern standards, they are neither history or
  biographies. Ancient writers had great leeway to
  make up speeches and even incidents if they
  helped to reveal essential elements of their
  subjects character.

3
Is the Bible the Word of God or the product of
human hands?

• The source texts were written by hand on scrolls
  or codex folded parchment.
• We not only dont have a first edition, there are
  only a handful of surviving early copies.
• Early Hebrew and Greek texts were written all in
  capital letters, without punctuation or space
  breaks between words or sentences. Hebrew texts
  dont even have vowels.

4
Textual Problems (Continued)

• Not only can the same word have multiple
  meanings, both Hebrew and Greek texts used
  abbreviations and scribal codes.
• Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic all lack the concept
  of the indefinite article. Was Jesus a son of
  Man or the son of Man the messiah or a
  messiah the son of God or a son of God
  generic or specific?

5
Scribal Emendation

• Copyists were allowed to correct obvious errors
  or omissions in the texts, even to add missing or
  clarifying details.
• Since the early Christian texts were not produced
  by professional scribes, copyists even changed
  the theology and meaning of passages which
  differed from their own beliefs.

6
The Problem with Amateur copyists during the
first two centuries

• The differences among the manuscripts have
  become great, either through the negligence of
  some copyists or through the perverse audacity of
  others they either neglect to check over what
  they have transcribed, or in the process of
  checking, they make addi-tions or deletions as
  they please. Origen (3rd Century) on the
  accuracy of gospel texts.

7
The Problem of Deliberate Alteration

• Some believers, as though from a drinking bout,
  go so far as to oppose themselves and alter the
  original text of the gospels three or four or
  several times over, and they change its character
  to enable them to deny diffi-culties in face of
  criticism. Celsus (a 3rd Century opponent of
  Origen)
• Rev. 22 18-19 a curse on copyists tempted to
  add or subtract from the text.

8
Examples of Scribal Emandation

• Mark 5 1 vs. Matt. 8 28 and Luke 8 26 is it
  Gerasenes, Gadarenes, or Gergasenes?
• Mark 5 28 vs. Matt. 9 20-did she touch the
  fringe of his cloak or tassels on his robe?
• Mark 9 1429 vs. Matt. 17 1417 and Luke 9
  3743 extra details and sayings.
• Mark 14 6064 vs. Matt. 26 6265 and Luke 22
  6671 Did Jesus answer the high priest I am
  or You say that I am?

9
Major Additions to the Gospel Texts

• John 8 1- 11 the woman taken in adultery.
• Mark 16 920 and John 21 1-25 a few more
  resurrection stories help to resolve ambiguous
  endings.
• John 5 3-4 an angel would descend into the
  pool and stir up the waters. . . .
• John 1 41 We have found a/the messiah (that
  is, the Christ).

10
Rewriting Marks Gospel

• More than 90 of the verses in Mark are copied
  almost word for word in Matthew only 60 of them
  are included in Luke.
• Luke is missing all of the material from Mark 6
  538 26 Jesus mission to the Gentiles.
• Neither has Mark 14 51-52 the young man in the
  white robe at Jesus arrest. It appears to have
  come instead from Secret Mark.
• Not Only were Luke and Matthew meant to be
  rewrites of Mark, there were obviously several
  different versions of Mark in circulation.

11
Typos, Errors, and Revisions

• Mark 2 25-26 vs. 1 Samuel 21 1-6 Who was the
  High Priest during the time of David?
• Galatians 1 16-17 vs. Acts 9 26 Did Paul go
  to Jerusalem after Damascus?
• Hebrews 1 3 Does Christ bear (pheron) or
  manifest (phaneron) all things?
• Rev. 1 5 Does Christ wash away (lousanti) or
  redeem (lusanti) our sins?
• Mark 1 41 Did Jesus feel anger or compassion?
• 1 John 5 7-8 who are the three witnesses?

12
Replacing the grounds for Heresy with Christian
Orthodoxy

• Adoptionism Jewish Christians (The Poor)
  believed Jesus was not born the son of God, but
  rather adopted at his baptism.
• Luke 3 23 Today I have begotten you was
  purposely removed from most texts.
• Was Jesus born as the Christ (Luke 2 11), became
  the Christ at his baptism (Acts 10 37-38), or at
  his resurrection (Acts 238)?

13
Docetism Jesus was a spiritual being who only
seemed to be human.

• Passages were added to Lukes Garden of
  Gethsemane narrative to make Jesus sweat blood
  (Luke 22 42-44).
• Lukes Last Supper scene (22 20) was altered to
  make the cup of the new covenant in my blood,
  which is poured out for you.
• The resurrected Jesus eats fish (Luke 24 42)

14
Separationism Jesus was two beings, one human
and the other divine.

• The text of Hebrews 2 9 was changed so that
  Jesus death was not apart from God but instead
  by the grace of God he might taste death for
  everyone.
• Jesus final words on the cross, My God, my God,
  why have you forsaken me? were changed to
  mocked me (Mark 15 3).

15
A Male Priesthood sought to diminish the Equality
of Women in the Church

• Pauls admonition that women should be silent in
  church (1 Cor. 14 3336) was copied instead
  from the margin notes of a scribe.
• Romans 16 7 Juna, foremost among the apostles
  was changed to Junius.
• Acts 17 4 the crucial support of several
  prominent women was changed to the wives of
  prominent men.

16
Gentiles sought to diminish the status of Jewish
Christians

• Matthew 1 21 the meaning of Jesus name was
  changed from He will save his people to He
  will save the world.
• John 4 22 Jesus teaching that salvation came
  from the Jews was changed to from Judea.
• In Matthews crucifixion story, specific
  references to Pilates soldiers (i.e., Romans)
  were replaced with the more ambiguous them
  (i.e., the Jews).

17
Concern About Jesus Peasant Status

• Matthew (13 55) changes Marks (6 3) reference
  to Jesus being a carpenter to a carpenters
  son.
• References in Matthew (1 16) and Luke (2 23,
  33, 43, and 48) to Joseph being Jesus father
  were altered.
• The notation in Luke (23 32) that the two
  thieves were also criminals was dropped.

18
Deliberate Christian Translations

• John 1 14 18 316 18 The unique son of
  God became the only begotten.
• The Aramaic text of Genesis begins By the Word
  God created . . . . -- i.e., according to a
  predetermined plan.
• John 1 1- 4 could read In the beginning was
  the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
  was God. It was with God in the beginning.
  Through It all things were made . . . In It was
  life . . . .

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Course Outline

• Overview of the Religion, History, and Culture of
  Galilee Messianic Expectations.
• An Assessment of Miracles and Narrative Episodes
  the historical test of authenticity.
• Pronouncement, Parables, and Kingdom Teachings
  the development of the oral tradition.
• Holy Week and the Passion Story the dramatic
  art forms of epic narrative and female lament.
• Resurrection, Acts, Pentecost, and Saintly
  Experience trying to make sense of it all.