Subject: tc-list NT Textual Criticism books

From: "Wieland Willker" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1998 13:40:28 +0100

Today I found these books on Amazon.
Comments welcome:

An Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism
Leon Vaganay, Christian Amphoux, Heimerdinger
1992
Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 0521424933

Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism
J. Harold Greenlee
1995
Hendrickson Publishers; ISBN: 1565630378

New Testament Textual Criticism : A Concise Guide
David Alan Black
1994
Baker Bk. House; ISBN: 0801010748

Best wishes
    Wieland

"Critically examine everything. Hold on to the good." 
(Paul, First Thessalonians 5.21) 
---------------
Wieland Willker 
[email-masked]
http://purl.org/WILLKER/index.html

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From: "Robert B. Waltz" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1998 08:13:02 -0600

>Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 0521424933

This is not really a good introduction. It assumes you know too much.
Also, the theories of the authors (especially about the "Western"
text) are rather unorthodox.

As a reference, however, it can be useful (it has a better
bibliography of manuscripts than most, and is more concerned
with the origins of manuscripts than both). Just be sure to
read a more balanced manual first.

>Hendrickson Publishers; ISBN: 1565630378

This has a number of useful features, such as information on the
terms used in textual criticism and information on how to read
a collation. On the other hand, it is not very advanced, and
the list of text-types to which manuscripts belong is terribly
inaccurate.

>Baker Bk. House; ISBN: 0801010748

This book is extremely thin. It might be useful for someone who
just wants to know what textual criticism is. It is not an
adequate introduction to the discipline. And it won't tell you
anything not found in Metzger, Aland, or even Greenlee. And
the table of manuscripts is pretty much the same as Greenlee's --
i.e. pitiful.

If you already know something about TC, you might find Vaganay
useful. It would be my first choice of this list. Greenlee may
not teach you much, but it is widely used; it would be my second
choice. There is no point at all in buying Black if you have any
other TC books.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

                        Robert B. Waltz
                     [email-masked]

Want more loudmouthed opinions about textual criticism?
Try my web page: http://www.skypoint.com/~waltzmn
(A site inspired by the Encyclopedia of NT Textual Criticism)