Subject: Re: tc-list-digest V4 #92

From: Carlton Winbery <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 11:06:09 -0500

>From: "Wieland Willker" <[email-masked]>
>Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 14:07:36 +0200

>Some more thoughts about "collating everything" (collating all greek NT
>manuscripts):
>1. It is not needed to have "error free" transcripts at the beginning. In
>this respect e-versions are much better than printed ones. One can easily
>update them regularly.

I would strongly agree Prof. Hurtado and a post earlier from Bill Warren.
The standard of accuracy for the IGNTP must be very high or we wind up with
a big mess. Who is going to be reading the mss "regularly?" We have great
difficulty getting them read and collated for the project. Once the project
is done, I can't imagine a scenario that will lead to constant checks.
Also, it is easier to do it right the first time by having multiple
collations of the same mss. to serve as a check and then to have the more
experienced collators checking even further. As I see it the purpose of the
project demands the highest standard of accuracy.

>2. It is not needed to bring out everything at once. One can add more and
>more as times goes by.
>I don't know if everybody is familiar with the program Bibleworks, but this
>could be easily addapted to the NT manuscripts. (At least I think so.)
>Atm Bibleworks brings out new, improved, updated, corrected versions of the
>GNT and its morphology almost every week or so. These can be downloaded from
>their website.

This is an edition of the GNT not mss collations. The work in such a case
is very different. Many people regularly read editions of the GNT. Those
who go back and check collations are few and far between.

>IMHO it is not very difficult to add a "manuscript selction" info-window.
>Here instead of choosing NT books, one can select manuscripts to be present
>on the screen. Besides the normal NA-GNT one has databases for P45, P66,
>P75, A, B, ...etc.
>The first versions would be highly experimental of course, but it's a
>beginning.

Working in the papyrii and great uncials is fun. Trudging thru the
minuscules is guite another. Here is where we have to insure the standard
is upheld.

> Larry Hurtado here: His motto seems to be "Everything
>error-free or nothing".
>One should start with something NOW and see how it evolves. I think the
>Swanson volumes would be a good starting point. Also the Barrett/Comfort
>book is highly welcome in this respect, but it should have been released on
>CD or even better on the web.

This is an exageration, but this must be the goal to produce collations
that are as error free as possible. There is a difference between the use
of a collation and the use of an edition of the Greek NT, hence, the
methods must be different. I hope Barrett/Comfort will correct what they
have done, but until they do, it is of little use to me apart from my own
checking virtually every thing they did.

Dr. Carlton L. Winbery
Foggleman Professor of Religion
Louisiana College
[email-masked]
[email-masked]
Ph. 1 318 448 6103 hm
Ph. 1 318 487 7241 off