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The Problem of Text-Types in New Testament Textual Criticism

For over 200 years, scholars have reduced the vast number of New Testament manuscripts to a manageable set of groups known as text-types. These text-types—the Alexandrian, Western, Byzantine (or Syrian), and Caesarean—are well known to biblical scholars for their essential role in understanding the history of the New Testament text and establishing its original form.

But newer methods and manuscripts have led some to question these familiar groupings. The arrival of robust data in the Editio Critica Maior provides an opportunity to reevaluate the traditional text-types and ask fundamental questions about their definition and use.

Held just outside Oxford, England, the Text & Canon Institute’s second colloquium will bring together an international group of textual scholars to take stock of the current debate, present fresh avenues of understanding, and discuss the implications for New Testament studies.

Event Details

DateJuly 18–19, 2024
VenueYarnton Manor
Church Lane, Yarnton Oxfordshire, OX5 1PY United Kingdom
Cost$100 per person. Includes lunch both days.

To write the history of the NT text is to write the history of text types, and concomitantly to write also the history of the criteria for the priority of readings… —Eldon J. Epp

Speakers

Silvia Castelli 
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
The Origin and Early History of Text-Types

Peter J. Gurry 
Phoenix Seminary
What Are Text-Types For?

Klaus Wachtel 
Institute for New Testament Textual Research
The Text-Type Theory in Light of the CBGM

Peter M. Head 
University of Oxford
The Alexandrian Text

Peter Lorenz 
University of Münster
The Western Text

Maurice A. Robinson
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary*
The Byzantine Text

Stephen C. Carlson 
Australian Catholic University
The Caesarean Text

Andrew Edmondson 
University of Birmingham
The Contribution of Phylogenetics

Peter Malik & Darius Müller
Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal/Bethel
Text-Types in the Book of Revelation

H. A. G. Houghton
University of Birmingham
Text-Types in the Latin Tradition

*Emeritus

A new theory and method is needed. Those who work at it must clarify the concept ‘text’ or ‘text-type’ as in the phrase ‘the Western text’ or ‘a local text.’ —E. C. Colwell

The Venue

The setting for our second Colloquium will be the beautiful Lanier Theological Library and Learning Center at Yarnton Manor, about seven miles outside the center of Oxford. Yarnton Manor is a manor house built in 1611 by the wealthy Spencer family, and currently being renovated by the owner of Lanier Theological Library.

Its long and fascinating history has left an indelible mark on the fabric of the building. Surrounded by beautiful gardens and agricultural land, the setting provides an excellent venue for our time together. We are especially grateful to the Lanier Theological Library for accommodating us.


The Future of Text-Types

By reducing the large number of witnesses to three or four groups, text-types have been an essential part of the discipline of New Testament textual criticism for centuries. This paper, presented for the 75th anniversary of the IGNTP at the 2023 SBL Annual Meeting, examines the status quaestionis by examining their value and benefits and by surveying the current criticism. Most importantly, it suggests some ways forward and so provides an introduction to the topic of our 2024 TCI Colloquium.

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The Text & Canon Institute illuminates the history of the Bible through church resources, research, and mentoring.

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