Words Are Not Enough: Paratexts, Manuscripts, and the Real New Testament

by Garrick V. Allen

An innovative study of the manuscript history of the New Testament, encompassing its paratexts—titles, cross-references, prefaces, marginalia, and more. 
 
How did the Christian scriptures come to be? In Words Are Not Enough, Garrick V. Allen  argues that our exploration of the New Testament's origins must take account of more than just the text on the page. Where did the titles, verses, and chapters come from? Why do these extras, the paratexts, matter? 
 
Allen traces the manuscript history of scripture from our earliest extant texts through the Middle Ages to illuminate the origins of the printed Bibles we have today. Allen’s research encompasses formatting, titles, prefaces, subscriptions, cross-references, marginalia, and illustrations. Along the way, he explains how anonymous scribes and scholars contributed to our framing—and thereby our understanding—of the New Testament.  
 
But Allen does not narrate this history to try to unearth a pristine authorial text. Instead, he argues that this process of change is itself sacred. On the handwritten page, scripture and tradition meet. Students, scholars, and any curious reader will learn how the messy, human transmission of the sacred text can enrich our biblical interpretation.

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 17, 2024

Reviews

[Jesse Nickel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for several reasons, most notably because it invites the reader to consider the significance of a number of aspects of the texts of the Bible—both ancient and contemporary—that most of us completely overlook. Allen opens the readers eyes to all the various "paratexts" that are present alongside of the words on the pages, and demonstrates the numerous ways in which they impact our reading and interpretation. In so doing he reminds us that our engagement with the written words of Scripture is a complex, ever-changing activity, that has always involved much more than just the communication of "meaning" (in a simplistic sense).

[Timothy Koch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book about para textual features of Biblical Manuscripts. If you're unfamiliar with the world of biblical manuscripts, I don't know how accessible this book is, but if you I've taken even a single NT Textual Criticism class, I think you can get through it and learn a lot. This was more of a broad view of SOME paratextual features common in manuscripts, and Allen seems to explain why these features are important for further study.

I got a master's degree in NT Textual Criticism in 2013. I can hardly believe HOW FAR paratextual studies have come since then. It's a burgeoning field of study, and it is exciting to see what new things we will learn in the years to come.

I'm grateful Allen wrote this book, and I hope more 'mostly accessible' books are written to keep us up to date on new insights.