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New Testament Textual Criticism for the 21st Century: A Practical Guide
A guide to New Testament textual criticism that introduces students to the methods currently used by the most respected specialists in the field.
While there are many introductions to twentieth-century New Testament textual criticism, scholars and students need a twenty-first-century introduction to the praxis of New Testament textual criticism that refines and replaces some elements of the traditional approach in keeping with recent advancements in the discipline. Methodologies known to be deficient are still being taught, and even New Testament commentators apply outdated and problematic methods in their evaluation of textual variants. This new introduction guides readers in the practice of a more refined, reasoned eclecticism to identify the original reading of the New Testament text. Readers will learn to identify variant readings and the witnesses in support of them from the apparatuses in the major editions of the Greek New Testament.
New Testament Textual Criticism for the 21st Century includes several examples and exercises that guide students in applying critical-thinking skills to specific variant units. The goal throughout is to move from abstract discussion to concrete examples to offer students the “picture worth a thousand words.” Most importantly, the book demonstrates how new tools and findings generally discussed only in scholarly literature are changing the text of the most respected editions of the Greek New Testament and can aid researchers in their study of manuscripts.
While there are many introductions to twentieth-century New Testament textual criticism, scholars and students need a twenty-first-century introduction to the praxis of New Testament textual criticism that refines and replaces some elements of the traditional approach in keeping with recent advancements in the discipline. Methodologies known to be deficient are still being taught, and even New Testament commentators apply outdated and problematic methods in their evaluation of textual variants. This new introduction guides readers in the practice of a more refined, reasoned eclecticism to identify the original reading of the New Testament text. Readers will learn to identify variant readings and the witnesses in support of them from the apparatuses in the major editions of the Greek New Testament.
New Testament Textual Criticism for the 21st Century includes several examples and exercises that guide students in applying critical-thinking skills to specific variant units. The goal throughout is to move from abstract discussion to concrete examples to offer students the “picture worth a thousand words.” Most importantly, the book demonstrates how new tools and findings generally discussed only in scholarly literature are changing the text of the most respected editions of the Greek New Testament and can aid researchers in their study of manuscripts.
200 pages, Hardcover
Published March 4, 2025
7 people want to read
About the author
Charles L. Quarles
21 books8 followersCharles L. Quarles serves as the Director of Ph.D. Studies and Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
He has published research in numerous international journals including New Testament Studies, Novum Testamentum, the Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, and the Bulletin for Biblical Research. In additional to many Bible studies, articles in reference works, and reviews, he is the editor or author of six books including Buried Hope or Risen Savior: The Search for the Jesus Tomb; The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: A Comprehensive New Testament Introduction (with Andreas Kostenberger and Scott Kellum); The Sermon on the Mount: Restoring Christ's Message to the Modern Church; and The Illustrated Life of Paul (forthcoming). He is presently writing a Theology of the Gospel of Matthew (2013) and a commentary on the Greek text of Matthew (2017).
He has published research in numerous international journals including New Testament Studies, Novum Testamentum, the Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, and the Bulletin for Biblical Research. In additional to many Bible studies, articles in reference works, and reviews, he is the editor or author of six books including Buried Hope or Risen Savior: The Search for the Jesus Tomb; The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: A Comprehensive New Testament Introduction (with Andreas Kostenberger and Scott Kellum); The Sermon on the Mount: Restoring Christ's Message to the Modern Church; and The Illustrated Life of Paul (forthcoming). He is presently writing a Theology of the Gospel of Matthew (2013) and a commentary on the Greek text of Matthew (2017).
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 6, 2025
I was able to read a draft of this book when I took Dr. Quarles’s Textual Criticism class in 2023. My class even got to provide feedback on the draft if we wanted to opt out of the final exam. This is an immensely clear and accessible treatment on textual criticism of the New Testament. The practicality of the work also comes in the instructions on navigating text-critical software online. If I remember correctly, I also appreciated Quarles’s nuanced approach to the exact value of church fathers in establishing the original text of the New Testament.
May 28, 2025
This will become the standard text on the subject. While volumes on TC from the twentieth century deal with the field well, Quarles brings the discussion up-to-date.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews