About
The Greek New Testament: Fourth Edition, edited by Wayne A. Mitchell, is a groundbreaking advancement based on the extant manuscripts and new discoveries published in text criticism literature, which includes many recent findings on scribal habits in the copying of manuscripts. The critical apparatus contains over three thousand footnotes and cites ninety-five ancient Greek papyri, to Papyrus 139, and over two hundred Greek majuscule manuscripts, often with early version and patristic evidence.
In the endeavor to determine the exact wording of the New Testament autographs, the tools of textual criticism were seen as essential, and these were used from the perspective of a high view of Scripture which takes the New Testament’s claims about authorship and origins of the books at face value. Thus, the task of identifying the original words was approached with additional care since the smallest detail is important.
The edition is of value to students, pastors, and scholars alike.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Since the late eighteenth-century, the consensus of scholars has preferred shorter reading over longer reading. Nonetheless, many have argued that longer readings should be preferred when there is evidence that shorter readings are the result of homoioteleuton. What distinguishes The Greek New Testament: Fourth Edition (MGNT) from other Greek New Testament texts is that it includes the longer reading when homoioteleuton best explains the origin of the shorter reading.
Hundreds of papyri, majuscules, minuscules, lectionaries, versions, and Church Fathers are the witnesses upon which the MGNT attempts to approach the authors’ original text. Like the NA, the MGNT’s critical apparatus includes thousands of footnotes.
For those who trust their own judgment, but lack immediate access to hundreds of manuscripts, the MGNT is an invaluable edition that you can now add to your library.” –W. Richard Oakes Jr., Ph.D., University of Edinburgh; M.A., Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
“This is the fourth edition of The Greek New Testament, edited by Wayne A. Mitchell. The remarkable features are: 3200 footnotes, which includes papyri to Papyrus 139. The edition allows us to often see the spelling of words as they were in the early manuscripts, not subjecting them to orthographic standardization.
The appendix to this volume shows that the text of the New Testament was not immune to accidental ‘scribal leaps’, where the eyes of the copyist jumped from one word to a later word that was the same or similar, and the words in between were unintentionally omitted.
It is surprising to see so many different readings in the manuscripts, but reassuring to find that the text has nonetheless been preserved.” –Brian Edric Colless, Ph.D., Melbourne University; Th.D., Australian College of Theology
