Category Archives: Textual criticism

A Question About the “Initial Text” of New Testament Documents

Posted on June 6, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

This past semester, for the first time in a long while, I taught a few sessions on New Testament textual criticism. I tried to refresh myself on some of the changes in the field in the last couple decades. I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Textual criticism | 12 Comments

The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath: Synoptic Problems

Posted on June 9, 2019 by Brent Nongbri

The saying in Matthew 12:8 (and its parallels) presents a fun puzzle. Continue reading →

Posted in Codex Vercellensis, New Testament, Textual criticism, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Tertullian and the Ending of the Gospel According to John

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

In response to my recent article on the ending of John in P.Bodmer 2, Michael Lattke brought to my attention an article of his that is relevant to the question of the circulation of the Gospel According to John without … Continue reading →

Posted in Textual criticism | 8 Comments

P.Bodmer II as Possible Evidence for the Circulation of John without Chapter 21

Posted on October 24, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

In the most recent issue of the journal Early Christianity (vol. 9, 2018), I have an article that bears on one of the classic “problems” of New Testament interpretation. I’ve given some background on the issues in previous posts here … Continue reading →

Posted in Codices, New Testament, P.Bodmer II, Textual criticism | 9 Comments

The Corrections in P.Bodmer II

Posted on October 9, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

In an earlier post, I mentioned an article I just published on John 21 and provided a little background on the issues concerning the “endings” of the Gospel According to John. Before I can finally move on to a summary … Continue reading →

Posted in P.Bodmer II, Textual criticism | 5 Comments

John 21 in the Amsterdam Database of New Testament Conjectural Emendation

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

Just one more update on my discussion of the history of the proposal that the Gospel According to John circulated in a twenty-chapter version: Thanks to Jeff Cate for pointing out the Amsterdam Database of New Testament Conjectural Emendation has an … Continue reading →

Posted in New Testament, Textual criticism | 2 Comments

Matthew and Levi (and James)

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

A kind of random question via e-mail sent me down a rabbit hole yesterday. The question was this: Does Origen say that Matthew and Levi were not the same person? The answer turns out to be more complicated than I … Continue reading →

Posted in Textual criticism | 6 Comments

Justin Martyr and the Gospel(s)

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

Over on his blog, Larry Hurtado has responded to my last post on textual transmission, and I fear we may be talking past each other. Just to try to clarify the actual points of our disagreement: Hurtado writes: “Nongbri seems … Continue reading →

Posted in Justin Martyr, Textual criticism | 6 Comments

Guest post: Mike Holmes and Matthew Larsen on Finished and Unfinished Ancient Texts

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

My recent invocation of Matthew Larsen’s article has generated a good bit of discussion both on and off the blog. In one of these exchanges, Mike Holmes raised some good questions about the article and agreed to let me post … Continue reading →

Posted in Textual criticism | 6 Comments

Early Christian Textual Transmission, Part 3

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

In my first posting prompted by Larry Hurtado’s reflections on textual transmission, I brought up a recent article by Matthew Larsen, “Accidental Publication, Unfinished Texts and the Traditional Goals of New Testament Textual Criticism.” In a response (here), Hurtado has … Continue reading →

Posted in Justin Martyr, Textual criticism | 6 Comments