tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post3744964167603012355..comments2024-03-28T15:48:18.205+00:00Comments on Evangelical Textual Criticism: The Goal of NTTC according to Eldon EppP.J. Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04388225485348300613noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-85586619330429215262020-12-23T11:42:29.591+00:002020-12-23T11:42:29.591+00:00Thanks for the link to Epp's "Notes to Re...Thanks for the link to Epp's "Notes to Readers"<br />Epp's last paragraph highlights three points of great interest to me which I have commented on in brackets: <br />1. "New Testament textual criticism, employing aspects of both science and art..."<br />[using knowledge, skill and perspective] <br />2. "...establishing the earliest attainable text, which serves as a baseline..." [critically important]<br />3. "...assessing the textual variants that emerge from the baseline text so as to HEAR THE NARRATIVES OF EARLY CHRISTIAN THOUGHT AND LIFE." [problem: this is backwards. It should say: learn the narratives of early Messianic Jewish thought and life so as to more accurately assess the textual variants.] <br /><br />Understanding any language requires having learned meanings, normally and naturally at first by hearing words in as many contexts as possible. The N2LR (Natural Language Learning Redundancy) method for translating large texts was created to apply the principles of information theory undergirding natural language learning to translate large texts in any language. Using this method for biblical koine Greek enabled me to create a New Testament lexicon for that language, and, I believe using it has resolved all of the NT textual problems (a dozen? so far) I could find online. The first one was the "Abiathar problem" made infamous by Bart Ehrman, for which I found no solutions in the thorough paper on the topic posted online by Wallace. Here is the solution: adverb of time (not of location) + ellipis, i.e. "...before Abiathar [is] High Priest."<br /><br />I would appreciate the opportunity to show what this method has accomplished. If you would like a different NT example solution send the problem reference to me at: tentexperiment@gmail.com <br />Sorry, I don't do social media. Merry Christmas!Karen Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07632967259238671653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-61579342807178026942020-12-23T08:22:24.549+00:002020-12-23T08:22:24.549+00:00"(1) of establishing the earliest attainable ..."(1) of establishing the earliest attainable text (which serves as a baseline)"<br /><br />Not trying to nitpick here, but "earliest attainable text" and Original Text* are not necessarily synonymous. (* Discussions concerning the fabric of such aside.) I would liken the "earliest attainable text" to the term "initial text" (and similar to the goal of Lachmann):–As where I would consider the *closest attainable text to the originals* to be the traditional goal of NTTC.<br /><br />In my view, the bizarre transmission history and textual minefield that was the second century makes this a rather dicey, if not dangerous proposal. Especially if ones methodology disregards large portions of later evidences as insignificant. The endeavor could end up producing a text far worse than that which the Church has/had commonly read for centuries...and in some cases already has.<br /><br />Not to mention that geographical locations, political tensions, sectarian issues, and diversity in climate are all also at play here. The stakes seem too high, and the reward too uncertain to attempt such a gauntlet.<br />Matthew M. Rosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859011.post-59892203192640741712020-12-22T14:31:11.892+00:002020-12-22T14:31:11.892+00:00One of the points that has come out of questions a...One of the points that has come out of questions about the goal of TC is that the composition of an original of a document can be a complex process of writing, editing, and sending out/publishing (in one way or another) the work, with some of those compositional acts being similar to what later scribes sometimes did when altering the work in their copying of it, so that the line where the composition of the original autograph and the making of copies of it, can be hard to draw, especially when trying to look back at it through later extant copies that can conceivably have variants between them that go all the way back to various original editions that the author himself sent out/published.<br /><br />It may or may not be the case that any books of the NT had such complex origins. But the possibility shouldn't be ruled out. In some cases it seems reasonable that more than one edition of some books were authorized by their apostolic authors, especially in the case of Paul's letters, if (as I think was probable) Paul himself both sent the original versions of the letters to their first audiences and then also later either personally published or at least authorized the publication of his (edited?) letter collection.<br /><br />In the case of Paul's letters, I wonder if both the earliest attainable text of the sent out letters and the later published authorized letter collection should both equally be the goal of TC, and even if the latter might be a more important goal than the former.<br /><br />Similar questions also arise with the Gospels.Eric Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13379106188046530722noreply@blogger.com