The Top Ten Essential Books in NT Textual Criticism—According to AI

AI destroying the joy of human creativity, 
as drawn by AI

Tommy's list of top ten essential works in NT textual criticism has had a very good run on this website. It remains our most read blog post ever. It could probably use a minor update given that it's more than a decade old, but it's still useful. Until then, I thought I would see what AI says are the top ten books in our field. I asked two AI platforms, Google Gemini and Microsoft's Copilot. I have no real insight into how either of these work or what the LLMs are behind them. But here are there answers.

Copilot

Here are ten essential books in New Testament Textual Criticism that are highly recommended for anyone interested in the field:

1. The Text of the New Testament by Kurt and Barbara Aland - A comprehensive guide to the text of the New Testament.
2. The Text of the New Testament in Contemporary Research edited by Bart D. Ehrman, Michael W. Holmes, and Bruce M. Metzger - An overview of the current state of research in New Testament textual criticism.
3. The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture by Bart D. Ehrman - Examines how early Christological controversies affected the text of the New Testament.
4. Studies in the Theory and Method of New Testament Textual Criticism by Eldon J. Epp and Gordon D. Fee - Focuses on the theory and methodology of textual criticism.
5. The Text of the New Testament by Bruce M. Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman - Discusses the transmission, corruption, and restoration of the New Testament text.
6. An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and Their Texts by D. C. Parker - A technical guide to New Testament manuscripts.
7. The Living Text of the Gospels by D. C. Parker - Explores the text of the Gospels in detail.
8. Introduction to the New Testament in the Original Greek by B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort - A classic work laying the foundation for textual criticism.
9. The Story of the New Testament Text: Movers, Materials, Motives, Methods, and Models by Robert F. Hull - Covers the history and development of the New Testament text.
10. Textual Scholarship and the Making of the New Testament by David C. Parker - Discusses the procedures and challenges of New Testament textual scholarship.

These books provide a solid foundation for understanding the principles and practices of New Testament textual criticism. Do any of these titles catch your interest?

Gemini

Here are ten essential books in New Testament Textual Criticism, presented in no particular order:

1. The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration by Bruce M. Metzger: A classic and comprehensive overview of the field.
2. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why by Bart D. Ehrman: A popular and accessible introduction to textual variants.
3. A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament by Bruce M. Metzger: A detailed reference work examining variant readings for each verse of the Greek New Testament.
4. The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism by Kurt and Barbara Aland: A foundational work on the principles and methods of textual criticism.
5. A Student's Guide to Textual Criticism of the Bible: Its History, Methods and Results by Paul D. Wegner: A user-friendly guide for students.
6. New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide by David Alan Black: A brief and accessible introduction.
7. Studies in the Theory and Method of New Testament Textual Criticism by Eldon J. Epp and Gordon D. Fee: A more advanced work exploring critical methodologies.
8. The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman: A controversial but influential work examining the impact of theological biases on the transmission of the text.
9. The Text of the New Testament in Contemporary Research: Essays on the Status Quaestionis edited by Bart D. Ehrman, Michael W. Holmes, and Bruce M. Metzger: A collection of essays by leading scholars.
10. A History of the Synoptic Problem by David L. Dungan: While focused on the Synoptic Gospels, this work delves into the complexities of textual transmission within the Gospels.

Note: This is not an exhaustive list, and the "best" books will depend on your individual needs and level of expertise.

I hope this helps!

What I take away from this exercise is that, in this case at least, AI is little more than repackaged search engine. Both results are basically just Tommy's post with maybe some rearrangement or rewording. For example, I suspect Gemini's description of Ehrman's Orthodox Corruption as "controversial" is coming straight from Tommy's post. The same can be said of Copilot's description of Westcott and Hort's introduction. Some of the descriptions are obviously just the book's subtitles. So, kudos to the authors for picking descriptive subtitles, but not exactly a win for AI. 

Only Gemini gives any sources but, alas, only one of them makes much sense. They are a random blog post on Isaiah, a Catalan Wikipedia entry on the Hebrew Gospel hypothesis, and a German theology faculty booklist. None of them are Tommy's blog post, which appears to be the main source. Positively, these lists are pretty good (thanks to Tommy!) and all the books listed are real books.

I did ask ChatGPT as well and its answers were similar except that it oddly included Raymond Brown's Introduction to the New Testament and Ehrman's edition of the Apostolic Fathers (which it recognizes was not directly about NTTC). Finally, one point of praise goes to ChatGPT for this introductory line which is spot on: "New Testament textual criticism (NTTC) is a fascinating and complex field."