Journal: Grace Journal
Volume: GJ 05:3 (Fall 1964)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous

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GJ 5:3 (Fall 64) p. 45

Book Reviews

The Text of the New Testament. By Bruce Manning Metzger. Oxford University Press, New York and London, 1964. 268 pp., $7.00.

As the subtitle indicates this volume deals with the transmission, the corruption, and the restoration of the text of the New Testament in the original Greek language. The manuscript was finished in August of 1963 and published early in 1964. At this date it constitutes the latest contribution to this important area of New Testament study. The main discussion, the footnotes, the appendices, and the bibliography indicate that the author had access to a wide variety of sources, and with the skill of a careful scholar used them in the preparation of this treatise.

In broad lines of development this book brings into perspective the entire field of textual criticism, utilizing the latest information available from archeological finds and scholarly exploration of the materials. Though the writer is not attempting to be exhaustive in treatment, with the skill of one who is thoroughly acquainted with the field, he surveys intensively, and almost microscopically at times, the materials for study, the history of textual criticism, and the application of principles to the New Testament text.

In the estimation of the reviewer, the writer, Dr. Metzger, Professor of New Testament Language and Literature in Princeton Theological Seminary, presents with remarkable clarity a most difficult and abstruse subject for the average theological student of the New Testament. He does this with remarkable aloofness from theological bias. The application of the entire discipline to strategic portions of the New Testament text where variations appear demonstrates the value of the study and serves as a fitting climax to the discussion.

Herman A. Hoyt
Grace Theological Seminary

Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism. By J. Harold Greenlee. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 160 pp., $3.50.

The first element considered in determining the value of this book was whether the author accomplished his professed purpose. In the preface (p. 7) Dr. Greenlee explains that

This book is a primer. It does not seek to make a contribution to the knowledge of those who are already scholars of New Testament textual criticism. The aim of this book is simply to present facts and principles of New Testament textual criticism that are generally accepted.

Dr. Greenlee has done just that. The whole volume is clearly set forth. He defines technical textual critical terms in such a manner that a beginner could understand the principles involved. He has outlined the material covered in such a way that too many confusing facts are not presented at th...

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