Changes

==Development of the text==

==Development of the text==

TR follows a [[Byzantine Text|Byzantine]] reading. Most modern scholars believe the [[Critical Text]], which follows an [[Alexandrian Text|Alexandrian]] reading, to be superior.  

TR follows a [[Byzantine Text|Byzantine text]]. Most modern scholars believe that the [[Alexandrian text]] is closer to the original.  

The oldest examples of Alexandrian text are Papyrus 46, or Chester Beatty II, and Papyrus 66, or Bodmer II. P46 contains the Pauline epistles while P66 contains the Gospel of John. Both manuscripts date from about AD 200.<ref>Metzger, Bruce, (1994) ''A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament''. "With the acquisition, however, of the Bodmer Papyri, particularly P66 and P75, both copied about the end of the second or the beginning of the third century, evidence is now available that the Alexandrian type of text goes back to an archetype that must be dated early in the second century." P75 has since been redated to a later period.</ref>

The oldest examples of Alexandrian text are Papyrus 46, or Chester Beatty II, and Papyrus 66, or Bodmer II. P46 contains the Pauline epistles while P66 contains the Gospel of John. Both manuscripts date from about AD 200.<ref>Metzger, Bruce, (1994) ''A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament''. "With the acquisition, however, of the Bodmer Papyri, particularly P66 and P75, both copied about the end of the second or the beginning of the third century, evidence is now available that the Alexandrian type of text goes back to an archetype that must be dated early in the second century." P75 has since been redated to a later period.</ref>

The Western text was known from [[Codex Bezae]]. It was quoted in the writing of the church fathers as early as the third century. The Peshitta, a second century translation, and a Gothic translation from 350, are of the Western type.

The Western text seems to have developed somewhat later. The earliest witnesses are quotes from the third century provided by church fathers, including [[Cyprian]], [[Tertullian]], and [[Irenaeus]]. The most representative example of Western text is [[Codex Bezae]], which dates to about 400.

The Byzantine text is thought to be a recension of various Alexandrian and Western manuscripts, possibly done by Lucian of Antioch around 300. The earliest witness is [[John Chrysostom]], a church father who quoted it extensively in the late fourth century. Alexandrinus, a manuscript used in the Critical Text, is Byzantine in the gospels. It dates from about AD 400.

The Byzantine text is thought to be a recension of various Alexandrian and Western manuscripts, possibly done by Lucian of Antioch around 300. Wulfila's translation to Gothic, made around 350, may be based on a Greek manuscript of the Byzantine type. Another early translation that appears to be based on the Byzantine text is the Peshitta, which dates to the early fifth century. In the late fourth century, church father [[John Chrysostom]] quoted at length from the Byzantine text. The gospels in Alexandrinus feature Byzantine text. This codex dates to about AD 400.

In 1720, Richard Bentley proposed that TR be replaced with a Greek text based on ''[[Codex Alexandrinus]]'', a fifth century manuscript.<ref>Bentley, Richard, ''Proposals for a New Edition of the Greek Testament'', 1720.</ref> In the early 19th century, Karl Lachmann developed a methodology which allowed a critic to determine which manuscript variants are likely to be closer to the original. He assigned manuscripts to various text types. In 1850, he published a Greek New Testament based on manuscripts of the Alexandrian type. In 1881, Brooke Westcott and  F. J. A. Hort published a critical text based on ''[[Codex Sinaiticus]]'', ''[[Codex Vaticanus]]'', a manuscript in the Vatican Library, and ''Codex Alexandrinus.''

In 1720, Richard Bentley proposed that TR be replaced with a Greek text based on ''[[Codex Alexandrinus]]''.<ref>Bentley, Richard, ''Proposals for a New Edition of the Greek Testament'', 1720.</ref> In the early 19th century, Karl Lachmann developed a methodology which allowed a critic to determine which manuscript variants are likely to be closer to the original. He assigned manuscripts to various text types. In 1850, he published a Greek New Testament based on manuscripts of the Alexandrian type. In 1881, Brooke Westcott and  F. J. A. Hort published a critical text based on ''[[Codex Sinaiticus]]'', ''[[Codex Vaticanus]]'', a manuscript in the Vatican Library, and ''Codex Alexandrinus.''

==For and against==

==For and against==