A Book Review from Books At a Glance
Reviewed by Gary Shogren
For most students of the New Testament, the “received text” is the latest incarnation of Nestle-Aland – at this moment, the 28th edition (2012), which boasts an updated text of the General Epistles. The NA is the standard edition for the critical footnotes. By contrast, the THGNT is, says Williams, a children’s version.
The editors of the THGNT come to the table with impressive credentials. For example, Williams is the chair of the Editio Critica Maior of John’s Gospel.
The THGNT and the NA-28 are both eclectic texts, but they seek to reconstruct the text by different routes. The THGNT follows what it believes to be older spelling and the divisions found in ancient uncials. Most importantly, the THGNT gives greater weight to external (documentary) evidence than does the NA: the reading that has the strong manuscript support from before the 5th century is the winner. In my opinion, this leads to some strained readings: for example, NA has “we have peace with God” (εχομεν) in Romans 5:1, but THGNT has “let us” (εχωμεν).
While NA traces its lineage directly back to Westcott and Hort, THGNT starts with the pre-WH edition by Tregelles (see here) and builds up a text on that basis. It has minimal textual footnotes.
The second alternative to Nestle-Aland is the SBL Greek New Testament, edited by Michael Holmes. It too is an eclectic text, but it depends more on internal (contextual) evidence than does NA. It differs from the NA more than 540 times.
At 2.6 pounds, the Tyndale House New Testament is heftier than the NA; it will also be available on Logos and (free) on esv.org, and it will also be turned into an audio version. The reader may also download the Gospel of Mark here. See too the video “Introducing the Greek New Testament” here:
Note: The other two texts we have mentioned can also be read free online:
Nestle-Aland 28th edition here.
SBL Greek New Testament is free online, free on Logos, and also a free stand-alone download.
See Also the forthcoming An Introduction to the Greek New Testament: Produced at Tyndale House, Cambridge.
Gary Shogren is Professor at Seminario ESEPA (Escuela de Estudios Pastorales)