With
less uniformity, terms that were associated with titles of Christ are also
contracted, such as “Man” (due to the title “Son of Man”), “David” (due to the
title “Son of David”), and “Savior.”
Most copyists also contracted the words “Israel ,”
“Jerusalem ,”
“Mother,” and “Cross.”
Novum Testamentum Graece:
A compilation
of the Greek text of the New Testament equipped with (a) symbols in the text which convey specific kinds of textual
variants, and (b) a basic textual
apparatus listing the main support for the adopted reading, and for rival
readings. Eberhard Nestle published
the first edition of NTG in 1898,
drawing on three independent, but similar, compilations by other scholars
(specifically, Tischendorf, Westcott & Hort, and Weymouth ).
In 1927, Eberhard Nestle’s son, Erwin Nestle, took over the task of
editing the thirteenth edition of the compilation, changing the textual
apparatus so as to include a more detailed presentation of evidence, listing
manuscripts, versions, patristic writers, compilations by earlier editors, and
theoretical recensions that had been posited by researcher Hermann von Soden.
Kurt Aland
was given supervision of the compilation in 1952, and its textual apparatus was
expanded considerably. The NTG achieved
relative stability in 1979, and was now known as the Nestle-Aland NTG. The text of the 26th edition was
basically retained in the 27th edition, although the textual
apparatus was changed (and some Byzantine witnesses were removed from the
apparatus) and miscitations were corrected.
In the 28th edition (2012),
only about 35 textual changes were introduced, all confined to the General
Epistles.
The 28th edition of NTG, though technically an eclectic compilation, has a very strong Alexandrian
character, differing only slightly from the 1881 compilation
of Westcott and Hort.
Nu
ephelkustikon: The Greek
letter nu (ν) placed at the end of a
word before another word that begins with a vowel, and at the end of sentences. Also called moveable nu.
Overline: A horizontal line added above characters to
signify that the letters underneath it are to be read as numerals or as a nomen sacrum. An overline at the end of a line of text
represents the letter nu.
Paratext: Features in a manuscript other than the main
text, such as illustrations, notes, canon-tables, chapter-titles, arabesques,
and marginalia.
Paleography: The science of studying ancient handwriting
and inscriptions. Paleography is useful
for estimating the production-dates (and in some cases the locale) of
manuscripts by making comparisons between the handwriting they display and the handwriting
of dated documents. Paleographers also
study inks and paratextual features of manuscripts. Paleographically assigned production-dates
should generally be given a range of 50 years both before and after the
assigned date, on the premises that (a)
copyists tended to write in basically the same script throughout their careers,
(b) a typical copyist’s career lasted
50 years, and (c) we cannot determine
if a copyist wrote a specific manuscript at the beginning, or end, of his
career.
Palimpsest: A manuscript which has been recycled, and
contains two (or more) layers of writing.
The parchment of a palimpsest has been scraped once, in its initial
preparation, and later scraped again, when someone scraped off, or washed off,
the ink, in order to reuse the newly blank parchment to hold a different
composition. (The word is derived from
Greek: palin, again, and psaw, scrape.) The text that was written first on a
palimpsest is called the lower writing;
the more recently written text is called the upper writing. The application of ultraviolet light (and
multi-spectral imaging) can in some cases make the lower writing much more
visible than it appears to be in normal light.
Papyrus: (plural:
papyri) Writing-material made
from tissues derived from the inner layer of papyrus plants. Papyrus-material tended to rot away in
high-humidity climates, which is why practically all surviving New Testament
papyri were found in Egypt ,
where the humidity-level is lower.
Manuscripts made of papyrus (such as Papyrus 5,
part of which is shown here) are also called papyri.
Parablepsis: The phenomenon which occurs when a copyist’s
line of sight drifts from one set of letters to an identical or similar set of
letters, skipping the intervening text.
This may occur due to homoioarcton, homoeoteleuton, or simple inattentiveness.
Provenance: The place from which a manuscript came.
Quire: A collection of bifolia (usually four) which
have been stacked and folded together in the process of codex-production.
Recto: The side of a leaf in a manuscript that is viewed
when the outer margin is to the viewer’s right.
Rubric: Text written in red, usually found in the
margins, mainly serving to label portions of the main text. Rubrics may include chapter-titles, the
lectionary apparatus, and miscellaneous notes.
Ruling: Horizontal lines and vertical borders added
to writing-material as guidelines
for the text which was intended to be written upon it. Hundreds of different ruling-patterns have
been identified. They vary in
complexity, depending on how much supplemental material was intended to
accompany the main text.
Scriptorium: A manuscript-making center, usually located
in a monastery.
Stichometry: A calculation of the number of standard lines
(about 15 or 16 syllables), or stichoi,
of text in a book or book-portion. The
conclusions of New Testament books are sometimes accompanied by notes
mentioning the book’s length, in line-units.
This suggests that such manuscripts were copied by professionals who
were paid on a per-stichos basis.
Singleton: a single folded bifolium in a manuscript – a
quire consisting of a single sheet.
Staurogram: A combination of the Greek letters tau and rho, thought by some researchers to be a pictogram of Christ’s
crucifixion.
Textual Apparatus:
Notes in a compilation, listing variants
and the witnesses that support them.
Witnesses are usually listed in the order of uncials, minuscules,
versions, and patristic references. In
the textual apparatuses of the Nestle-Aland Novum
Testamentum Graece and the UBS Greek
New Testament, Byzantine witnesses tend to be presented collectively.
Textus Receptus: This
term is generally used to refer to the base-text of the 1611 King James Version. It is also used to refer to any
of the compilations of the Greek text of the New Testament published in the
1500s and early 1600s, beginning with Erasmus’ first edition in 1514,
continuing with the Complutensian Polyglot, several editions by Stephanus,
several editions by Beza, and the 1624 and 1633 editions by the Elzevirs, the
last of which was declared to be “the text received by all.” These compilations were not entirely
identical but all contained a basically Byzantine text influenced by readings
selected from the editors’ materials, which included important witnesses such
as minuscule 1, minuscule Codex Bezae (D), Codex Regius (L), and Codex
Claromontanus.
The 1551
edition issued by Stephanus is notable for the introduction of verse-numbers,
essentially the same enumeration still used in most English New Testaments.
UBS Greek New Testament: A compilation of the Greek text of the New Testament prepared by a team working for the United Bible Societies. Now in its fifth edition (2014), the UBS Greek New Testament contains the same text presented in the 28th edition of the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece. The textual apparatus of the UBS Greek New Testament covers far fewer variant-units (about 1,400), but in far greater detail. Bruce Metzger (1914-2007), a member of the UBS compilation-committee, wrote A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, explaining the committee’s text-critical general approach and specific decisions.
Uncial: A manuscript in
which each letter is written separately and as a capital. These are
also known as majuscules. Many uncials, are identified by sigla
(singular: siglum) such as the letters of the English
alphabet, letters of the Greek alphabet, and, for Codex Sinaiticus (À), the
Hebrew alphabet. All uncials are identified by numbers that begin
with a zero.
Verso: The side of a leaf in a manuscript that is
viewed when the outer margin is to the viewer’s left.
Watermark: In medieval paper, a design embedded in the fibers
of the paper, visible when a page is held up to light. Watermarks
often indicate where the paper was made.
Western Order: The arrangement of the four Gospels as
Matthew, John, Luke, and Mark. This
order is found mainly in representatives of the Western Text, such as the Old
Latin Gospels and Codex Bezae.
Western Text: A text-form, or forms, characterized by
expansion, harmonization, and simplification in comparison to other
text-types. Codex Bezae and the Old
Latin version are the primary and most extensive witnesses to Western readings,
but several early patristic writers frequently utilize Western readings as
well.
Zoomorphic Initial: An initial which takes the shape of an animal
or bird.
If readers
would like to suggest other terms that should be considered for inclusion in
this glossary, you are welcome to do so in the comments.
Thank you James. Studied with interest. Grateful.
ReplyDeleteMinor correction here, the first edition of Erasmus' "Novum Instrumentu Omne" was not in 1514, it was dated to 1516.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it might be slightly misleading to say that the Complutensian Polyglot was "continuing" from Erasmus' first edition, because the New Testament for the Complutensian was completed in 1514. However, this is offset by the fact that it was not actually published until the Old Testament was done, and they were further delayed before receiving an official sanction, which meant that the whole Complutensian Polyglot was not published until at least 1520. Erasmus was likely motivated to complete his first edition before the Complutense University did (he was aware of their work because they tried to recruit him at one point), and as it happens he was the first to publish his Greek (and Latin) edition in 1516.
- Andrew