The copies in other languages

Sources

• Andreas Köstenberger, “Is the Bible Today What Was Originally Written?” (opens in a new tab)

  Andreas Köstenberger, “Is the Bible Today What Was Originally Written?” North American Mission Board

• Clay Jones, “The Bibliographical Test Updated,” Christian Research Institute (opens in a new tab)

  Updated manuscript counts for the New Testament and for classical works, Christian Research Journal (2012)

• Bibliographical Test Updated (opens in a new tab)

  Clay Jones - Bibliographical Test Updated:

Objections & responses

The 24,000 total is an old apologetics number that keeps getting recycled, and translations can’t tell you whether a difference came from the Greek or from the translator.

The non-Greek totals are older, widely repeated figures that are not audited the way the Greek count is, and a range is safer than a hard number. On usefulness, translations cannot settle fine points of Greek grammar, but they are excellent for detecting large-scale changes such as added or missing verses: a verse present in second-century Syriac and Latin cannot have been inserted into Greek manuscripts in the fourth century. That is the specific work the versions do, and it is the work that matters for the claim that the text was corrupted.

Appears under 1 claim in this case

• We can recover what the New Testament originally said better than any other ancient book.