Objection · Case 03 · Reliability of Scripture
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.
One objection from the free evidence repository at apologetics.pro.
Response
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.
About this exhibit
This objection is to The copies in other languages.
On top of the Greek copies, the New Testament was translated early into other languages. Andreas Köstenberger reports more than 10,000 Latin copies and more than 9,300 in other early languages such…
Under Claim 01: We can recover what the New Testament originally said better than any other ancient book.