Byzantine Text

Overview

The Byzantine text is not a term that appears in any particular chapter or verse of the Bible. Rather, it is a term used to classify the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. New Testament manuscripts can be grouped according to the readings they share, that is, the wording they use for the same passage, and each such group is called a "text type." The Byzantine text is one of these. Because the majority of extant Greek New Testament manuscripts belong to this type, it is also called the "Majority Text." Some scholars also use the names "Syrian text" and "Koine text."

Background

The name "Byzantine" reflects the fact that throughout the Middle Ages this text was copied as a virtual standard in the Greek-speaking church of the Byzantine Empire, centered on Constantinople. Scholars differ on where it was first shaped, though many hold that it took form around the fourth century. In the Gospels, the fifth-century Codex Alexandrinus is cited as an early witness, and most manuscripts of this type date from the ninth century or later.

Characteristics and Relationship to the Textus Receptus

Commonly cited features of the Byzantine text include smooth and relatively full wording, as well as frequent harmonization of wording among parallel passages in the Gospels. The doxology at the end of Matthew 6:13 ("For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory…"), Mark 16:9-20, and John 7:53-8:11 appear in most manuscripts of this tradition.

The Greek New Testament that Erasmus published in 1516 was based on a handful of late Byzantine manuscripts available to him at the time. The editions that followed it came to be called the "Textus Receptus" (Received Text) and served as the basis for Martin Luther's German translation and the King James Version. The Textus Receptus, however, does not always agree with the majority of Byzantine manuscripts. The Trinitarian testimony in 1 John 5:7-8 (the Comma Johanneum) and Acts 8:37 are found in the Textus Receptus but are absent from most Byzantine manuscripts.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

In 1881 Westcott and Hort regarded the Byzantine text as a later text formed by combining various readings, and they gave greater weight to the early "Alexandrian text" represented by manuscripts such as Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus. The Nestle-Aland and United Bible Societies editions of the Greek New Testament, widely used today, compare many manuscripts and select a reading for each passage, generally favoring the readings of the earlier manuscripts.

In opposition, scholars holding a "Byzantine priority" or "Majority Text" position argue that the text the church copied widely over many centuries better preserves the original. Hodges and Farstad, as well as Robinson and Pierpont, among others, have published Byzantine-type editions from this standpoint. Their opponents counter that readings distinctive to the Byzantine text are rare in early manuscripts and in patristic citations. The debate takes place among scholars rather than between denominations, and many observe that no core doctrine changes whichever text is followed. The Eastern Orthodox Church, meanwhile, continues to use this textual tradition as its ecclesiastical text.

In the Korean Church

In Korean Bibles such as the New Korean Revised Version, some verses are enclosed in brackets or marked "(not present)," and differences among manuscripts are noted in footnotes (brief notes placed below the text). Such verses are mainly those found in later manuscripts but absent from earlier ones. In Korea, too, some claim that only the Textus Receptus and the King James Version constitute the correct Bible, a claim frequently discussed in the Bible translation controversy. This claim is distinct from the Byzantine priority position, which rests on the number of manuscripts and their transmission.