Common and contested questions about the text of Scripture, answered by returning to the manuscript and historical evidence.
Common and contested questions about the text of Scripture, answered by returning to the manuscript and historical evidence.
Studies for this section are listed below as they are published. Claims are documented and uncertainty is identified where the evidence is incomplete or disputed.
The Qumran Cave 11 Psalms scroll (11QPsa / 11Q5) is a well-preserved Hebrew witness whose collection of psalms and related compositions, and whose serial order, differ from the later standard Masoretic Psalter. Catalog and edition evidence establish what survives and how it is counted; collection-level variation must be kept distinct from line-level wording of psalms also found in the Masoretic tradition.
Early Greek papyri preserve Gospel passion narratives and Pauline accounts of Christ’s death on the cross across independent witnesses, so the crucifixion is not attested only in late or isolated copies.
John 1:18 is famous for a textual variant at the phrase often translated “only begotten Son” or “only God.” Early Greek papyri and fourth-century codices preserve materially different Greek forms, including anarthrous and articular θεός readings and articular υἱός, rather than a simple binary switch between two English words.
John 7:53–8:11, the passage often called the pericope adulterae, is a major passage-level variant in the Gospel of John. Early Greek papyri and fourth-century codices at the traditional junction preserve John 7:52 followed directly by John 8:12, while other witnesses contain, mark, or relocate the story.
Luke 22:43–44, the account of an angel strengthening Jesus and his sweat like drops of blood, is a passage-level variant in the Passion narrative. Early Greek papyri and fourth-century codices do not agree: several major witnesses omit continuous text for the verses at the traditional junction, while Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Bezae include the wording in governed INTF TEI transcriptions.
Early New Testament papyri preserve resurrection-centered passages across multiple books, showing that the resurrection proclamation is not dependent on one late manuscript or one disputed textual passage.
The Great Isaiah Scroll is a first-century BCE Hebrew witness to the complete book of Isaiah and provides direct evidence for the transmission of the Old Testament before the New Testament period.
The longer ending of Mark is an important textual variant. Two major fourth-century Greek codices end Mark at 16:8, while the longer ending is preserved in many other witnesses and was known early in Christian transmission.