Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 May 2021
If the term “the text of the New Testament” refers to the continuous text of any one or several of the Greek writings that constitute the twenty-seven-document collection that became known as the New Testament, then the writings of the Apostolic Fathers are of virtually no use in reconstructing any significant portion of any one of those writings. Indeed, there appear to be only three sources that may assist with that task. In turn these are the first continuous-text manuscripts of New Testament writings that survive in full or in fragmentary form of which to date there are 133 catalogued papyrus fragments, 323 majuscule manuscripts, and 2,936 minuscule manuscripts. Secondly, there are numerous lectionary texts, the majority of which are manuscripts of the Gospels arranged for liturgical use. To date 2,465 Greek manuscripts of this type have been catalogued. Thirdly, there are commentaries on the Greek text where the text is often broken into lines before exposition of the text is provided. The relative importance of these three witnesses to the text of the New Testament follows the order in which the categories have been listed: that is, continuous Greek manuscripts, lectionaries, and then commentaries.
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