Q&A: Daniel B. Wallace
On his organization's ancient New Testament manuscript haul in Albania.
Interview by Derek Keefe | posted 4/23/2008 09:18AM
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Why is photographing manuscripts important?
It's important to preserve each one of these unique, handwritten copies of scripture, because they are Scripture, because they are the heritage bequeathed to us by generations of Christian scribes, and because they are windows on the world of Byzantine art.
Further, it's important to use them to help determine the wording of the original New Testament. The Bible we have in our hands today is not based directly on the originals, but on copies that still exist today. Although most of these manuscripts have been microfilmed, very few have been digitally photographed. Even though we live in a technological age, worms, water, rats, fire, and thieves are still doing damage.
Given the urgency imposed by threats to existing manuscripts, how does the Center prioritize its efforts?
Our highest priority is to photograph those manuscripts that have never been photographed before. Since our inception, CSNTM has discovered, I believe, more manuscripts than the rest of the world combined. These manuscripts are our highest priority, especially those that are in politically unstable or poor countries.
We shoot whatever manuscripts we can get permission to shoot, which is often a slow process.
We also try to return to countries whose language we can speak or at least understand to some degree. All team members work on conversational skills in the local language.
Do you have any hunches about other significant manuscripts unknown to Western scholars?
To date, the manuscripts known to Western scholars were caught with a not-so-finely-meshed net. Many manuscripts are in Eastern Europe or the Middle East. We currently have leads on over 200 [other] manuscripts. My best guess is that there are as many as another 1000 Greek New Testament manuscripts yet to be discovered.
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Related Elsewhere:
By 2020, the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts hopes to have shot the more than 1.3 million pages of Greek New Testament manuscripts.
"Is 'Let Him Who Is without Sin Cast the First Stone' Biblical?," also posted today, examines why pericope adulterae is still in our Bibles.
J.I. Packer answered the question," How can I reconcile my belief in the inerrancy of Scripture with comments in Bible translations that state that a particular verse is not 'in better manuscripts'?
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