Textual criticism is focused on identifying textual variations with particular emphasis on different versions of the English Bible, especially omissions of some words and phrases in other Bible versions. There is a difference between textual criticism and translations because the former explains the variations in translations and illustrates cases where textual criticism will be necessary (Anderson et al., 2018). The denominations, committees, or the Commission responsible for translation chose the philosophy that will be adopted during the process. The translator, therefore, decided whether to preserve the source of the language or focus on the meaning of the source language. Textual criticism identifies the variations in different versions of the Bible.
This criticism analyzes the variations in a different version of the Bible. It is different from translation in the sense that criticism is mostly negative and seeks to investigate the evidence from the manuscripts to determine differences in their content and originality. Other aspects of this criticism and analysis include scribal habits and theological bias, which are evident in ancient texts from others literature materials such as the works of Shakespeare and Plato. The critical edition focuses on errors that may be identified in the manuscript that helps understand the intentions of the original authors (Anderson et al., 2018). The same case applies to biblical manuscripts since the original documents could not be preserved. The current copies are based on handwritten work from different authors hence the difference in content and meaning. The focus of textual criticism is to identify different variations and errors in readings from ancient manuscripts. Texts and passages with errors are either removed or revised to present a clear message that the author intended to deliver.
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Variations in different versions of the Bible are identified by textual criticism. The grammar of every language and their syntax are different, an aspect taken into account during the translations. This disparity is used to select a specific philosophy by the translating committee, denomination. The rule of the source language stipulates that the original languages, such as Hebrew or Greek, differ from the target language, which is English, during translation (Anderson et al., 2018). Every language used in the translations has rules, and therefore the process of translating language requires taking into account the various adaptations to the rules of both the source language and the target language. During the translation from either Greek or Hebrew to English, the committee or denomination tasked with translating needs to decide whether to represent every word from Greek or Hebrew to English or focus on translating the meaning into English. Language translation from Hebrew or Greek to English comes with different meanings compared to the translation that focuses on meaning (Anderson et al., 2018).
Variations in different versions of the Bible is another area that is covered under textual criticism. An example of the difference in translation, which focuses on the meaning of every word, is given below. In the book of Isaiah 19:16, The New American Standard Bible (NASB) states that "In that day the Egyptians will become like women and they will tremble and be in dread because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts which he is going to wave over them." However, the same verse in the New International Version Bible states that "In that day the Egyptians will become weaklings. They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the Lord Almighty raises against them.” From this verse, it can be deduced that the representation of Hebrew words is different based on the translations illustrating how difficult it is to conserve the integrity of information during translation (Anderson et al., 2018).
Textual criticism identifies the variations in different versions of the Bible. The translation committees and denominations choose different theories while translating the Bible from either Greek or Hebrew into English or any other language for that matter. Translators come across syntax or grammar from other source languages that are somewhat ambiguous in their work. In such a case, this committee is required to decide how best to translate the text into English (Anderson et al., 2018). An example of this analysis includes the translation of fast 1Timothy 3:6. According to the NASB version, “Not a new convert lest he becomes conceited and falls into the condemnation incurred by the devil." The same verse in the NIV states that "He must not be a recent convert or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil." The translation is focused on the language, while in the other cases, the focus was on message.
It can therefore be deduced that textual criticism identifies the variations in different versions of the Bible. The Bible was written when there were no sufficient means of sharing documents; therefore, much of the data was either written with errors or omitted altogether. The process of translation led to wrong interpretation in some cases, while in others led to the omission of other words, letters, or phrases (Anderson et al., 2018). Therefore, the process of textual criticism is necessary to ensure that the reconstruction of different versions of the Bible is done to provide the original or intended passages. Furthermore, the original copies were translated into different languages, all of which had diverse meanings and content. Therefore, textual criticism tries to help scholars reconstruct the original message of the authors of the Bible.
Reference
Anderson, A., Widder, W., & Mangum, D. (2018). Textual Criticism of the Bible: Revised Edition . Bellingham; United States: Faithlife Corporation
