spiritus asper "rough breathing". Looks like a small opening parenthesis "(" over a vowel if it is the first letter of a word.
ω omega (transcribed as ō: o with superscript line) and ο omicron.
ε – epsilon and η – eta (transcribed as ē: e with superscript line)
The apparatus notes differences of text in copies of the same text. It does so in a condensed form.
Variants are differences of text in copies of the same text. Often variants originate when a text is revised or through errors in the transmission process.
In the front of the edition.
In the back.
Define these terms as they are used in scholarly analysis of ancient writings.
 | In the context of Biblical scholarship "text" usually relates to the wording of the first edition in the original language. The Old Testament is in Hebrew, the New Testament in Greek. |
| The organization of a text; it is described by describing structural markers, i.e. signals, which tell the readers where one unit comes to an end and the next one starts: headers, page numbers, paragraphs, titles, verse numbers etc. structure text. |
| The units of a text. |
| Larger units are called 'genres'. |
| Those parts of a text which evolved during the editing process; |
| Three things can happen with a text during the editing process: text can be added, deleted, replaced. |
| Used to describe the written text which was edited to produce the text, which is studied. [Newspapers will give the written source they are using.] |
| The term 'source' refers to written material used by the editors, 'tradition' is used to refer to the oral information incorporated. |
| Derives from the Greek word krinein, krisis. It means: definition, analysis, description, judgment. |
| a) The process and skill of making discerning and discriminating judgments on a literary document for purposes of describing and establishing characteristics of a specific text. |
| b) Discerning value (for example "well structured" or "not well structured") is often an integral component of the process. |
| This approach deals with an historic analysis of a literary document, including the historical sources of the document, as well as a critical / historical study of the language itself as it changes over time. Often used as a synonym for "Historical Criticism". |
| This approach deals with the study of a literary work in its final form. It is read at face value, without historical or source criticism playing a role in the analysis; the document stands alone for study. Often referred to as "Literary Criticism." |
| a) Redaction is editing. It is a diachronic tool. Redaction criticism explores and examines editorial changes to a text and tries to understand the underlying intention for making these changes. Often a very helpful approach to discern theological intentions. |
| c) Redactional changes can also occur in extra-textual changes, such as classifying the edition, numbering the pages, selecting the color and size of paper, choosing the font, etc. |
| Source Criticism tries to discern the written material forming the basis of an edited text. If the underlying material is oral it is referred to as "tradition" and it is not included in Source Criticism. |
| Translations. Latin Versions of the New Testament are translations of the Greek New Testament into Latin. |
- Which writings belong to which volume?
- What is the abbreviation in the Nestle-Aland edition of the Greek New Testament?
- What is the title of each volume in the Greek manuscripts?
| The Gospels: Mt Mk Lk Joh = e. Tetraeuangelion (tetra = four, euangelion = gospel in singular => the Four-Gospel) |
| The Letters of Paul (Hebrews is included and followed 2Thess): Rom 1Cor 2Cor Gal Eph Phil Col 1Thess 2Thess Hb 1Tim 2Tim Tit Phm = p. Epistolai Paulou ID (epistolai = letters, Paulou = of Paul, ID = 14: The Fourteen Letters of Paul) |
| Acts and General Letters: Acts James 1Peter 2Peter 1John 2John 3John Jude = a. praxapostolos (paraxeis apostlolōn is the title of Acts in Greek manuscripts, apostolos refers to the authorship of the General Letters). |
| Revelation = r. Apokalypsis Iōannou (apokalypsis = revelation, Iōannou = of John). |
| Codex Sinaiticus, א (Hebrew Aleph) 01, 4th century, London. |
| Codex Alexandrinus, A 02, 5th century, London. |
| Codex Vaticanus, B 03, 4th century, Rome. |
| Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, C 04, 5th century, Paris. |
| Majuscules (also called uncials) are written in capital letters. Miniscules (also called minuscules) are a cursive script consisting of both capital and small letters, very much like our modern handwriting. Miniscule writing becomes acceptable in the book trade beginning with the 7th century. |
| Scriptio continua refers to the ancient practice of writing text without spaces between the words. |
| The scroll remains the main medium for secular literature until the 4th century, but Christians use the form of the book almost exclusively. The book (Greek: biblos) becomes the trademark of the Christian movement (cf. the expression "Bible"). |
| The term nomina sacra (singular: nomen sacrum) refers to a system of contractions in the Greek Christian Bible (OT and NT) for expressions referring to the Divinity: God, LORD, Jesus, Christ, Spirit etc. The first and last letters were written and marked with a line over them. |
| The term majority text refers to the text as it is presented in the majority of manuscripts. This is an edition (7th century - 15th century) originating in the Byzantine Empire. It saw several revisions. King James Version was made from majority text manuscripts. |
What is the goal of structural analysis?
Short version: Trying to understand and describe the author’s organization of the text.
Longer version: To describe the structural signals as set by the author or editor of a specific text by describing the form and function of structural markers.
How do you proceed?
1. Look for obvious structural elements/markers (headings, summaries, recurring phrases).
2. Try to understand these structural signals/markers by describing their form and function. They can…
| Point to the following text |
| Point to the preceding text |
| Connect two sections of text |
3. Look for obvious breaks, analyze them, and look for more signals/markers like this.
Why is structural analysis important at all?
a. It’s one help to understand an author—a kind of window into the psychology of the person
b. Structure is one of the most important elements used to describe a form (form criticism).
c. Understanding the structure can also be helpful with source criticism and redaction criticism/redaction history. In the latter case, this is because the forms change over time.