The Greek Text behind the KJV

Rafael Rodrguez, PhD Johnson University 27 October 2011

The Greek Text behind the KJV

The Greek Text behind the KJV

The Greek Text behind the KJV

The Greek Text behind the KJV

When we talk about a Greek text behind the King James Bible, were only talking about the KJVs New Testament. (The texts of the Old Testament, of course, were written in Hebrew and Aramaic.)
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The Greek Text behind the KJV

The Greek Text behind the KJV

NA27/UBS4rev Byzantine

, (John 1.16) . (John 1.16)
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The Greek Text behind the KJV

Instead of showing you how the Greek text behind the KJV is different from the Greek text behind our modern translations, Id like to explain a little bit about why the two Greek texts are different.
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The Greek Text behind the KJV

Textus Receptus (Latin: received text): The preface of a version of the Greek New Testament printed in 1633 read (in Latin): You have the text [textum], now received [receptum] by all, in which we give nothing altered or corrupted.
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The Greek Text behind the KJV

Textus Receptus (Latin: received text): The preface of a version of the Greek New Testament printed in 1633 read (in Latin): You have the text [textum], now received [receptum] by all, in which we give nothing altered or corrupted.
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The Greek Text behind the KJV

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The Greek Text behind the KJV

Text of the NT: Complutensian Polyglot: A polyglot Bible is a Bible that contains the text in multiple [poly-] languages [-glot]
printed: 1514 published: 1522

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The Greek Text behind the KJV

Compl. Polyglot: printed: 1514 Erasmuss first edition of published: 1522 the New Testament had Erasmuss GNT: published: 1516 the Greek text and his

new Latin translation in parallel columns.

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The Greek Text behind the KJV

Erasmuss GNT is in that respect [viz., its printing] the most faulty book I know.
Frederick Scrivener (1894)

Erasmus had access to only six Greek manuscripts, which didnt quite cover the entire NT canon.
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The Greek Text behind the KJV

Erasmuss text became the standardized text for about four hundred years, even though it was clearly not the best text. Its wide circulation and popularity were due to the fact that it appeared first, was cheaper, and came in a more convenient size.
Paul Wegner (1999)
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The Greek Text behind the KJV

Martin Luther (German; 1522) William Tyndale (English; 1526) Robert Estienne (Greek; 154651) Theodore Beza (Greek; 158898) King Jamess translators (English; 160411) Elzevir brothers (Greek; 1633), the Textus Receptus
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The Greek Text behind the KJV

The Erasmian form of the Greek New Testamentbased on a relatively small number of later Greek manuscripts that were collected in somewhat haphazard fashionformed the basis of every European-language translation of the Bible until 1881 (i.e., for over three centuries).
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The 400-Year Legacy of the KJV

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The 400-Year Legacy of the KJV

Rafael Rodrguez, PhD Johnson University 27 October 2011

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(The End)