Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion you should be able to:

• Identify basic facts about the scope and structure of the NT

• Discuss the concepts of inspiration, inerrancy, and canon with respect to the NT

• Explain the compositional process of the NT

• Trace the transmission of the NT from its beginning to modern times

• Identify the various textual witnesses to the NT

• Describe the nature of textual variants and the process of textual criticism

• Discuss how to evaluate English translations

Course Outline

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: Preliminary Issues

• What Is the New Testament?

• The Term “New Testament”

• Exploring “Covenant” Using the Topic Guide

• The Scope of the New Testament

• Number of New Testament Books

• Order and Structure of New Testament Books

• Titles of New Testament Books

• The Authority of the Testaments

• Creating a Custom Guide to Study 2 Timothy 3:16

• Road Map for this Course

Unit 2: Inspiration

• Two Sides to Inspiration

• Flawed Conception of Inspiration

• Coherent Conception: Major Verses

• Coherent Conception: Textual Phenomena

Unit 3: The Composition of the New Testament Books

• Preview

• Researching Important Dates with the Timeline Tool

• The Language of the New Testament

• Defining “Autograph”

• Producing Documents in a Graeco-Roman World

• Understanding Technical Terms

• Amanuenses

• Use of External Source Material

• Exploring Ancient Texts Relevant to the Text of the New Testament

• Literary Intent and Occasion

Unit 4: Canonical Recognition of the New Testament Books

• Concept of Canon

• Early Development

• The Impact of Canon on Copying and Transmission

Unit 5: Manuscripts of the New Testament

• The Copying Enterprise

• The Innovation of the Codex

• Manuscript Types and Discoveries

• Papyri

• Uncials and Sinaiticus

• Using Textual Apparatuses in Logos

• Uncials: Alexandrinus

• Viewing Codex Sinaiticus in Logos

• Uncials: Vaticanus

• Uncials: Codex Bezae

• Minuscules

• Lectionaries

• Quotations from the Fathers

• Searching for New Testament Citations in the Early Church Fathers

• Early Versions of the New Testament

• Archaeological Factors in Dating Manuscripts

• Dating and the Forms of Manuscripts

• Dating and Paleography

• Carbon-14 Dating

• Manuscript Families

• Alexandrian Family

• Byzantine Family

Unit 6: The History of the Text’s Transmission

• The Early Centuries (1st–4th)

• The Byzantine Era (400–1516)

• The “Received Text” (1516–1633)

• Erasmus’ First Edition (1516)

• Erasmus’ First and Third Editions

• Later Editions of Erasmus’ Text

• The Period of Critical Research (1633–1881)

• Important Scholarly Work

• Westcott and Hort

• Positive Reaction to Westcott and Hort

• Negative Reaction to Westcott and Hort

• H. von Soden’s Text (1913)

• Eberhard Nestle (1898–1963)

• UBS First Edition

• UBS Third Edition and Nestle-Aland Edition

• Modern Majority Text Editions

• SBL Greek New Testament

• Comparing Major Editions of the Greek New Testament

Unit 7: The Impact of Textual History

• Pre-20th Century

• Evaluating Modern Translations

• The American Standard Version

• The Revised Standard Version

• The New American Standard Bible

• The New International Version

• The New King James Version

• The New Revised Standard Version

• The New English Translation

• The English Standard Version

Unit 8: Textual Criticism of the New Testament

• Preview of the Process

• Determining Variants

• Gathering Evidence: The Specialist

• Gathering Evidence: The Nonspecialist

• Using Digital Tools for Conducting Text-Critical Research

• Evaluating Evidence: Types of Variants

• Unintentional Variants: Word Division

• Unintentional Variants: Letter Confusion

• Unintentional Variants: Eye Skipping

• Unintentional Variants: Haplography

• Unintentional Variants: Dittography

• Unintentional Variants: Transposition

• Unintentional Variants: Faulty Hearing

• Intentional Variants: Clarifying the Text

• Intentional Variants: Conflation

• Intentional Variants: Harmonization and Smoothing

• Evaluating Variants

• Evaluating Variants: Internal Considerations

• Evaluating Variants: External Considerations

• Evaluating Variants: Logical Considerations

• Investigating the “Johannine Comma” with Various Tools

• Textual Criticism, Inspiration, and Inerrancy

Unit 9: The “King James Only” Controversy

• Preview of the Issue

• The Merit Argument

• The Providence Argument

• The Satanic Argument

• The Heresy Argument

• A Personal Note

Conclusion

• Course Summary

Product Details

• Title: NT281 How We Got the New Testament

• Instructor: Dr. Michael S. Heiser

• Publisher: Lexham Press

• Publication Date: 2014

• Product Type: Logos Mobile Education

• Resource Type: Courseware, including transcripts, audio, and video resources

• Courses: 1

• Video Hours: 4