Printing and Modern Bibles — Translation Scholarship
Westcott and Hort Publish The New Testament in the Original Greek
AD 1881
Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort published an influential Greek text based on genealogical evaluation of manuscripts.
Full Account
After decades of comparison, Westcott and Hort argued that readings should be weighed according to manuscript relationships and internal evidence rather than decided by a simple count of copies. Their preference for early witnesses, especially Vaticanus, was influential and controversial. Later scholarship has revised elements of their theory while retaining the need to evaluate relationships among witnesses.
Historical Significance
Their edition helped move New Testament textual criticism toward explicit historical reasoning about manuscripts and readings.
People, Places and Sources
- Key people: Brooke Foss Westcott; Fenton John Anthony Hort
- Key places: Cambridge
- Languages: Greek
- Scripture: John 1:18