What is the Textus Receptus?

Answer

The Textus Receptus (Latin for “Received Text”) is a Greek New Testament that served as the textual foundation for the vernacular translations of the Reformation Period. It was a printed text, not a hand-copied manuscript, created in the 15th century to meet the need for a textually accurate Greek New Testament. As the Christian message spread, the books of the New Testament were not only carried along but also translated into the languages of the people receiving the message. During the transmission of the text, copies were predominantly made by Christians who lacked training in the task, resulting in little attention to the accuracy of the copies. With the proliferation of copies in various languages, it became evident that numerous differences and discrepancies existed among the versions. Consequently, it became clear that there was a necessity for someone to introduce textual criticism.

Undoubtedly, the invention of the printing press with movable type in the mid-fifteenth century transformed the world of literature. The first Bible to be printed in 1456 was the Latin Vulgate, also known as the Gutenberg Bible. Bible scholars of that era showed minimal interest in the Greek text of the New Testament; their Bible was the Latin Vulgate.

Subsequently, in the late fifteenth century, the Greek language, which had been unknown for centuries, was rediscovered in the West, the region of the Latin Church. With the revival of Greek and its adoption as the language of the people, the Latin Vulgate translation underwent a critical examination in comparison to the Greek original. Scholars identified numerous mistranslations or outright errors in the Vulgate. This discovery provided a rationale for printing the New Testament in its original Greek language.

Erasmus, a 15th-century Dutch theologian, working hastily to outpace the printing of a competing edition, sought out the most reliable manuscripts to compile a more accurate Greek New Testament.

Press another Greek New Testament being prepared in Spain, gathered together what hand-copied Greek manuscripts he could locate. He found five or six, the majority of which were dated in the twelfth century. Working with all the speed he could, Erasmus did not even transcribe the manuscripts; he merely made notes on the manuscripts themselves and sent them to the printers. The entire New Testament was printed in about six to eight months and published in 1516. It became a bestseller, despite its errors, and the first printing was soon gone. A second edition was published in 1519 with some of the errors having been corrected.

Erasmus published two other editions in 1527 and 1535. Stung by criticism that his work contained numerous textual errors, he incorporated readings from the Greek New Testament published in Spain in later editions of his work. Erasmus’ Greek text became the standard in the field, and other editors and printers continued the work after his death in 1536. In 1633, another edition was published. In the publisher’s preface, in Latin, we find these words: “Textum ergo habes, nunc ab omnibus receptum,” which can be translated as “the [reader] now has the text that is received by all.” From that publisher’s notation have come the words “Received Text.” The Textus Receptus became the dominant Greek text of the New Testament for the following two hundred and fifty years. It was not until the publication of the Westcott and Hort Greek New Testament in 1881 that the Textus Receptus lost its position.

The Textus Receptus lost its prominent position as a basis of biblical textual interpretation due to the inception of textual criticism. Influential scholars paved the way for the acceptance of a critical text. The work of Westcott and Hort brought about the final dethronement of the Textus Receptus and the establishment of the principle of a critical text. However, the Textus Receptus is not a “bad” or misleading text, either theologically or practically. Technically, however, it is far from being perfect.

From the original text. However, three centuries passed before scholars successfully replaced this hastily assembled text with a version that was closer to the New Testament Autographs.

Many regard the King James Version of the Bible as the pinnacle of English Bibles. Even in the early seventeenth century, the Greek text used for the KJV was the Textus Receptus. Both Luther and Tyndale translated the Scriptures into their respective languages using the same fundamental Greek text. Luther used the second edition of the Erasmus New Testament, while Tyndale utilized the third edition.

Regardless of one’s stance on the Textus Receptus, it is clear that it had a significant impact on preserving God’s inspired Word over many centuries. Textual criticism of the Scriptures is undeniably crucial, and all scholars and students of the Word of God should apply its principles to fulfill the biblical directive, “Study to show yourselves approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth’ «Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. », (2 Timothy 2:15).