Fönster mot handskriftsvärlden

Abstract

After a brief summary of the general state of textul criticism, the article describes some recent developments in the field from the starting point of the author’s own research on the textual tradition of Jude’s Letter. In particular, the increasing interest in individual manuscripts and their contexts is discussed. The existence of unique textual variants in individual manuscripts, representing a particular reception of the text, point to the larger question to what degree the theology of the scribes has affected the New Testament text: Has the New Testament text been subject to an «orthodox corruption», as suggested by Bart D. Ehrman? A concrete methodological proposal is offered in order to test Ehrman’s thesis. Finally, another development is outlined, that has begun to revolutionize the field of manuscript study on a major scale, namely digitization. In Sweden there are at least 16 Greek New Testament manuscripts, the digitization of which is highly desirable.