There are thousands of manuscripts (handwritten copies) of the Greek New Testament. 90% or more of those manuscripts are in virtual agreement. In 1516, Erasmus chose a handful of manuscripts to produce the first Greek text (printed copy). He and others revised that text several times. It was the basis of the King James Version (1611) and, later, the New King James Version. In 1633, it was called the Textus Receptus, a Latin phrase meaning the "received text."
In the 19
th
century, two earlier manuscripts were discovered. The thousands of manuscripts of the New Testament that were known before that were dated from the fifth century and later. Vaticanus and Sinaiticus were from the fourth century and they had many differences from the vast majority of manuscripts. Because they were closer to the time when the New Testament was written, it was decided that they were more accurate reflections of the New Testament. All modern translations are based on those two manuscripts, including the ASV, RSV, NASB, NIV, ESV, etc.
To complicate matters, in the latter part of the 20
century, the vast majority of manuscripts were edited to produce three versions of the "traditional text." These are named the Majority Text, the Byzantine Text, and Family 35.
In the
Greek Text Issue
, Michael Cocoris simplifies this complex subject, demonstrates the major differences between the five versions of the Greek text, and explains how this affects the major modern English translations. Regardless of your point of view, this material will provide information to help you understand the complex issue of the Greek text of the New Testament and which English translation should be used for serious Bible study.