ESV Bible Interview: What about the Textus Receptus?
An intersting question was addressed by the ESV translation oversight committee today.
How did you determine the Greek text used for translation—did the Textus Receptus play any role?
The answer is pretty simple:
In almost every case, we used the standard critical text used in scholarship today, represented by the United Bible Society’s Nestle-Aland people. And so we pretty much stuck to that because it was very safe and very well-accepted by the academic community.
But if you continue to read the response, you’ll see that he addresses the question behind the question here…
The thing I appreciate most about this reply is the gracious tone of it. Not even necessarily the content, but the tone. Too often, those in translation scholarship circles have just outright dismissed the Textus Receptus, something that is near and dear (and a bit of a sacred cow) to many believers.
I think it is also helpful that they gave some credence to the TR, but only in that it contains phrasiology that some are “expecting” to see. One of the things I appreciate about the ESV is that it is pursuing accuracy without being bound by traditionalism or doctrinal presupositions, but are doing so in a manner of love and not arrogance.
I like the batman theme….it was a good movie…..
I appreciate you keeping me apprised as to the development of the ESV. I just thought I’d mention that tradition and presuppositions are only bad if they are wrong. Also, it may be humanly impossible to not have presuppositions influence your thinking. The only way to avoid having our erroneous ones from affecting your work is to have them checked and balanced by an abundance of counselors who don’t necessarily share your particular biases. Does the ESV translation committee have that?