Most studies of ancient New Testament manuscripts focus on individual readings and textual variants. This book, however, draws attention to, and attempts to advance, study of the textual and paratextual features of New Testament manuscripts. After defining paratext, the contributors discuss key manuscript characteristics, including headings, introductions, marginal comments, colophons, layout features such as margins, columns, spacing, and reading aids such as segmentation, paragraphos, ekthesis, coronis, and rubrication. The goal of this book is to explore how textual criticism goes beyond individual readings and includes studying the history of texts and their perceivable features.

Authorship and Greek Song is a collection of papers dealing with various aspects of authorship in the song culture of Ancient Greece. In this cultural context the idea of the poet as author of his poems is complicated by the fact that poetry in archaic Greece circulated as songs performed for a variety of audiences, both local and “global” (Panhellenic). The volume’s chapters discuss questions about the importance of the singers/performers; the nature of the performance occasion; the status of the poet; the authority of the poet/author and/or that of the performer; and the issues of authenticity arising when poems are composed under a given poet’s name. The volume offers discussions of major authors such as Pindar, Sappho, and Theognis.

A systematic and chronological investigation into the nature and development of end-titles in papyrus rolls and codices of hexameter poetry from the 3rd century BC to the 6th century AD. The bulk of the evidence for presentation of hexametric verse derives from Homeric papyri (51 papyrus copies), although Hesiod's Theogony, Works & Days, and Shield (two), and Oppian's Halieutica likewise supply data (one). For comparative purposes the author also provides a sampling of end-titles in non-epic genres. The discussion of individual papyri and summation of the results are rich and informative. Includes bibliographical references, charts with comparative statistics, and pertinent indices.

The primary purpose of the Checklist is to provide for scholars and librarians a ready bibliography of all monographic volumes, both current and out-of-print, of Greek, Latin, Demotic, and Coptic texts on papyrus, parchment, ostraca, or wood tablets. A secondary purpose of the original checklist (first published in 1974) was to establish a standard list of abbreviations for editions of Greek texts. Now this has been largely achieved, this edition aims to expand standardized abbreviations to cover Coptic and Demotic material. In general, this volume offers more complete coverage of Demotic material than ever attempted before; it is especially valuable since this is a growing area of study that lacks bibliographic resources and standard notations.

Perspectives on New Testament Textual Criticism, Volume 2, with articles published during 2006-2017, treats many aspects of New Testament textual criticism, emphasizing the criteria for constructing the earliest attainable text, and extracting stories told by “rejected” variants that illuminate issues in the early Christian churches.

As distinct from the extant studies of ancient canonical texts, which focus either on literary (Greco-Roman) or religious (Judeo-Christian) canons, the present volume aims at bridging between these two fields by proposing the first comparative study of canon. An international team of experts discusses the processes of canon-formation in societies of the ancient world, addressing such issues as canon and the articulation of identity; the hermeneutical attitude toward canonical texts; textual fixity and openness; oral and written canons; methods of transmission, and more. Among the topics discussed are Mesopotamian canons; Zoroastrianism; the Bible; Homer; literary and philosophical canons in ancient Greece and Rome; the New Testament; the Roman law; Rabbinic Judaism and Kabbalistic literature. The future of the so-called Western Canon is one of the most hotly debated issues of the day. There is reason to believe that what is perceived today as a unique crisis, can be put into perspective by students of ancient societies, for the simple reason that the ancient world offers us the historical perspective of civilizations as a whole and allows us to study cultural phenomena in the longue durée.

This collection of frequently cited articles and chapters published from 1962 to 2004 provides perspective on the history and development of New Testament textual criticism, with descriptions and critique of the major text-critical theories and methods. Specific manuscripts and text-types, such as the Codex Bezae and the D-text are discussed, as well as issues such as anti-Judaic tendencies, the ascension narratives, and the relationship of text and canon. Many of the essays from the last fifteen years emphasize the earliest period and papyrus manuscripts, particularly those found at Oxyrhynchus, and assess their socio-cultural and intellectual contexts, while articles from the last five years advocate or engage the more controversial aspects of current New Testament textual criticism, especially the issue of 'original text'.