Alexandrian and Byzantine Texts

[SalesianSDB]

I just found out yesterday that there are two main texts of the Bible, the Alexandrian and the Byzantine. And from what I heard, modern translations depend on one or the other. So my question is, what is the difference between the two? Is one more ‘true’ than the other? And if so, how do we know? Does the Church approve one over the other?

Thanks. I’m really confused.

 

[Axion]

Actually there are three traditions of the New Testament. the Byzantine, the Alexandrian and the Western. Although modern scholars tend to undervalue the western texts.

The Byzantine and western texts were largely used until the 19th Century, when texts based on those preserved in Egypt were considered more accurate. Most modern versions use a New testament based more on the Alexandrian readings found in certain 5th Century translations. The differences are generally minor, but there are some verse differences with verses or sections of verses omitted in either version.

Academics still argue which is superior. There are far more Byzantine early texts, but of pre-6th century texts, Alexandrian dominates - however most of those texts come from Egypt - and therefore have a regional bias.

 

[COPLAND_3]

This is a science that can vary depending on which textual critic you read. There are 4 textual families that I am aware of, that is, the Byzantine, Western, Alexandiran, and Caesarean. And they are grouped into families based upon their similarities to each other, and divided based upon their differences. Most of the time they differ due to the locality where they were copied, and they are named after that location. Some manuscripts have a mixture of more than one textual family.

Some of the modern textual critics assume that the Alexandrian family is the most accurate because of the age of the manuscripts that have been discovered. But in my personal opinion that does not settle the arguement because one of the reasons why the Alexandrian manuscripts usually outdate the others is because of climate, the dryness of that area allows parchment and papyrus to decay much slower. I don’t doubt that the other textual families and their variant readings have been preserved very well by the scribes.

In my opinion I believe that the Biblical authors wrote their accounts more than once in order to publish them more abundantly, and that is one reason why we have some longer versions and some shorter versions, and variant readings. I wrote an artcle about this here litteralchristianlibrary.wetpaint.com/page/My+Theory+About+Variant+Readings