Book Review: Thomas J. Kraus & Tobias Nicklas (eds), Early Christian Manuscripts. Examples of Applied Method and Approach (Texts and Editions for New Testament Study 5; Leiden: Brill, 2010). Pp. 243. ISBN 978 90 04 18265 3. Hardback €99/$141

Abstract

"The impressive new TENTS series continues here with a further volume of essays edited by Thomas Kraus and Tobias Nicklas. The emphasis in the volume as a whole is on individual manuscripts, with many of the essays devoted to particular manuscripts; others deal with broader methodological issues and/or groups of manuscripts. [2] An initial general essay by Thomas Kraus, ‘Reconstructing Fragmentary Manuscripts – Chances and Limitations’, highlights some important general issues for the unwary (or the hasty!) in relation to many manuscripts that have been, at least in part, reconstructed by their initial editors. The points made are in one way obvious, but sometimes necessary to articulate. Reconstructions of texts are often necessary if we are to try to make sense of what survives in a manuscript; but one must not forget that reconstructions, and suggestions about filling lacunae, can only be scholarly guesses: ‘scholarly’ in the sense of being as well-informed as possible, but at the end of the day only conjectures. Further, it makes a considerable difference whether one is trying to fill in the gaps of a text one knows from elsewhere (e.g. the NT) or whether the text is otherwise unknown. Kraus illustrates his points by reference to a number of famous papyri, including P.Ryl. III 457 (𝔓52, the famous fragment of John 18), P.Rain. Cent. 24, P.Mert. II 51, P.Vindob. G 2325 (the ‘Fayyum fragment’), and P.Oxy. IV 654 (Gospel of Thomas). Thus, for example, the unwary should not forget that any reference to ‘Pharisees’ in P.Mert. II 51 only comes in the reconstructed part of the text; and hence any appeal to the text for evidence about possible anti-Pharisaic tendencies can only be made with considerable caution. At the very least, the dots and brackets in a modern critical edition are often as important as the letters of the text!"(pg 1)