Excerpt from Essentials of New Testament Study: Intended as a Companion to the New Testament, and Embracing an Introductory Account of the New Testament, A Resumé and Harmony of Gospel History, Tables of Weight, Measure, and Chronology, A Dictionary of Hard Words and Phrases, An Explanation of Obsolete

1. The Textus Receptus, or Received Text. - Our Authorised English Version of the New Testament was made from a Greek text prepared originally by Erasmus, and revised by Robert Stephens, a Parisian printer, and Theodore Beza, an eminent French Calvinist. Erasmus published his first edition in 1516, and his fifth edition, with which Stephens' is almost identical, in 1537. Theodore Beza's first edition was published in 1565.

In his first edition Erasmus only used such MSS. as he found at Basle, where he was then residing. In his fourth edition he availed himself of what is known as the Complutensian Polyglot (so called from Alcala, or Complutum, in Spain, where it was printed, under the direction of Cardinal Ximenes, in 1514, although not published until 1522). From what MSS. the Complutensian Polyglot was formed is not known. Theodore Beza used also a MS. known as the Codex Bezæ. now in the Cambridge University Library. It contains the four Gospels and Acts in Greek and Latin, and is generally supposed to be of the fifth or sixth century. He also used the Codex Claromontanus, an uncial MS. of the sixth century, containing the Pauline Epistles in Greek and Latin. This MS, is now in the National Library at Paris.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.