Johann Martin Augustin Scholz
From Textus Receptus
Johannes Martin Augustinus Scholz (1794-1852), a pupil of Johann Leonhard Hug (1765-1846), professor from University of Bonn, travelled extensivelly throughout Europe and the Near East in order to find out manuscripts of New Testament. He added to the list of Greek manuscripts of the New Testament 616 new cursive manuscripts. His additions to the list of uncials comprise only three fragments of the Gospels Wa, Y, and N. These manuscripts were partially examined and collated by him.[1] Results of his work were published in 1830-1836.
The accession of fresh materials is marvellous. Scholz indicated codices 260-469 of the Gospels, 110-192 of the Acts, 125-246 of the Pauline epistles, 51-89 of the Apocalypse, 51-181 Evangelistaria, and 21-58 Apostoloi.[2]
Scholz collated entire text of five manuscripts 262, 299, 300, 301, 346. Another manuscripts he collated in the greater part (260, 270, 271, 277, 284, 285, 298, 324, 353, 382, 428.
Scholz divided all New Testament manuscripts into five families: two African (Alexandrian and Western), one Asiatic, one Byzantine, and one Cyprian. He was the first who emphasized the importance of ascertaining the geographical provenance. That point was elaborated by Streeter in 1924 ("theory of local texts"). Scholz, after some tentative attempts of classifying manuscripts, rejected this theory and adopted Bengel's division into two families, which he called the Alexandrian and the Constantinopolitan. He favourised the Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) family of manuscripts, but in 1845 he changed his preference for the Constantinopolitan.[3]
Works
- Reise in die Gegend zwischen Alexandrien und Parätonium, die libysche Wüste, Siqa, Egypten, Palästina und Syrien, Leipzig, 1822 (Reprint: Georg Olms Verlag, 2005)
- Biblisch-kritische Reise in Frankreich, der Schweiz, Italien, Palästine und im Archipel in den Jahren 1818, 1819, 1820, 1821: Nebst einer Geschichte des Textes des Neuen Testaments, Leipzig, 1823
- Die heilige Schrift des neuen Testaments übersetzt, erklärt und in historisch-kritischen Einleitungen zu den einzelnen Büchern erläutert, Varrentrapp, Frankfurt a. M., 1829
- Die heilige Schrift des alten Testaments., Frankfurt, 1830-1837
- Novum Testamentum Graece. Textum ad fidem Testium Criticorum recensuit, Lectionum Familias subjecit, Leipzig, 1830-1836 (2 Bände)
- Handbuch der biblischen Archäologie, Bonn, 1834
- Einleitung in die heiligen Schriften des alten und neuen Testaments, Köln, 1845
References
- 1. S. P. Tregelles, The Printed Text of the Greek New Testament, London 1854, p. 92.
- 2. Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose (1894). A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. 1. London: George Bell & Sons. p. 227.
- 3. Bruce M. Metzger, Bart D. Ehrman, "The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption and Restoration", Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 169.
