Starting with Textual Criticism:
NRSV
In Skeptical Textual Criticism Internal Evidence and The Difficult Reading Principle are exponentially weightier1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way;
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,' "
evidence than External Evidence so Internal Evidence will be analyzed first. The main components of Internal
evidence in order of importance are:
- Theme
Style
Language
- 0 = little or no difference
1 = Light difference
2 = Medium difference
3 = Heavy difference
Theme:
1:1-3 | GMark in General | Commentary | Weight |
All about Jesus | All about reaction to Jesus | Not much difference here. "son of God" is likely an addition here since there is no Greek support until the 4th century (not an interesting textual criticism issue for Skeptical Textual Criticism). | 1 |
Simple | Complicated | The verses here are straight-forward which is the opposite of GMark in general. GMark is full of irony and difficult to understand meanings which lead to misunderstanding on the part of the characters. | 3 |
Editorial comment gives conclusion | Reader makes conclusions based on narrative | GMark is long on narrative and short on editorial comment so the reader makes conclusions based on the narrative. | 3 |
Edit The Jewish Bible to fit conclusion | Edit The Jewish Bible to fit conclusion | A match and the best reason to think the offending verses are either original or merely edited. | 0 |
Note that all differences (Focus on Jesus, simplicity, editorial comments) move GMark towards orthodox Christianity (surprise). The heavy differences, simple verses complicated, and editorial verses narrative, suggest the possibility that the changes go beyond editing to wholesale addition.
Next up is Style.
Joseph
Skeptical Textual Criticism