Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Most of us who contemplate the text and apparatus of a Greek NT probably feel much like the person Robert Hull quotes at the beginning of his book: "I look upon the textual critic as I look upon the man who comes to clean the drains. I should not like to do it myself, but I am very glad that someone likes to do it"! With that honest beginning, Hull proceeds to lead us on a highly user-friendly and engaging overview and introduction to this rather daunting and necessarily technical field.
He takes us through the different eras in the history of the field, from premodern, through modern, to postmodern, organizing his discussion under the alliterative heads in his subtitle: Movers, Materials, Motives, Methods, and Models. Professionals and laypersons will recognize in this alliteration the touch of an experienced teacher. Hull indeed strikes the right balance between doing justice to the complexity of the field and explaining it for novices.
Reserving his own judgments, Hull guides us with a deft hand through the perspectives of key players in the field and their approaches to the manuscript evidence, letting us sense complexity and need for careful research, while offering concise explanations and also communicating enthusiasm for the endeavor and appreciation for its fruits.
As someone who deals with postmodern approaches in biblical studies, I found particularly helpful his honest and non-prejudicial discussion of how the very modernist search for "the original text" is tending to give way in the postmodern era to a greater acceptance of variety in the textual witnesses.
I thoroughly recommend this book for those who are looking for a scholarly yet accessible introduction to the field.
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