Coherence-Based Genealogical Method

The present paper seeks to explain a new method being used to edit the standard editions of the Greek NT used by scholars, students, pastors, and translators. Known as the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method, it has been used to edit the Catholic Epistles and is set for further use in editing the remaining books of the NT. Unfortunately, the method has so far induced incomprehension more than it has critical engagement. This is due in part to the density of current explanations of the method. The modest aim of this paper is to address this misunderstanding by offering a simple introduction. After setting the CBGM in the context of previous genealogical methods, the article explains the basic features of the method, the new tools it provides, and the preliminary results of its use. The conclusion suggests that the CBGM holds promise for editing the text of the NT and that it therefore deserves greater attention from NT scholars. An appendix offers an index of variants discussed in relation to the CBGM.

Recently, we have seen a lot of Princess Diana's sons on television as they have been remembering the anniversary of her untimely death. And, we hear about all the good that she had done. Granted, these things are true. But we have heard similar stories about people who were supposed to have been 'good', who, later, we found out to be less than the 'good' we thought that they were (Christopher Columbus, Mother Theresa, Father Serra, etc.). And we must also remember all of the popes who knew the truth about Christianity, but went on pretending that Christianity is 'good' and not a fraud. I'm not trying to say that the late Diana Spencer wasn't a good person, or that her sons are not. However, we do have to reexamine a lot of what we have been told, as well as what was presented to us in history and by whom.

The Syriac translation of the New Testament produced by Thomas of Harkel in AD 616 provides a rich source for studying the transmission of the Greek New Testament. In this case, its relationship to the Byzantine text in the Catholic Epistles is used to test the results of the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM), a new computerized tool being used to edit the standard editions of the Greek New Testament (NA28/UBS5). Against claims that the CBGM is not useful for understanding textual history, this study shows that, when used carefully, it can provide valuable clarity to our understanding. The results of this test have implications for the CBGM, for the textual worth of the Byzantine text, and for how all “texts” are related and evaluated.

The coherence-based genealogical method (CBGM) has become an “indispensable tool” for the editors of the most popular editions of the Greek New Testament (NA28/UBS5). Its results can be seen already in the Catholic Letters and soon in Acts as well. Until now, scholars have been restricted in their appraisal of the new method because they can only view the results of the editors’ own decisions about the “initial text” and not their own. Recently, however, a fresh installation of the CBGM was set up for the present author’s doctoral research. Presented here are the results of an important test done on this private installation which involved replacing the NA28 text with the Byzantine text as the CBGM’s “initial text.” Doing this shows us what happens to the results from the method when we invert the textual history assumed by most textual critics. This paper introduces the results from this test, discusses several unexpected implications from it, and publicizes for the first time the online results from this customized installation of the CBGM.

The Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM) is an important new development in textual criticism. What it is not, is easy to understand. Many have a referred to it as “black box,” seeing it as an impenetrable set of diagrams, terms, and data that require enormous patience and effort to understand. And the value of the CBGM for text-critical work has made it the new tool of choice for producing the standard scholarly editions of the Greek New Testament (NA28/UBS5). Given its value and importance for text-critical work, how can we bridge the gap of understanding between those who use these editions and those who create them using the CBGM? Following the publication of our introduction to the method, this paper will explore the challenges and opportunities of trying to teach the CBGM, both to students and to our colleagues in the guild.

Slides for a Q&A session about the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM) with staff at the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM).

Note: Some links to external files will not work from this isolated PDF; they should work in the version of the presentation hosted at https://github.com/jjmccollum/cbgm-csntm-talk.

This paper takes issue with the significant textual change of 2 Pet 3:10 from εὑρεθήσεται (NA27/UBSGNT4) to οὐχ εὑρεθήσεται (NA28/UBSGNT5) to argue that, based on both external and internal evidence, the editorial committee's decision should be reconsidered.

Thomas of Harkel’s seventh century Syriac translation has played a key role in understanding of the transmission of the Greek New Testament. The strict literalness of Thomas’s translation has enabled the identification of a group of Greek minuscules that lies close to the Vorlage. In the Catholic Epistles, this identification has been especially important as Klaus Wachtel has used it to suggest that the Harclean text is a midway point in the long, gradual development of the Byzantine text. This is in contrast to the prominent view of Westcott and Hort that the Byzantine text is the product of a formal recension in the fourth century. More recently, however, the application of the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM) has raised important questions about Wachtel’s history and, simultaneously, about the nature of the CBGM itself. This paper explores these tensions and the implications they hold both for our understanding of the development of the Byzantine text and for the CBGM itself as a tool for understanding the development of the New Testament text.

The text of ECM Acts is the result of applying the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM) to a full apparatus based on evidence from 183 Greek manuscripts, the early versions and patristic citations. The text was established by constructing a local stemma of variants for each variation unit in light of traditional internal criteria and coherence analyses. This paper will describe the progress brought about by the CBGM in comparison with conventional methods of reasoned eclecticism.

The proper consideration of the types of error introduced by scribes has been a longstanding aspect of text critical practice. Since the work of E. C. Colwell and later James R. Royse and others, the study of transcriptional evidence has been steadily advanced by careful attention to singular readings. But the absence of so many non-singular errors from the method raises questions about the representative value of its results. More recently, the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM) has been suggested by Holger Strutwolf as an appropriate corrective to the use of singular readings for understanding scribal practices. Because the CBGM is said to identify probable ancestors for each witness, it enables us to study the copying tendencies of scribes in much greater detail. These two methods—singular readings and the CBGM—offer differing approaches to a common problem: the detection of scribal copying habits. As yet, there is no sustained comparison of the two methods. This paper provides such a comparison by applying each method to the book of James. The results from each method are compared and evaluated for strengths and weaknesses. The conclusion offers brief suggestions for further research.