The Greek New Testament by Biblica: An Introduction

This contribution introduces The Greek New Testament by Biblica, a new critical edition of the text of the Greek New Testament. Based on extensive research of the manuscript evidence, this edition intends to serve Bible translators, students, and researchers across the globe. This paper describes the need that this text is trying to meet and it highlights the project’s methodology and the editorial decision-making process. Its quality assurance procedures include double blind editing, reconciliation, peer review, decision logs, computational consistency profiling, and a post-hoc comparison with other editions.

Besides the text itself, this paper gives attention to the corollary datasets and tools that help translators, notably the online app and the extensive apparatus of manuscripts and other editions. The quality of the text, its editorial process, and its open license make the edition a valuable tool for translators, consultants, and publishers. The text offers translators and researchers with limited access to the source text an opportunity to explore how they can embed original languages in their translation, quality assurance and engagement processes.

Addressing the ethical challenges of the project, this paper addresses the rationale for creating another edition, although well-established editions exist. In particular, it highlights the needs and priorities of the target audience as a moral imperative. Besides the challenge to make the source text as widely available and easily accessible as possible, a reliable, reputable source text is the foundation for joint innovation and collaboration on datasets, commentaries, and translation helps across borders.