Report Card: The New SBL Greek New Testament

The latest entry in the Critical Greek New Testament competition is the SBL GNT edition (2010). The author/editor of this text (Michael Holmes) admits its flavor and provides the statistical agreement himself.

Holmes gives the following stats:

out of 6,928 significant variant-units (VUs), there are . . .

SBL—WH: agrees 6,049 times, disagrees 879  (= 87% with WH)

SBL-NA27: agrees 6386, disagrees 542 (= 92% with NA)

SBL—RP:  agrees 969, disagrees 5,959 (= 14% Agrees with RP)

SBL Alone: goes against all 56 times* (* = WH margin 30x)

Thus if "agreement" is weighed by VU count, it appears Holmes has closely followed the viewpoint of other modern Eclecticists such as the Alands (NA27), and generally, is reproducing the W/H Text (i.e., the Alexandrian text-type based on Aleph/B),  with a few reversals and modern preferences.

Thus in spite of supposed 'advances', we still stand with two basic competing texts, the Traditional text (Byzantine, TR, HF, RP, =KJV NT etc.), and the Critical Text ('Alexandrian', WH, NA, SBL etc.).

 If we just consider significant omissions (ignoring spelling and single-word differences) the agreement between the new SBL GNT and W/H shoots up to 96% !! (e.g., Matthew's Gospel):

Matthew
verse	whole/half-verses omitted	WH	SBL
5:27	τοις αρχαιοις	Om	Om ·
5:44 (a)	ευλογειτε τους καταρωμενους υμας καλως ποιειτε τους μισουντας υμας	Om	Om ⸀
5:44 (b)	επηρεαζοντων υμας και	Om	Om ⸀
6:13	οτι σου εστιν η βασιλεια και η δυναμις και η δοξα εις τους αιωνας αμην	Om	Om ⸀
12:47	(whole verse)	Om	In ⸢ ⸣
13:51	λεγει αυτοις ο ιησους	Om	Om ⸀
15:5-6	η την μητερα αυτου (h.t.)	Om	Om ·
15:8	τω στοματι αυτων και	Om	Om ⸢ ⸣
19:9	καὶ ὁ ἀπολελυμένην γαμήσας μοιχᾶται	Om	In ⸢ ⸣
19:20	-μην εκ νεοτητος μου	Om	Om ·
20:7	και ο εαν η δικαιον ληψεσθε	Om	Om ⸢
20:16	πολλοι γαρ εισιν κλητοι ολιγοι δε εκλεκτοι	Om	Om ⸢
20:22	και το βαπτισμα ο εγω βαπτιζομαι βαπτισθηναι	Om	Om ⸢
20:23	και το βαπτισμα ο εγω βαπτιζομαι βαπτισθησεσθε	Om	Om ⸢
22:13	αρατε αυτον και εκβαλετε / εκβαλετε αυτον	Om	Om ⸢ ⸣
23:4	και δυσβαστακτα	Om	Om ⸢ ⸣
23:5	των ιματιων αυτων	Om	Om ⸀
25:13	εν η ο υιος του ανθρωπου ερχεται	Om	Om ⸀
26:3	και οι γραμματεις	Om	Om ⸀
26:60	προσελθοντων ουχ ευρον	Om	Om ⸀
27:35b	ινα πληρωθη το ρηθεν υπο του προφητου διεμερισαντο τα ιματια μου εαυτοις και επι τον ιματισμον μου εβαλον κληρον	Om	Om *
28:2	απο της θυρας	Om	Om ⸀
28:9	ως δε επορευοντο απαγγειλαι τοις μαθηταις αυτου	Om	Om ⸀
23 VUs	SBL - W/H = 96% agreement in Matthew	23	22/23

So we see that all the talk of distancing the modern critical text from the "errors" of Westcott & Hort is still just a bunch of hand-waving and hot air.

The Critical Greek text has not been altered to any significant degree, since 1882.

mr.scrivener