This book is a major English-language introduction to the earliest manuscripts of the New Testament. An essential handbook for scholars and students, it provides a thorough grounding in the study and editing of the New Testament text combined with an emphasis on the dramatic current developments in the field. Covering ancient sources in Greek, Syriac, Latin and Coptic, it:Describes the manuscripts and other ancient textual evidence, and the tools needed to study themDeals with textual criticism and textual editing, describing modern approaches and techniques, with guidance on the use of editionsIntroduces the witnesses and textual study of each of the main sections of the New Testament, discussing typical variants and their significance.A companion website with full-colour images provides generous amounts of illustrative material, bringing the subject alive for the reader.

‘… anyone interested in the subject should drop whatever else they are doing and go and buy it … Brilliant, lucid, learned, nuanced, and able to look at things from lots of different angles. Also provocative, stimulating, informative and interesting.’

Peter M. Head - Lecturer in New Testament, Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge and Tyndale House

'Parker is brilliant … trained researchers will find in this book an impressive amount of useful and up-to-date information. … those taking their first steps in this thorny field will unquestionably take advantage of this volume either as a textbook or as a reference tool. It is unlikely that, while reading it, they will not be captured by the deep fascination for manuscripts its author transmits in every single page; that, perhaps, is the best lesson he gives.'

Source: Reformation

'… [Professor] Parker … admits, as all genuine scholars do, that 'I am struck by how little we know … about almost everything I have written about'. That one sentence should be sufficient proof of this book's value to any doubters.'

Source: Contemporary Review

'This is a wonderful book. An almost uncanny combination of erudition and common sense, it should be read by anyone interested in New Testament textual criticism.'

Kathleen Maxwell - Santa Clara University

'Clear and pedagogically creative, Parker’s book is a welcome and refreshing addition to the field.'

Will Deming - University of Portland

'I found reading Parker’s Introduction intellectually refreshing and enjoyable. Parker engages the study of the manuscripts and their texts in all their complexity with a sense of respect, curiosity and awe which is contagious. I recommend the text to any thoughtful reader who has ever wondered about the development and transmission of Christian thought and scriptures.'

David W. Odell-Scott - Kent State University