Books by D. C. (University of Birmingham) Parker

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 them * Deals with textual criticism and textual editing, describing modern approaches and techniques, with guidance on the use of editions * Introduces 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.

This book represents an important departure in Gospel studies and textual criticism. Parker offers a way of reading the Gospels which treats seriously the fact that they first existed as manuscripts. He argues that the search for an original text of the Gospels is a misunderstanding of the manuscript tradition of the early church.