Unbelieving critics have been scoffing at and mocking Desiderius (“Beloved”) Erasmus of Rotterdam for a long time. But he was the greatest scholars of his day, and Christians owe a lot to Erasmus.
2016 was the 500th anniversary of Erasmus first printed Greek text of the New Testament (1516 AD). “He dedicated his life to the study and publishing of the Bible and the writings from the earliest centuries of the Church. Erasmus was recognized throughout Europe as the greatest scholar of his day. The focus of his study was the Bible.” https://hc.edu/museums/dunham-bible...bits/erasmus-an-the-renaissance-of-the-bible/
Erasmus started out as an Augustinian monk and became a Catholic priest in 1492. But he left this occupation to become a scholar. Eventually he became a staunch Protestant, but wanted to reform the Catholic Church from within.
He went to England met John Colet at Oxford. Colet encouraged him to begin an intensive study of Greek. In 1504 he discovered a manuscript by Lorenzo Valla which compared the Latin Vulgate to the Greek, and showed the differences. This further encouraged Erasmus to intensify his biblical studies. In 1505 he printed Valla’s Adnotations Novum Testamentum, and in its preface wrote of the importance of recovering the true text of the Bible. Then he also made a Latin translation of the Greek New Testament, in order to compare it with the Latin Vulgate and show its errors. He also published many biblical works.
Erasmus wrote that “The most exalted aim in the revival of philosophical studies will be to obtain a knowledge of the pure and simple Christianity of the Bible.” (From Ad Servitium, as quoted by Jean D’Aubigne, History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, volume 1. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1853, 124) Erasmus was eloquent, a great linguist, and knowledgeable in the classics and in history. But he had a kind of conversion from classical literature to sacred letters.
Around 1491, fifty years after Gutenberg invented printing, Johann Froben established a printing house in Basel, Switzerland. This is where Erasmus had his Greek New Testament printed in 1516. He used only seven Greek manuscripts, and translated Revelation out of the Vulgate, but also informed his readers that he had done this, since he could not avail himself of the Greek. He called his printed New Testament Novum Instrumetum (a new instrument), and also included his Latin translation in parallel (to correct the errors of Jerome’s Vulgate).
Why did he dedicate this volume to Pope Leo X? Because he wanted to deflect his critics, who were objecting to the exposure of the Vulgate’s errors. Pope Leo X wrote a very complimentary letter, which he included in the second edition of his work. The Johannine Comma (1 John 5:7) was missing from his first two editions, but was included in his third edition. He said he could not find it in the manuscripts at his disposal, but it was in the Latin Vulgate. This was also because of pressure from his critics (but this verse belongs in the Bible, it is found in several manuscripts, and without it the passage is incomplete and makes no sense).
The first edition of Erasmus’ Greek Testament was rushed in order to be ahead of the Complutensian Polyglott (1522). Therefore he began revising and correcting it immediately for printing errors, and his second edition was called Novum Testamentum. His third edition contained further revisions. There were also two more editions (1527,1535) each one a further refinement. But Erasmus was eventually given access to the Polyglott, which he compared with his text, and found that generally they were identical. The Polyglott had used many other manuscripts, but it made little difference.
Martin Luther used his second edition for his German translation (1522), and John Calvin used the first and second editions for his commentaries. William Tyndale used the third edition to make an English translation directly out of Greek. They had no reservations about this printed Greek text.
While Erasmus did not break away from the Catholic Church (just like John Wycliffe long before him) he rejected its teaching in favor of justification by grace through faith, and the importance of Scripture as the foundation of faith. He also criticized the Roman clergy and the Catholic Church, and the Catholic Church made his writings “prohibited”.
After Erasmus, Robert Estienne (Stephanus) worked further on the Greek text of Erasmus, and used many more manuscripts. His 1550 edition became the Textus Receptus (Received Text) but only a few changes were made to that of Erasmus. Beza and the Elzevir brothers worked further on this text, and they had even more manuscripts. But in the end the text remained generally unaltered, and the differences are minor. The King James translators consulted all the editions, and used primarily those of Stephanus and Beza. So the Greek text of the KJV is a minor variation from the others, and Scrivener printed this text in 1881.
What is critical to understand is that the Received Text is representative of the entire body of Greek manuscripts. And the majority of manuscripts are a true representation of the original divinely inspired New Testament. Dean John William Burgon made this crystal clear in his book The Revision Revised.
I. And, first of all, the reader has need to be apprised (with reference to the first-named class of evidence) that most of our extant copies of the N. T. Scriptures are comparatively of recent date, ranging from the Xth to the XIVth century of our era. That these are in every instance copies of yet older manuscripts, is self-evident; and that in the main they represent faithfully the sacred autographs [originals] themselves, no reasonable person doubts.45 Still, it is undeniable that they are thus separated by about a thousand years from their inspired archetypes.(page 011)
Christians can therefore be completely confident that what they have in their hands is indeed the Word of God. And All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3:16,17)
2016 was the 500th anniversary of Erasmus first printed Greek text of the New Testament (1516 AD). “He dedicated his life to the study and publishing of the Bible and the writings from the earliest centuries of the Church. Erasmus was recognized throughout Europe as the greatest scholar of his day. The focus of his study was the Bible.” https://hc.edu/museums/dunham-bible...bits/erasmus-an-the-renaissance-of-the-bible/
Erasmus started out as an Augustinian monk and became a Catholic priest in 1492. But he left this occupation to become a scholar. Eventually he became a staunch Protestant, but wanted to reform the Catholic Church from within.
He went to England met John Colet at Oxford. Colet encouraged him to begin an intensive study of Greek. In 1504 he discovered a manuscript by Lorenzo Valla which compared the Latin Vulgate to the Greek, and showed the differences. This further encouraged Erasmus to intensify his biblical studies. In 1505 he printed Valla’s Adnotations Novum Testamentum, and in its preface wrote of the importance of recovering the true text of the Bible. Then he also made a Latin translation of the Greek New Testament, in order to compare it with the Latin Vulgate and show its errors. He also published many biblical works.
Erasmus wrote that “The most exalted aim in the revival of philosophical studies will be to obtain a knowledge of the pure and simple Christianity of the Bible.” (From Ad Servitium, as quoted by Jean D’Aubigne, History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, volume 1. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1853, 124) Erasmus was eloquent, a great linguist, and knowledgeable in the classics and in history. But he had a kind of conversion from classical literature to sacred letters.
Around 1491, fifty years after Gutenberg invented printing, Johann Froben established a printing house in Basel, Switzerland. This is where Erasmus had his Greek New Testament printed in 1516. He used only seven Greek manuscripts, and translated Revelation out of the Vulgate, but also informed his readers that he had done this, since he could not avail himself of the Greek. He called his printed New Testament Novum Instrumetum (a new instrument), and also included his Latin translation in parallel (to correct the errors of Jerome’s Vulgate).
Why did he dedicate this volume to Pope Leo X? Because he wanted to deflect his critics, who were objecting to the exposure of the Vulgate’s errors. Pope Leo X wrote a very complimentary letter, which he included in the second edition of his work. The Johannine Comma (1 John 5:7) was missing from his first two editions, but was included in his third edition. He said he could not find it in the manuscripts at his disposal, but it was in the Latin Vulgate. This was also because of pressure from his critics (but this verse belongs in the Bible, it is found in several manuscripts, and without it the passage is incomplete and makes no sense).
The first edition of Erasmus’ Greek Testament was rushed in order to be ahead of the Complutensian Polyglott (1522). Therefore he began revising and correcting it immediately for printing errors, and his second edition was called Novum Testamentum. His third edition contained further revisions. There were also two more editions (1527,1535) each one a further refinement. But Erasmus was eventually given access to the Polyglott, which he compared with his text, and found that generally they were identical. The Polyglott had used many other manuscripts, but it made little difference.
Martin Luther used his second edition for his German translation (1522), and John Calvin used the first and second editions for his commentaries. William Tyndale used the third edition to make an English translation directly out of Greek. They had no reservations about this printed Greek text.
While Erasmus did not break away from the Catholic Church (just like John Wycliffe long before him) he rejected its teaching in favor of justification by grace through faith, and the importance of Scripture as the foundation of faith. He also criticized the Roman clergy and the Catholic Church, and the Catholic Church made his writings “prohibited”.
After Erasmus, Robert Estienne (Stephanus) worked further on the Greek text of Erasmus, and used many more manuscripts. His 1550 edition became the Textus Receptus (Received Text) but only a few changes were made to that of Erasmus. Beza and the Elzevir brothers worked further on this text, and they had even more manuscripts. But in the end the text remained generally unaltered, and the differences are minor. The King James translators consulted all the editions, and used primarily those of Stephanus and Beza. So the Greek text of the KJV is a minor variation from the others, and Scrivener printed this text in 1881.
What is critical to understand is that the Received Text is representative of the entire body of Greek manuscripts. And the majority of manuscripts are a true representation of the original divinely inspired New Testament. Dean John William Burgon made this crystal clear in his book The Revision Revised.
I. And, first of all, the reader has need to be apprised (with reference to the first-named class of evidence) that most of our extant copies of the N. T. Scriptures are comparatively of recent date, ranging from the Xth to the XIVth century of our era. That these are in every instance copies of yet older manuscripts, is self-evident; and that in the main they represent faithfully the sacred autographs [originals] themselves, no reasonable person doubts.45 Still, it is undeniable that they are thus separated by about a thousand years from their inspired archetypes.(page 011)
Christians can therefore be completely confident that what they have in their hands is indeed the Word of God. And All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3:16,17)
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nevertheless, I greatly appreciate your work 
