Biblical Basis for Comparing Manuscripts with Manuscripts

Introduction

The practice of comparing manuscripts with manuscripts is often criticized as a modern or skeptical activity. Yet when Scripture is allowed to interpret Scripture, the Bible itself establishes principles that require comparison, examination, and confirmation through multiple witnesses. Far from undermining faith, manuscript comparison aligns with the biblical pattern by which God preserves, verifies, and communicates His Word in history.

God Establishes Truth by Multiple Witnesses

Scripture consistently teaches that truth is confirmed through more than one witness.

Deuteronomy 19:15 states:
“One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin… at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.”

This principle is not limited to legal cases. It reflects God’s broader epistemology: truth is confirmed through plurality, not isolation. When applied to Scripture transmission, the existence of many manuscripts across regions provides multiple witnesses to the same text. Comparing manuscripts follows this God-given pattern.

Jesus affirms this same principle in John 8:17:
“It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.”

If doctrinal truth requires multiple witnesses, it follows that textual confidence also rests on multiple manuscript witnesses rather than a single isolated copy.

Scripture Was Copied, Circulated, and Compared

The Bible openly acknowledges that Scripture existed in multiple copies.

Colossians 4:16 says:
“And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.”

This verse presupposes multiple copies of apostolic letters circulating among churches. Once copies exist, comparison becomes unavoidable and necessary. The apostles did not command the churches to preserve a single master copy, but to share, copy, and read the text widely.

Similarly, Jeremiah 36 records that after the king destroyed a written scroll, God commanded Jeremiah to produce another copy:

Jeremiah 36:32:
“Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe… and there were added besides unto them many like words.”

This passage shows textual reproduction, expansion, and preservation through repeated copying. The existence of more than one scroll implies that faithful transmission involves comparison and recognition of continuity across copies.

God’s People Were Commanded to Examine Texts

The Bereans provide an explicit biblical example of textual comparison and verification.

Acts 17:11 states:
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (scriptures in plural forms)

The Bereans compared Paul’s spoken teaching with the written Scriptures. This establishes a divine mandate: claims must be tested against existing textual witnesses. The same principle applies when manuscripts differ—comparison is the faithful response, not blind acceptance.

Inspired Writers Used Variant Textual Forms

The New Testament writers frequently quoted the Old Testament with wording that differs from the Masoretic Hebrew text.

Hebrews 10:5 quotes Psalm 40:6 as:
“Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me.”

Psalm 40:6 reads:
“Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened.”

Despite the variation, Hebrews treats the quotation as authoritative Scripture. This demonstrates that divine authority is not bound to one exact wording. The presence of variant forms demands comparison, not denial.

God Preserves His Word Through Abundance, Not Scarcity

Ecclesiastes 12:12 observes:
“Of making many books there is no end.”

While not a statement about Scripture alone, it reflects the reality of textual abundance. God did not preserve His Word through one manuscript hidden from corruption, but through widespread copying and dissemination.

Jesus affirms preservation without specifying a mechanism in Matthew 24:35:
“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Words in plural forms)

The promise is absolute; the method is providential. Manuscript comparison is how the church recognizes that providential preservation across time.

Warning Against Adding Unbiblical Restrictions

Scripture explicitly warns against adding constraints God has not imposed.

Proverbs 30:5–6 states:
“Every word of God is pure… Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”

Insisting that God preserved His Word only through one manuscript line or one printed text adds a condition Scripture never states. Comparing manuscripts honors what God has given rather than restricting it.

Conclusion

The Bible itself provides the theological justification for comparing manuscripts with manuscripts. God establishes truth through multiple witnesses. Scripture was copied, circulated, and examined. Believers are commanded to test claims against the written Word. Inspired authors used variant textual forms without anxiety or apology.

Manuscript comparison is therefore not an act of unbelief, but an act of obedience. It follows the biblical pattern of verification, honors the providence of God, and refuses to elevate any single manuscript or textual form beyond what Scripture itself authorizes.