How were ancient manuscripts translated?

The translation of ancient biblical manuscripts involved a complex process beginning with textual criticism—the scholarly discipline of reconstructing the original text before any translation could occur. Scholars first had to make decisions about the original text through a process called textual criticism.[1] This step was essential because the large number of variant readings in ancient biblical manuscripts made translating from Hebrew or Greek into modern languages a complicated matter.[1]

The variants arose naturally during the manuscript transmission process. Since all ancient manuscripts were copied by hand, differences inevitably accumulated between copies regardless of copyist care.[2] Some scribes deliberately deviated from their source texts, often believing they were correcting previous errors, though they sometimes produced new variant readings; in rare cases, scribes made deliberate theological changes.[1]

To reconstruct the original wording, text critics compared surviving scrolls, codices, and fragments in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic alongside translations in Syriac, Ethiopic, and Latin to make the best possible reconstructions of the original text.[2] New Testament textual critics weighed both external evidence—the textual witnesses themselves—and internal evidence, giving preference to variant readings with earliest attestation, widest geographical distribution, and support from the most reliable text-types.[1] Scholars also employed ancient translations and quotations from the New Testament in early Christian writings, though these ancient versions required retranslation into Hebrew or Greek, which wasn’t always accurate.[1] Only after establishing the most reliable text could translators proceed with rendering it into modern languages.

[1] David S. Dockery, ed., Holman Bible Handbook (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1992), 104.

[2] Victor H. Matthews, Studying the Ancient Israelites: A Guide to Sources and Methods (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: Baker Academic; Apollos, 2007), 105.