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THE NEW TESTAMENT: AUTHORSHIP AND CORRUPTION 285

5. Textual Corruption

i. Variant Readings in the New Testament

Greek handwriting in antiquity consisted of two styles.The first was cursive,
written rapidly and used for everyday affairs.The second, much more formal,
was called uncial."

Figure 17.1: Example if Greek Uncial script. Note thatthe text lacks dividers
between adjacent words. Source: Metzget; The Text of the New Testament)
p. 10. Reprinted with the copyright holder's kindpermission.

In time the uncial script began to deteriorate, necessitating a script-
writing reform during the 9th century C.E. The resulting style was labelled
minuscule.V There are approximately 2800 fragmentary pieces of the NT
written in miniscule, and about one-tenth as many in uncial, but if we
limit ourselves to manuscripts containing the entire NT then the number
plummets dramatically: 58 in minuscule, and only one in uncial." These
figures are a cause for wonder; the number of complete copies in miniscule

31 Metzger, pp. 8-9.
32 ibid, p. 9.
33 ibid, pp. 262-3.