Editing Bible (section)

==Textual history==
{{See also|Biblical manuscript|Textual criticism}}
The original [[autograph]]s, that is, the original Greek writings and [[Biblical manuscript|manuscripts]] written by the original authors of the New Testament, have not survived.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ze16lRIzIzcC&dq=The+autographs%2C+the+Greek+manuscripts+written+by+the+original+authors%2C+have+not+survived&pg=PA9] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727111232/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ze16lRIzIzcC&pg=PA9&dq=The+autographs,+the+Greek+manuscripts+written+by+the+original+authors,+have+not+survived#v=onepage&q=The%20autographs%2C%20the%20Greek%20manuscripts%20written%20by%20the%20original%20authors%2C%20have%20not%20survived|date=27 July 2020}} Manuscripts and the Text of the New Testament: An Introduction for English Readers by Keith Elliott, Ian Moir – Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000, p. 9</ref> But, historically, ''copies'' of those original autographs exist and were transmitted and preserved in a number of [[Bible manuscript#Textual criticism|manuscript traditions]]. The three main textual traditions of the Greek New Testament are sometimes called the [[Alexandrian text-type]] (generally [[biblical minimalism|minimalist]]), the [[Byzantine text-type]] (generally [[biblical maximalism|maximalist]]), and the [[Western text-type]] (occasionally wild). Together they comprise most of the ancient manuscripts. Very early on, Christianity replaced scrolls with [[codex]]es, the forerunner of bound books, and by the 3rd century, collections of biblical books began being copied as a set.{{sfnm |Lim|2017|1p=47 |Ulrich|2013|2pp=103–104 |3a1=VanderKam|3a2=Flint|3y=2013|3loc=ch. 5 |Brown|2010|4loc=ch. 3(A) |5a1=Harris|5a2=Platzner|5y=2008|5p=22}}

Since all ancient texts were written by hand, often by copying from another handwritten text, they are not exactly alike in the manner of printed works. The differences between them are considered generally minor and are called [[Textual variants in the New Testament|textual variants]].{{sfn|Soulen|Soulen|2001|p=204}} A variant is simply any variation between two texts. The majority of variants are accidental, but some are intentional. Intentional changes were made to improve grammar, to eliminate discrepancies, to make Liturgical changes such as the doxology of the Lord's prayer, to harmonize parallel passages or to combine and simplify multiple variant readings into one.{{sfn|Black|1994|p=60}}