© 2000 by Association for Literary & Linguistic Computing
Editing the Greek New Testament on the threshold of the twenty-first century
Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung, Geogskommende 7, D-48143 Münster, Germany E-mail: wachtel@uni-muenster.de
The Editio Critica Maior of the New Testament aims to exhibit the history of the Greek text through its first millennium as documented in more than 5,000 manuscripts from the second century onward. It will provide scholars engaged in the tasks of exegesis and textual criticism with all the relevant materials found in Greek manuscripts, patristic citations, and the early translations. The first instalment of the paper edition containing the Letter of James appeared in 1997. All the material published so far and being prepared for the next instalment is stored in databases. Thus a fundamental requirement of a future electronic edition is met. Further steps in the same direction are being currently undertaken. Transcriptions are meanwhile entered directly using the Collate program. This will help to provide the facilities for external co-editors and coworkers to participate in the Münster edition project. With respect to all the promising prospects of the 'digital age', it is most important to concentrate on what is feasible now and to prepare for the transition to electronic editing at the same time.