Receptus

/rɛˈsɛptʊs/ noun

Definition

Short for 'Textus Receptus,' referring to the traditional Greek text of the New Testament that was widely used for centuries. It represents the received or accepted text upon which many Bible translations were based.

Etymology

From Latin 'textus receptus' meaning 'received text,' coined by Dutch printer Elzevir in 1633. The term became standard for referring to the Greek New Testament text compiled by Erasmus and later editors in the 16th-17th centuries.

Kelly Says

The Textus Receptus was based on only a handful of late medieval manuscripts, yet it dominated biblical scholarship for 400 years! Modern biblical scholars now use much older manuscripts discovered in the 19th and 20th centuries, revealing how textual traditions can shape religious understanding for centuries.

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