Yesterday, OakTree Software released the new 28th edition of the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece (or Greek New Testament) for Accordance Bible Software. The NA28 first appeared near the end of 2012 in print, but the electronic edition in Accordance allows for much greater flexibility in its use. The Accordance edition of the NA28 takes the content of the hard copy and separates it into three distinct modules that can run in sync together or with other New Testament texts and reference tools, such as commentaries. The three modules include the text itself, the critical apparatus and a separate cross reference tool.
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Text, apparatus, and cross references. Click on the image to see fullscreen. The changes between the 27th and 28th edition are not earth shattering in what I've looked at so far, but all who are interested in the latest developments in New Testament studies will want this update. The official website of the Nestle-Aland text contains a basic summary of the changes:
- Newly discovered Papyri listed
- Distinction between consistently cited witnesses of the first and second order abandoned
- Apparatus notes systematically checked
- Imprecise notes abandoned
- Previously concatenated notes now cited separately
- Inserted Latin texts reduced and translated
- References thoroughly revised
- New reconstruction of the text
- Defining the Consistently Cited Witnesses for the Catholic Letters
There are 34 changes in the 27th and 28th editions of the text, and these occur only in the Catholic Letters. If you already have the 27th edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek text, you can use Accordance's compare feature to immediately see the differences between the two editions:
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Comparing the NA27 & NA28. Click on the image for a larger view.Rick Bennett has put together a fantastic video exploring the NA27 in Accordance that easily demonstrates the flexibility and superiority of a tagged electronic biblical text over a regular print edition. The video clocks in at 6:50 minutes and is well worth your time.
New users will pay $109 for the NA28, but there is also upgrade pricing available for those who own an earlier edition of the Greek New Testament. See details at the Accordance website.
As always, your questions, thoughts, comments and rebuttals are welcome.