We are pleased to announce the publication of ECM Revelation, available now through the German Bible Society. The project, which took 12 years total to complete, was carried out in Wuppertal under the leadership of Martin Karrer with Darius Müller and Marcus Sigismund and a highly supportive team (including Matthias Geigenfeind, Peter Malik, Markus Lembke, Edmund Gerke, Nicola Seliger). We were also supported by Holger Strutwolf, Annette Hüffmeier, and Greg Paulson at the INTF in Münster relying on their software, digital tools, and years of experience as editors of previous ECM projects.

The Basics in Numbers

The edition comprises four volumes: the first volume contains the new initial text and the critical apparatus, the second volume includes supplementary material, and volumes three and four include studies on the text and studies on the punctuation and textual structure.

The new text of ECM Revelation contains 84 new initial readings, that is 84 places where the text of Revelation differs from the NA28, which will be considered by the editors for inclusion in the NA29.

In addition to the new initial readings, there are 95 orthographical differences from the NA28.

There are 106 split guiding lines in the new edition, meaning there were 106 places with at least two readings that were equally probable as the initial text. So, the editors decided to leave the textual decision open in these places.

In total, 110 manuscripts were chosen as the basis for creating the edition:

P18. P24. P43. P47. P85. P98. P115. 01. 02. 04. 025. 046. 051. 052. 0163. 0169. 0207. 0229. 0308. 0326. 35. 61. 69. 82. 91. 93. 104. 141. 177. 201. 218. 250. 254. 325. 367. 452. 456. 469. 498. 506. 522. 620. 632. 792. 808. 911. 1006. 1424. 1611. 1637. 1719. 1732. 1734. 1773. 1780. 1795. 1828. 1849. 1852. 1854. 1872. 1888. 2019. 2026. 2028. 2037. 2042. 2048. 2050. 2053. 2056. 2057. 2067. 2070. 2071. 2073. 2074. 2076. 2077. 2080. 2081. 2138. 2200. 2256. 2286. 2329. 2344. 2350. 2351. 2377. 2429. 2432. 2436. 2495. 2582. 2595. 2672. 2681. 2723. 2814. 2845. 2846. 2847. 2886. 2917. 2919. 2921. 2924. (L475. L546)

What’s New in this Edition?

Users may be interested to note that the ECM Apocalypse contains several apparatuses and many other new features. For example, all the nomina abbreviata and the orthographical variants of the many numbers in the biblical text are listed both in the guiding line and in the variant apparatus of the edition.

In addition, the Greek chapter divisions are documented in the segmentation apparatus, while the main strand of the transmission is shown in the header next to the Latin chapter numbering, too.

The edition also contains a third apparatus in which essential paratextual content of the Greek manuscripts of the Apocalypse is documented, in order to augment the study of the new initial text.

Other Highlights of the Edition

In addition to the well-established overviews, a few other highlights of the second supplementary volume are its overview of the biblical cross-references, a list of all singular readings as well as various lists of the orthography of the manuscripts selected for the edition. The Supplementary material is extremely rich, offering previously unexpected possibilities for research, particularly in the areas of studying scribal habits and the development of the Greek language.

In addition, two volumes including studies on the text and segmentation have been produced. The first volume comprises studies on the reconstruction of the initial text and the provided attestation. These include a comprehensive account of the outlines of the edition, a concise history of the text, and, finally, a meticulous text-critical commentary.

The second volume is dedicated to the Greek segmentation. It begins with a comprehensive methodological study on the segmentation, followed by a detailed commentary on segmentation, which is available in both German and English. The volume is complemented by several additional overviews of the segmentation of the manuscripts. Lastly, a running text of Revelation is given that offers the punctuation, Greek chapter divisions, and other features that are otherwise not possible to visualize in the format presented in the text volume—see image on the left.

Digital Tools

The digital edition in the NTVMR will soon be updated to include the latest version of the apparatus. As for all ECM editions, this will all be freely available here: https://ntvmr.uni-muenster.de/ecm

The CBGM will of course be made public soon as well. More on this to come!

In summary, the edition is designed to be accessible to the general public and offer all relevant data to facilitate fruitful future research on the new initial text and the transmission of the Apocalypse. We hope that this edition will be made available to all interested parties and that they will take advantage of the fruit of our labors.