Textual Criticism and Sacred Texts

Reviews / Votes

This book presents the reader with an innovative suggestion of an interdisciplinary and comparative approach towards the various fields of textual analysis of sacred texts. With a strong background in Asian texts, and with laudable expertise in all forms of textual criticism, Signe Cohen succeeded in reviewing the many relevant aspects of this cross-disciplinary discussion. While doing so, and by focusing on Asian texts, she created a new dimension within the text-critical investigation. -- Emanuel Tov, Hebrew University In recent decades there has been a sea-change in the study of sacred texts. The ancient manuscripts are scattered across the globe in museums, libraries, and private collections and they are difficult to access. But now, high-resolution images of these ancient manuscripts are available online on any device, and comparisons of thousands of manuscripts now require only a few strokes on a keyboard. What we need is a global perspective on the development of sacred texts and that is what Textual Criticism and Sacred Texts provides. Drawing on sacred texts from India, China, the Middle East, Europe, and beyond, Prof. Cohen challenges us to reconsider their authority and power. Does their power come from a lost "authentic" original text, or are there always multiple meaningful versions? Did "accuracy" mean the same thing for scribes copying Hindu epics, Taoist philosophical treatises, Hebrew prophetic oracles, Christian canonical letters, and Qur'anic suras? And who gets the final word on sacred texts-academic specialists or religious practitioners? The global study of the transmission of sacred literatures has begun. -- Steven J. Friesen, The University of Texas at Austin