Francis Karl Alter (german: Franz Karl Alter) (1749–1804), a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, born in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

, and professor of Greek at

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, was an editor of the Greek text of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

Bruce M. Metzger Bruce Manning Metzger (February 9, 1914 – February 13, 2007) was an American biblical scholar, Bible translator and textual critic who was a longtime professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of the A ...

Bart D. Ehrman Bart Denton Ehrman (born 1955) is an American New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the origins and development of early Christianity. He has written and edited 30 books, including t ...

, "The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption and Restoration", ''

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

'', 2005, p. 168. His edition was different from those of

Mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

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, and Griesbach, because he used only the manuscripts housed at the Imperial Library at Vienna. S. P. Tregelles, ''The Printed Text of the Greek New Testament'', London 1854, p. 692. It was the first edition of the Greek New Testament that contained evidence from Slavic manuscripts themselves, as opposed to

Christian Frederick Matthaei Christian Frederick Matthaei (4 March 1744, in Mücheln – 26 September 1811), a Thuringian, palaeographer, classical philologist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally r ...

's editions (1803-7), also claimed (by

Bruce Metzger Bruce Manning Metzger (February 9, 1914 – February 13, 2007) was an American biblical scholar, Bible translator and textual critic who was a longtime professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of the A ...

) to be the first to contain evidence from the Slavic version of the New Testament. Alter used twelve manuscripts of the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

s ( U, 3, 76, 77,

108 108 may refer to: * 108 (number) * AD 108, a year * 108 BC, a year * 108 (artist) (born 1978), Italian street artist * 108 (band), an American hardcore band * 108 (emergency telephone number), an emergency telephone number in several states in Ind ...

123 123 may refer to: * The first three positive Arabic numerals * 123 (number), the natural number following 122 and preceding 124 * AD 123, a year of the Julian calendar, in the second century AD * 123 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar En ...

, 124,

125 125 may refer to: * 125 (number), a natural number *AD 125, a year in the 2nd century AD * 125 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *125 (dinghy) * 125 (New Jersey bus) See also * 12/5 (disambiguation) * Unbipentium An extended periodic table the ...

219 __NOTOC__ Year 219 ( CCXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antonius and Sacerdos (or, less frequently, year 972 '' ...

220 __NOTOC__ Year 220 ( CCXX) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antonius and Eutychianus (or, less frequently, year 973 '' ...

, 224,

225 __NOTOC__ Year 225 ( CCXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fuscus and Domitius (or, less frequently, year 978 ''Ab ...

), six of the

Acts The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...

(3, 43^a, 63^a, 64^a, 66^a, 67^a), seven of the

Pauline epistles The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest extan ...

(3, 49^p, 67^p, 68^p, 69^p, 70^p, 71^p), three of the

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...

( 34^r, 35^r, 36^r), and two Evangelistaria ( ℓ ''45'', ℓ ''46''). He also used readings from the Coptic Bohairic version (edited by David Wilkins in 1716), four Slavonic codices and one Old Latin codex ( i). Most of these Vienna codices were also examined by

Andrew Birch Andreas Birch (November 6, 1758 – October 25, 1829) was a professor from Copenhagen.Fr. NielsenBiografii 1. '' Dansk biografisk leksikon'', edited by C.F. Bricka, 2. volume, page 280, Gyldendal, 1887–1905 Birch was sent in 1781–1783 by the ...

. Marsh gave this opinion: : "The text of this edition is neither the common text nor a revision of it, but a mere copy from a single manuscript, and that not a very ancient one".Marsh, ''Lectures'', part II, 1848, p. 148. It was not the

Textus Receptus ''Textus Receptus'' (Latin: "received text") refers to all printed editions of the Greek New Testament from Erasmus's ''Novum Instrumentum omne'' (1516) to the 1633 Elzevir edition. It was the most commonly used text type for Protestant denomi ...

, and it was not an important edition for textual criticism, but Alter's comparison of Slavic and Greek texts did provide material for future textual criticism. Alter also edited

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

'' (1789) and ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

'' (1794) and wrote an essay on

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literature (1798).

Selected works

* * * * *

References

External links

at the ''Alfred Hamy's Jesuit Portrait Gallery''

ADB:Alter, Franz Karl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alter, Francis Karl 1749 births 1804 deaths 18th-century Austrian Jesuits 18th-century Christian biblical scholars New Testament scholars Austrian biblical scholars German scholars Academic staff of the University of Vienna People from Prussian Silesia People from Austrian Silesia Roman Catholic biblical scholars