Heretic Johann Jakob Griesbach
(1745-1812)
A modern textual criticim. A critic of the Word of God, King James Bible, The Received Text. Probally the most important name in modern textual criticism.
Westcott and Hort said on some things, "above that of every other textual critic of the New Testament" (New Testament in Greek, 1881, vol. 2, page 185). They took his principles of textual criticism and made them popular in their own writings.
Bruce Metzger observes: "Griesbach laid foundations for all subsequent work on the Greek text of the New Testament...The importance of Griesbach for New Testament textual criticism can scarcely be overestimated" (Metzger, The Text of the New Testament, pages 119 & 121).
Griesbach was heavily influenced by his modernistic teacher Johann Semler (1725-1791).
Griesbach was closely associated with the modernist W.M.L. de Wette.
Griesbach's texual criticism was well accepted by Christ-denying Unitarians, Modernists, and Cultists, and rejeeted by Bible believers of his day: Martin Scholz, Matthaei, Birch, and Frederick Nolan.
Rejected tha the entire cannon of Scripture was infallibly inspired.
Grouped the manuscripts into three families: Alexandrian, Western, and Bryzantine. He favored any above the bryzantine.
Denied biblical preservation.
First to speak against Mark 16:9-20 and to omit it from the Greek New Testament.
Favored the work of Origen.
