Lesson 4 | Decrypting Footnotes
The NET2 Notes
As it has already been stated, the NET2 translation has many more footnotes than you will find in other versions. Often, these footnotes are quite lengthy and technical. You might consider them advanced footnotes. If you can understand the NET2 footnotes, you can understand any!
But this does not mean that they are all out of your reach—at least to understand at a fundamental level. Let’s examine the four types of NET2 footnotes.
1. Translator’s Notes
These are footnotes that are driven by ambiguity in the original. While other versions will typically only indicate another translation possibility, the NET2 usually gives some explanation. For the most part, these explanations will be difficult for you to understand with precision unless you learn the original languages.
Luke 4 (NET2)
Without studying Greek, you will probably trip on the mention of a “first class condition” in this footnote. But that doesn’t mean you cannot do a Google search and gain some understanding. Once you have, the parentheses provided in the footnote makes a lot of sense.
2. Text-Critical Notes
While other versions may provide footnotes that make you aware of alternative readings (e.g. “Some manuscripts…”), the NET2 goes into detail and provides a short discussion.
Luke 4 (NET2)
You will recall that we noted two different translations of Luke 4:1 in the last lesson—Jesus either being led “[around] in the wilderness” or simply led “into the wilderness.” Here, we find a text-critical note in the NET2 that gives us some explanation. At first, I am sure it looks scary. But let’s see if we can understand it, given what we have learned this lesson.
First, we see the “MSS” abbreviation and find on our cheat sheet that it stands for manuscripts. The list of manuscripts that follow includes six uncials (the capital letters in English and Greek, along with the zero-prefixed number), two minuscules (numbers without the zero-prefix), and two others. These all read “into the wilderness” and the NET2 suggests that this might have been a scribal error motivated by how things are stated in Matthew 4:1. The footnote goes on to suggest that the manuscript evidence for “in the wilderness” is better, listing six uncials, six minuscules (two of which have vid, indicating an uncertain reading), and a few (“pc”) others.
How does this help you determine the correct original reading? In terms of the technical assessment of the manuscripts, it doesn’t. But knowing that “in the wilderness” has slightly better manuscript evidence while “into the wilderness” corresponds with Matthew 4:1 is worth something!
3. Study Notes
As demonstrated in the devotional for this lesson, these notes can be particularly insightful. However, you must recognize that they are more akin to the notes found at the bottom (or in a column) of a study Bible. They are interpretations—not just facts. So let us test them well and hold on to the good.
Luke 4 (NET2)
Good point!
4. Map Notes
This type of footnote will be discussed in a later lesson.