Lesson 4 | Decrypting Footnotes
What We’ve Learned
You are not yet an expert. Neither am I. But you have broken through the wall of intimidation that was blocking you from understanding footnotes!
Discovery! Cheat SheetpdfPrint off this single-sided reference to accompany your study throughout this course and beyond.
What We Now Know
Old Testament
- Translations of the OT use the Masoretic Text as their primary source
- Other OT sources are the Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Samaritan Pentateuch
New Testament
- Translations of the NT typically work from the Nestle-Aland (NA, NA28) critical text
- NT manuscripts come in three types: papyri, uncials, and minuscules
- NT manuscripts are from three text families: Alexandrian, Western, and Byzantine
Yellow footnote dots come after the word(s) they relate to as found in the ESV, NIV11, and NET2. They come before in the NASB.
There are four types of NET2 footnotes:
- Translator’s Notes
- Text-Critical Notes
- Study Notes (interpretations, not just facts)
- Map Notes
What We Don’t Know
- How to fully weigh the validity of alternate readings But… you will be able to better understand arguments commentators and preachers make on the subject.