The English Standard Version (ESV) is primarily based on specific foundational Hebrew and Greek manuscript traditions and their modern critical editions, rather than a single manuscript.
Foundational Texts for the ESV
The translators of the ESV utilized highly respected and widely accepted scholarly editions of the biblical texts.
Old Testament Basis
For the Old Testament, the ESV is based on the Masoretic Text. This is the traditional Hebrew and Aramaic text of the Jewish Bible, meticulously preserved and transmitted by Jewish scribes (the Masoretes) from the 7th to 10th centuries CE.
The specific edition used is the:
- Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS, 5th ed., 1997)
The BHS is a widely recognized critical edition of the Masoretic Text, representing the Leningrad Codex, the oldest complete manuscript of the Tiberian Masoretic Text.
New Testament Basis
For the New Testament, the ESV relies on critical editions of the Greek New Testament, which are products of extensive scholarly comparison of thousands of ancient Greek manuscripts.
The primary editions consulted are:
- The Greek New Testament (5th corrected ed., 2014), published by the United Bible Societies (UBS).
- Novum Testamentum Graece (28th ed., 2012), edited by Nestle, commonly known as the Nestle-Aland edition.
Both the UBS Greek New Testament and the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece are virtually identical in their text, differing only in their critical apparatus (footnotes detailing manuscript variations). They represent the consensus of modern textual scholarship regarding the most probable original Greek text based on the vast collection of available manuscripts.
Summary of ESV Textual Basis
To summarize the foundational texts for the ESV:
| Testament | Primary Text Tradition | Specific Modern Critical Edition(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Old | Masoretic Text | Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS, 5th ed., 1997) |
| New | Greek New Testament (Critical) | United Bible Societies (UBS) Greek New Testament (5th corrected ed., 2014) |
| Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece (28th ed., 2012) |
This meticulous approach ensures that the ESV's translation is grounded in the most rigorously researched and widely accepted editions of the original biblical languages.
