--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All we can say is that, as the result of…" description: "\"All we can say is that, as the result of a process which went on from the fourth century to about the eighth, a standard type of text was produced, whi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/frederic-g-kenyon-32439_adoption_all-we-can-say-is-that-as-the-result-of_2144303.jpg" --- # All we can say is that, as the result of a process which… ![“All we can say is that, as the result of a process which went on from the fourth century to about the eighth, a standard type of text was produced, which is found in the vast majority of the manuscripts that have come down to us. At least ninety-six per cent of the extant manuscripts of the Greek…” quote by Frederic G. Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/frederic-g-kenyon-32439_adoption_all-we-can-say-is-that-as-the-result-of_2144303.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/frederic-g-kenyon-32439_adoption_all-we-can-say-is-that-as-the-result-of_2144303.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/frederic-g-kenyon-32439_adoption_all-we-can-say-is-that-as-the-result-of_2144303.jpg) > “All we can say is that, as the result of a process which went on from the fourth century to about the eighth, a standard type of text was produced, which is found in the vast majority of the manuscripts that have come down to us. At least ninety-six per cent of the extant manuscripts of the Greek New Testament are later than the eighth century; and of those only a handful preserve traces of the other types of text which were in existence before the adoption of the standard text, and out of which it was created.” [Frederic G. Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-g-kenyon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Most surviving Greek New Testament manuscripts were standardized after the 8th century, erasing earlier textual diversity. **In simple terms:** Later manuscripts dominate, hiding earlier versions. Key Takeaway Study early textual variants for fuller insight. Themes history textual criticism canon preservation Mood inquisitive scholarly Type historical academic When to use this quote - academic research - theology - translation - education Key Concepts biblical studies philology Questions to Reflect On - What lost voices remain in early texts? - How does standardization shape doctrine? A Different Perspective Standardization may obscure original meanings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adoption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adoption/) [Cents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cents/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Extant Manuscripts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extant-manuscripts-4477563/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Fourth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fourth/) [Greek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greek/) [Handful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handful/) [Majority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majority/) [Majority Manuscripts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majority-manuscripts-4477564/) [Manuscripts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manuscripts/) [Manuscripts Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manuscripts-come-2395154/) [Manuscripts Greek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manuscripts-greek-4477565/) [New testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-testament/) [Ninety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ninety/) [Preserves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preserves/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Six](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/six/) [Standard Text](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standard-text-4477566/) [Standards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standards/) [Testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testament/) [Type](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/type/) ## Related quotes > [Your book may be a masterpiece but do not suggest that to the publisher because many of the most hopeless manuscripts that have come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-unwin/your-book-may-be-a-masterpiece-but-do-not-suggest-that-to-the/) [Stanley Unwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-unwin/) > [A lot of manuscripts that come in, you wonder by what outrageous fantasy the author believes that this should be pressed into print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/a-lot-of-manuscripts-that-come-in-you-wonder-by-what-outrageous/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [I take editing seriously. 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That will soon seem old-fashioned, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-love-the-process-of-cracking-the-spine-for-the-first-time-and/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [The usual way - through a long series of rejections, revising my manuscripts, and kept trying again and again. Finally I was fortunate enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/the-usual-way-through-a-long-series-of-rejections-revising-my/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [If Elmore Leonard met Jim Thompson down a dark alley at midnight they might emerge a week later with thick beards, bloodshot eyes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/if-elmore-leonard-met-jim-thompson-down-a-dark-alley-at-midnight-they/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [To me, all the juice of a book is in an unpublished manuscript, and the published book is like a dead tree - just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/to-me-all-the-juice-of-a-book-is-in-an-unpublished-manuscript-and-the/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [A thing may in itself be the finest piece of writing one has ever done, and yet have absolutely no place in the manuscript…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-forche/a-thing-may-in-itself-be-the-finest-piece-of-writing-one-has-ever/) [Carolyn Forche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-forche/) > [My first three manuscripts were epic fantasy - like high fantasy - and then the fourth one was a historical fantasy about Mozart as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/my-first-three-manuscripts-were-epic-fantasy-like-high-fantasy-and/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [To refer even in passing to unpublished or struggling authors and their problems is to put oneself at some risk, so I will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/to-refer-even-in-passing-to-unpublished-or-struggling-authors-and/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) ## More by Frederic G. Kenyon > [Seldom can two such epoch-making events have occurred in successive years as happened then. In 1453 the Turks stormed Constantinople and finally destroyed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-g-kenyon/seldom-can-two-such-epoch-making-events-have-occurred-in-successive/) [Frederic G. Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-g-kenyon/) > [The New Testament was not produced as a single work issued by an authoritative Church for the instruction of its members. The four Gospels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-g-kenyon/the-new-testament-was-not-produced-as-a-single-work-issued-by-an/) [Frederic G. Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-g-kenyon/) > [It is indeed a striking proof of the essential soundness of the tradition that with which all these thousands of copies, tracing their ancestry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-g-kenyon/it-is-indeed-a-striking-proof-of-the-essential-soundness-of-the/) [Frederic G. Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-g-kenyon/) > [The history of the Bible text is a romance of literature, though it is a romance of which the consequences are of vital import;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-g-kenyon/the-history-of-the-bible-text-is-a-romance-of-literature-though-it-is/) [Frederic G. Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-g-kenyon/) > [The Gospels were not thought of as works of literature. People were not concerned with the literary reputation of Matthew or Mark, but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-g-kenyon/the-gospels-were-not-thought-of-as-works-of-literature-people-were/) [Frederic G. Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-g-kenyon/) > [The last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-g-kenyon/the-last-foundation-for-any-doubt-that-the-scriptures-have-come-down/) [Frederic G. Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-g-kenyon/) > [The apostles were scattered, and even the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem had neither the power nor the means to impose uniformity.In these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-g-kenyon/the-apostles-were-scattered-and-even-the-leaders-of-the-church-in/) [Frederic G. Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-g-kenyon/) > [It is from the graves and ruins and rubbish-heaps of Egypt that writings have been restored to us in great numbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-g-kenyon/it-is-from-the-graves-and-ruins-and-rubbish-heaps-of-egypt-that/) [Frederic G. Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-g-kenyon/) > [The aim of the scholarly editor is not to produce the the easiest text for the reader, but to get as near as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-g-kenyon/the-aim-of-the-scholarly-editor-is-not-to-produce-the-the-easiest/) [Frederic G. Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-g-kenyon/) > [Throughout, the work of Tyndale formed the foundation, and more than anyone else he established the rhythms and furnished much of the language which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-g-kenyon/throughout-the-work-of-tyndale-formed-the-foundation-and-more-than/) [Frederic G. Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-g-kenyon/) > [The interval, then, between the dates of original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes so small as to be in fact, negligible, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-g-kenyon/the-interval-then-between-the-dates-of-original-composition-and-the/) [Frederic G. Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-g-kenyon/) > [The Bible has a human history as well as a divine inspiration. 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Kenyon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-g-kenyon/) ## More Adoption quotes > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/somehow-destiny-comes-into-play-these-children-end-up-with-you-and/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [I have a lot of respect for my birth mother I know she must have had a lot of love for me to want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-hill/i-have-a-lot-of-respect-for-my-birth-mother-i-know-she-must-have-had/) [Faith Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-hill/) > [Despite the reams of paperwork, obstacles worthy of a horse show, and a wait that can rival an elephant's gestation, adoption feels no different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-simon/despite-the-reams-of-paperwork-obstacles-worthy-of-a-horse-show-and-a/) [Scott Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-simon/) > [“Some adventures should never be repeated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-l-hopper/some-adventures-should-never-be-repeated/) [Mike L. Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-l-hopper/) > [Some women just skip having babies or adopt because they don't want to get fat or they haven't put in the time to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-pressly/some-women-just-skip-having-babies-or-adopt-because-they-don-t-want/) [Jaime Pressly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-pressly/) > [“I love Russia because Russia gave me you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-m-simmons/i-love-russia-because-russia-gave-me-you/) [John M. Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-m-simmons/) > [I've never been keen on open adoption. 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