Textual Variants
Manuscripts
It is impossible to debate what the words of the Bible mean if we cannot say witch certainty what the actual words are.
John Mill)'s 1707 Greek New Testament was estimated to contain some 30,000 variants in its accompanying textual apparatus[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textual_variants_in_the_New_Testament#cite_note-7) which was based on "nearly 100 [Greek] manuscripts."[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textual_variants_in_the_New_Testament#cite_note-8)
Eberhard Nestle estimated this number in 1897 as 150,000–200,000 variants.[[9]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textual_variants_in_the_New_Testament#cite_note-9)
In 2005, Bart D. Ehrman reported estimates from 200,000 to 400,000 variants based on 5,700 Greek and 10,000 Latin manuscripts, various other ancient translations, and quotations by the Church Fathers.[[10]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textual_variants_in_the_New_Testament#cite_note-10)
In 2014 Eldon J. Epp raised the estimate as high as 750,000.[[11]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textual_variants_in_the_New_Testament#cite_note-11)
Peter J. Gurry puts the number of non-spelling variants among New Testament manuscripts around 500,000, though he acknowledges his estimate is higher than all previous ones.[[12]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textual_variants_in_the_New_Testament#cite_note-12)