"[Encountering the Manuscripts] focuses on the most significant New Testament manuscripts from the perspective of paleography and textual criticism. Paleography pertains to the dating of the manuscripts, as well as to the calligraphic features of the manuscripts themselves. Each manuscript has a story to tell; each manuscript gives us a window into the transmission of the New Testament text in the earliest centuries. Textual criticism pertains to the critical evaluation of the trustworthiness of the text of each manuscript with respect to recovering the original wording of the Greek New Testament. This volume merges the two areas of study by looking at both paleography and textual criticism as we encounter the New Testament manuscripts."