Neuer Wettstein

Neuer Wettstein. Texte zum Neuen Testament aus Griechentum und Hellenismus is a scholarly book series that assembles, translates, and annotates Greek and Latin parallels to every passage of the New Testament.^[1][2] Conceived as a modern reworking of Johann Jakob Wettstein's eighteenth-century parallels, the project documents the literary, social, and religious environment of the New Testament and arranges the material in a philological and chronological manner.^[2] The series has been published by De Gruyter since 1996, edited at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, and issued in part volumes that cover the epistles, the Revelation, and individual Gospels.^[1] The founding editors were Georg Strecker and Udo Schnelle, who were later joined by Manfred Lang and Michael Labahn.^[1]

The modern series takes its name and purpose from Wettstein's Novum Testamentum Graecum, which combined a critical text with thousands of classical and patristic parallels.^[2] The eighteenth-century compilation set the precedent for reading the New Testament alongside its ancient sources and influenced later comparative projects. In the twentieth century the title Neuer Wettstein became linked to the wider Corpus Hellenisticum initiative associated with Georg Heinrici and other Halle scholars, which aimed to present the Greco-Roman and Jewish-Hellenistic context of early Christianity in a systematic way.^[3][4]

De Gruyter launched the present series in 1996 with two large part volumes on the epistles and Revelation.^[1][5] Subsequent volumes have covered the John, Mark, and Matthew narratives in separate part volumes. The editorial work is centered at Halle and connects methodologically to the Corpus Hellenisticum. The series prints extensive German translations of the parallels with Greek or Latin for key passages, adds contextual introductions, and supplies indexes of sources, passages, and subjects.^[1][5]

A concluding volume on Acts is planned to finish the set.^[6]

The series is organized in numbered bands and part volumes.

• Band II. Texte zur Briefliteratur und zur Johannesapokalypse
  • Teilband 1, Texte zur Briefliteratur, Berlin and New York, De Gruyter, 1996.^[7][8]
  • Teilband 2, Texte zur Johannesapokalypse, Berlin and New York, De Gruyter, 1996.^[7][8]

• Band I. Texte zu den Evangelien und zur Apostelgeschichte
  • Teilband 2, Texte zum Johannesevangelium, edited by Udo Schnelle, with Michael Labahn and Manfred Lang, Berlin and New York, De Gruyter, 2001.^[5]
  • Teilband 1.1, Texte zum Markusevangelium, edited by Udo Schnelle in collaboration with Michael Labahn and Manfred Lang, Berlin and New York, De Gruyter, 2008.^[9]
  • Teilband 1.2-1, Texte zum Matthäusevangelium. Matthäus 1–10, edited by Udo Schnelle with Manfred Lang and Michael Labahn, Berlin and Boston, De Gruyter, 2013.^[10]
  • Teilband 1.2-2, Texte zum Matthäusevangelium. Matthäus 11–28, edited by Udo Schnelle and Manfred Lang, Berlin and Boston, De Gruyter, 2022.^[11]

In 2013 Theologische Literaturzeitung described Neuer Wettstein as a long-term undertaking that was approaching completion and emphasized its value for positioning New Testament writings within Greco-Roman discourse.^[12] A 2015 review in The Expository Times noted the breadth of sources and the extensive indexing available to exegetical research.^[13] Roland Deines's 2025 assessment for AFET Rezensionen praised the documentation while commenting on formal and usability challenges that arise from the series' scale.^[14]