lower criticism

low·er criticism  (lr)

n.

Critical study, especially of the Bible, that attends chiefly to the words of the work being examined, exploring their meaning and seeking to establish an accurate text.

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[As against higher criticism.]

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lower criticism

n

(Christian Religious Writings / Theology) textual criticism, esp the study of the extant manuscripts of the Scriptures in order to establish the original text Compare higher criticism

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Lower Criticism

the study of Biblical materials that intends to reconstruct their original texts in preparation for the tasks of Higher Criticism. Cf. Higher Criticism.

See also: Bible

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

lower criticism - the study of existing manuscripts of the Scriptures in order to determine the original text textual criticism - comparison of a particular text with related materials in order to establish authenticity