![]() ![]() "The quality of the manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible surpasses all other ancient manuscripts." Twitter Related Reading: Prayers for Strength based on the Bible But in spite of this time span, the number of variant readings between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Masoretic Text is quite small, and most of these are variations in spelling and style. The 1947 discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls provided a significant check on this, because these Hebrew scrolls predate the earliest Masoretic Old Testament manuscripts by about 1,000 years. If a single mistake was discovered, the entire manuscript would be destroyed.Īs a result of this extreme care, the quality of the manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible surpasses all other ancient manuscripts. The number of letters, words, and lines were counted, and the middle letters of the Pentateuch and the Old Testament were determined. The entire scribal process was specified in meticulous detail to minimize the possibility of even the slightest error. New Testament: 6,000+ in Greek (24,000 including translations in other languages) 2 Quality of Manuscriptsīecause of the great reverence the Jewish scribes held toward the Scriptures, they exercised extreme care in making new copies of the Hebrew Bible. In contrast, the typical number of existing manuscript copies for any of the works of the Greek and Latin authors, such as Plato, Aristotle, Caesar, or Tacitus, is much smaller. In addition to this extraordinary number, there are tens of thousands of citations of New Testament passages by the early church fathers. There are over 5,000 Greek manuscripts, about 8,000 Latin manuscripts, and another 1,000 manuscripts in other languages (Syriac and Coptic, among others). The quantity of New Testament manuscripts is unparalleled in ancient literature. But the existing Hebrew manuscripts are supplemented by the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Septuagint (a third-century BC Greek translation of the Old Testament), the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Targums (ancient paraphrases of the Old Testament), as well as the Talmud (teachings and commentaries related to the Hebrew Scriptures). Additionally, the Old Testament text was standardized by the Masoretic Jews by the sixth century AD, and all manuscripts that deviated from the Masoretic Text were evidently eliminated. Many ancient manuscripts were also lost or destroyed during Israel’s turbulent history. In the case of the Old Testament, there is a small number of Hebrew manuscripts, because the Jewish scribes ceremonially buried imperfect and worn manuscripts. When we read the books of the Bible, are we reading what those books originally said? Quantity of Manuscripts The first test examines the quantity, quality, and time span (between oldest copy and original writing) of the text. The first test examines the biblical manuscripts, the second deals with the claims made by the biblical authors, and the third looks to outside confirmation of the biblical content. There are three lines of evidence that support the claim that the biblical documents are reliable: ![]() We can break down the question of whether the Bible is reliable into four subcategories or questions:Īuthenticity (textual reliability): Is what we have now a fair representation of what was first written?Īccuracy (factual reliability): Is what we have now a fair representation of what actually happened?Īuthority (doctrinal reliability): Is what we have now a fair representation of what God wanted to communicate to us?Īccumulation: How do we know the right books were chosen to be in the Bible? 1 Three Tests Someone who asserts that the Bible is full of contradictions should be able to name at least one, if not several challenging them to do so can be a helpful initial response. ![]() For example, it is a rare person who has personally examined the text to see if an alleged contradiction is really there. The fact is that, with few exceptions, many have reached their conclusions about the Bible through second- and third-hand sources rather than through firsthand investigation. Yet these false impressions persist in the minds of many, and misinformation like this produces a skeptical attitude toward the Bible. How many of the above statements do you think are true? The answer is none all of them are false.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |