HOW GOOD ARE THE FEW HEBREW MANUSCRIPTS? [1918]

Since we do not have the orginals or any old copies, we can honestly ask, "How good are the copies we have."

The men who copies and preserved the written tradition of the Hebrew canon were very careful in what they did.

HEBREW CANON

• Very few variants in the copies in existance
• Reverence for the Bible can been seen in the strict rules and prodceures the scribes followed:
  • Rules for sizes of column
  • Color of ink
  • Nothing written from memory
  • Lines and letters counted
  • Religious ritual performed before writing the name of God.
• Comparison of duplicate passages (Psalm 14 & 53)
• Proof from Archeology "Hittites, King of Egypt" 2 Kings 17:4
• Evidence from the LXX
• Close parallel the Masoretic text and LXX

You will to do more indepth study for a better understanding of this aspect of the Old Testament's history.

(Lesson adapted in part from [Francisco] and A General Introduction to the Bible by Norman Geisler and William Nix)

Last Updated 24 February, 2000