We can know the words of the Old Testament Part 1
Establish the need: Have you hear people say things like the Bible that has existed for thousands of years and you can’t believe the words as coming from God since it has been changed over time?
Purpose: In this session we shall consider definitions and then reasons why we can believe why we can know the actual words of the Old Testament so that we will have faith in God’s Word being God’s Word.
Introductory matters: Definitions
- What is textual criticism?
- According to Mark Rooker: “The textual criticism of an ancient document involves the critical study of the available manuscripts and translations in order to determine the original reading of the text.”[1]
- According to Mark Rooker: “Textual criticism tries to uncover the original copy (autograph) of a piece of literature by comparing available copies, all of which inevitably contain transmission errors or mistakes.”[2]
- Defining textual criticism outside of just Old Testament specialization and by scholar on Homer’s Illiad: “The primary goal of textual criticism has traditionally been to establish the actual text that the author wrote, so far as this is possible.”[3]
- What are witnesses?
- According to Mark Rooker: “All the available Hebrew manuscripts as well as the translations of the OT are called “witnesses” as they give evidence to the original form of the OT text.”[4]
- This include manuscripts in the Hebrew language and also other manuscripts in other ancient languages.
- What are Variants?
- This refers to differences in wording.
- There two types: Material variant and recurrent variant.
- “A material variant is a divergent reading of major import and circumstances. It is beyond the recurring minor differences of grammatical or syntactical structure, mere simplification of expression, contextual adjustment, and other similar sources for variant readings.”[5]
- “A recurrent variant is a divergent reading of minor import and circumstances stemming from minor differences of grammatical or syntactical structure, mere simplification of expression, contextual adjustment, and other similar sources for variant readings.”[6]
Reason #1: God’s Word says the Word of God will endure forever
- Scripture is clear God’s Word is forever and will not be changed: “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)
- Note here that God’s Word is stated as standing forever.
- Yet also note the contrast of God’s Word with flowers and grass, both of which has a short life span.
- Isaiah 40:8 is also re-stated in the New Testament by the Apostle Peter: “For, “ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER.” And this is the word which was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:24-25)
- Notice this is stated by an Apostle, God’s Mouth piece.
- Notice also that in the New Testament era this verse is still truth.
- Furthermore Peter says this word was preach to his hearers which shows God’s Word endured for thousands of years.
- See also Psalm 119:89: “Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven..”
- If God’s Word is forever then it will be preserved even as others try to change it and suppress it.
- God’s Word has been attempted to be censored and changed in history; yet it will remain forever.
Reason #2: The Old Testament was written down.
- Interactive lesson[7]
- Part 1: Phone tag
- Line up and play “phone tag” where one person whispers to the next person a sentence.
- Very likely the result is not the original sentence!
- This kind of argument is used all the time against the Bible. But is this a good objection?
- Part 2: Groceries’ list
- Everyone have paper to write down what is read.
- Collect the paper.
- Note any possible errors (spelling, wrong order, wrong words, etc).
- Yet notice one can reconstruct the list from other “manuscripts.”
- Part 1: Phone tag
- In Scripture you see God’s Word is aware of copies of God’s Word
- Look at Psalm 18 and 2 Samuel 22.
- Both passages are the same.
- Note Psalm 18 is liturgical use by David himself.
- Meanwhile 2 Samuel 22 is an archival copy for historical purposes.
- Notice that these two passages preserve the divine Psalm from copies in different functions!
Reason #3: Temple officials were intentional in checking the manuscripts
- According to Mark Rooker in summarizing the Jewish tradition: “The Babylonian Talmud refers to temple officials who had the task of revising manuscripts and restoring mistakes (b. Ketub. 106a). Once a year texts were taken to the temple for revision (b. Mo’ed Qat. 18b) and compared to the three authorized manuscripts (y. Ta’an. 4: 2).”[8]
- This shows clear desire to be accurate to God’s Word and even to double check for error at the highest (centralized) level.
Reason #4: Masora Finalis
- Definition of Masora Finalis: “Masoretic lists that follows each book of the Hebrew Bible…These lists are usually merely a count of the verses that of the book, but they may also include additional information about the book or about larger sections of the text.”[9]
- There are Masora Finalis after each book in the Hebrew Bible except for 1 Samuel, 1 Kings, Ezra and 1 Chronicles since Masora Finalis appear at the end of 2 Samuel, 2 Kings, Nehemiah and 2 Chronicles summarizing those books together, since the Jewish scribes saw them as one book.[10]
- Here’s a picture of the ending of Isaiah (note the smaller characters):
- In Genesis this is what it says, translated into English:
- The sum of verses of the book:
- thousand and five hundred
- and thirty and four.
- 1 + 20 + 30 +4.
- And its half: “And by your sword…” (Genesis 27:40).
- And orders: 40 +5.
- Interpreting the example in Genesis:
- The sum of verses of the book is 1534 verses.
- There are 45 sections.
- The middle of the verse is Genesis 27:40 which says And by your sword…”
- Reason why this is important?
- It shows there’s an attempt to have “quality control” over manuscripts that everything was copied down without mistake.
- Note they would have to count to confirm the accuracy of the copy with the amount of verses, sections and even what the middle verse of the book is!
- Going back to the analogy
- Remember the shopping list analogy?
- Imagine now having a shopping list that not only listed things out but now counted how many lines there are, and tells us what the middle item on the list is!
[1] Mark Rooker, “The Transmission and Textual Criticism of the Old Testament” in The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Nashville, B&H Publishing), Kindle Locations 3968-3969.
[2] Mark Rooker, “The Transmission and Textual Criticism of the Old Testament” in The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Nashville, B&H Publishing), Kindle Locations 3970-3972.
[3] Graeme Bird, Pointing at the Past: From Formula to Performance in Homeric Poetics (Washington, DC: Center for Hellenic Studies), chapter 1. Accessed at https://chs.harvard.edu/CHS/article/display/4742.1-textual-criticism-as-applied-to-biblical-and-classical-texts.
[4] Mark Rooker, “The Transmission and Textual Criticism of the Old Testament” in The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Nashville, B&H Publishing), Kindle Locations 4009-4010.
[5] William Barrick, Old Testament Textual Criticism Syllabus (Sun Valley, California: Self-Published for The Master’s Seminary), 37.
[6] William Barrick, Old Testament Textual Criticism Syllabus (Sun Valley, California: Self-Published for The Master’s Seminary), 37.
[7] What follows below is from memory of a newsletter from Stand to Reason many years ago.
[8] Mark Rooker, “The Transmission and Textual Criticism of the Old Testament” in The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Nashville, B&H Publishing), Kindle Locations 3995-3998.
[9] William Scott, A Simplified Guide to BHS (North Richland Hills, TX: Bibal Press), 11.
[10] William Scott, A Simplified Guide to BHS (North Richland Hills, TX: Bibal Press), 11.
[11] Emanuel Tov, Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press), 26.
[12] Mark Rooker, “The Transmission and Textual Criticism of the Old Testament” in The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Nashville, B&H Publishing), Kindle Location 4004.
Thanks for this informative examination regarding the integrity of Old Testament Scripture. But how did the Jews know which books were canonical if there wasn’t a Catholic church council around to make an authoritative pronouncement? Sorry, I’m being facetious.
You’re welcome! I have always thought it was interesting seeing the formulation of the OT Canon without the need for the Roman Magistrate; it is a undercutting defeater to RC’s claim of the need for their counsel for the Canon of the Word of God. Have you seen my friend’s old posts on the Canon and the church? https://veritasdomain.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/index-for-the-canon-of-the-new-testament-in-church-history-series/
Thanks for these! I will be perusing through them.
I just bookmarked that series as well
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Thanks… The Word will stand forever.
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
Thanks for the reblog!
Yankee Whiskey Bravo 😎
Ty. Too deep for me tho.:)
I understand, the Word is the Word is the point; how is your sister’s health doing? How are you with this storm?
Thanks for this, Jim! The fact that God’s Word is so well preserved through all the translations is in itself a Miracle.
Sister’s health is stable and she is at home, TY for the prayers. So far storm is in a tropical watch but is still wobbleing to H 1. Continue to pray. Love in Christ.:)
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
GOOD–WELL-DONE—OLD TESTAMENT STUDY!
I have never heard of the Masora Finalis before and found this discussion fascinating
Same here
So true!
Thanks for the post I will reblog it.
For some reason the reblog would not work, so I shared it.
Thank you for citing your sources. In my Hebrew Exegesis class we had an introduction to textual criticism and the text we used was “Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction, Second Edition” By: Ellis R. Brotzman, Eric J. Tully (sorry my iPad doesn’t let me italicize, arg!!). I will definitely check out Rooker and Tov’s books. Do you have any NT textual criticism books you would recommend? Thank you so much for sharing this! Blessings, Mandy
You’re welcome! I have appreciated Brotzman’s introduction in seminary. Tov’s work is usually seen as the standard summary though Tov is not a Christian. For NT textual criticism I found Phillip Comfort’s New Testament Text and Translation Commentary as helpful though I often use the Textual Critical Apparatus of the my Greek NT more than other references. Where are you taking Hebrew exegesis at?
There’s so much technical work you sound preachers need to know and do!
I have taken Hebrew at Capital Seminary and Graduate School. I appreciate learning from Robert Alter and James Kugel both unbelievers. I have a tools based approach to Hebrew and Greek. I would love to learn more Hebrew. I subscribed to Daily Dose of Hebrew to attempt to help me as well! If you have any suggestions or tips, I am a sponge and LOVE to learn! Thanks for taking the time to respond!
[…] 2.) We can know the words of the Old Testament Part 1 […]
[…] From our post “We can know the words of the Old Testament Part 2” I mentioned that the manuscripts of the Old Testament contain minor error at times with the manuscripts; yet we can still establish what the Words of the Old Testament are with reasonable accuracy. Here with this alleged Bible contradiction we do have touch on the issue of textual Criticism. For more on textual criticism make sure to also check out our “We can know the words of the Old Testament Part 1.” […]
Fascinating
[…] From our post “We can know the words of the Old Testament Part 2” I mentioned that the manuscripts of the Old Testament contain minor error at times with the manuscripts; yet we can still establish what the Words of the Old Testament are with reasonable accuracy. Here with this alleged Bible contradiction we do have touch on the issue of textual Criticism. For more on textual criticism make sure to also check out our “We can know the words of the Old Testament Part 1.” […]
[…] https://veritasdomain.wordpress.com/2019/07/12/we-can-know-the-words-of-the-old-testament-part-1/ […]
[…] We can know the words of the Old Testament Part 1 […]
Good Post. These are really interesting.
Very informative. I learned something new reading this especially with the Hebrew Masora.
[…] Link to outline […]
[…] 23, 2019 by John Samson Audio Series: We can know the words of the Old Testament We can know the words of the Old Testament Part 1 We can know the words of the Old Testament Part 2 We can know the words of the Old […]
Never heard of Textual Criticism before, so this was informative to strengthen my faith
[…] we have a contradiction if we consider the issue of textual criticism. What is textual criticism? In another post I quoted someone giving the definition of textual criticism as the following: “The primary goal of textual criticism has traditionally been to establish the actual text […]
I wished they put in the Masora Finalis for the Old Testament books in our English Bible translations
So many reasons to believe God’s Word never change!
To know God preserved His Word providentially is a big faith booster
Having studied the area of textual criticism in seminary, I will tell you that the amount of evidence we have for authenticity of the OT is nothing less than providential
[…] We can know the words of the Old Testament Part 1 […]