The first list of the Old Testament manuscripts in Hebrew, made by Benjamin Kennicott (1776–1780) and published by Oxford, listed 615 manuscripts from libraries in England and on the Continent. Giovanni de Rossi (1784–1788) published a list of 731 manuscripts. The main manuscript discoveries in modern times are those of the Cairo Geniza (c. 1890)... Continue Reading →
THE NASH PAPYRUS: The Hebrew Manuscript
How do paleographers place an accurate date on very old ancient Hebrew Old Testament Bible manuscripts? In 1948, this was the problem that was before Dr. John C. Trever (1916 - 2006) was a Biblical scholar and archaeologist, who was involved in the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. When Dr. Trever first laid eyes on the Dead Sea... Continue Reading →
THE LENINGRAD CODEX (B 19-A): A Precious Bible Treasure
The Leningrad Codex is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization. It is dated 1008 CE (or possibly 1009).
Why Do the Many New Testament Quotations and References to the Greek Old Testament Instead of the Hebrew Not Mean the NT or OT Authors Made a Mistake?
Hands down, the Greek Septuagint version is the most important of the early versions of the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures. In fact, it is the first translation from The Greek Septuagint LXX (meaning, “Seventy”). The translation from Hebrew into Greek began about 280 B.C.E.* According to tradition (more on this below), there were 72 Jewish scholars of... Continue Reading →
Evaluation of the Hebrew Old Testament Texts and Ancient Versions as to Their Usefulness for Textual Criticism
We are quoting extensively from the Old Testament textual scholars Ellis R. Brotzman and Eric J. Tully in their OLD TESTAMENT TEXTUAL CRITICISM: A Practical Introduction from Baker Publishing Group. However, there are a number of paragraphs that were written by Edward D. Andrews. Christian Publishing is beginning a free online Old Testament Textual Commentary.... Continue Reading →
The Syriac Old Testament
What Is Syriac? Syriac is the language of ancient Syria and one of the dialects of Aramaic, which was an official language of the Persian Empire. It was spoken in northern Mesopotamia and around ancient Antioch. In the second or third century C.E., as a written language, Syriac came into wide use. Within this Western... Continue Reading →
How Did the Septuagint Bible Translation Change the World?
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SEPTUAGINT Hands down, the Greek Septuagint version is the most important of the early versions of the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures. In fact, it is the first translation from The Greek Septuagint LXX (meaning, “Seventy”). The translation from Hebrew into Greek began about 280 B.C.E.* According to tradition (more on this below),... Continue Reading →
What Is the Greek Septuagint and How Accurate Is It?
The apostle Paul often quoted from the “Septuagint” The “Septuagint” was understood by many people to whom Paul preached The Septuagint is the common term for the Old Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. The word means "seventy" and is frequently shortened by using the Roman numeral LXX, which is a reference to the tradition... Continue Reading →
Why Should the Dead Sea Scrolls be of Interest Us?
Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest manuscripts of the Old Testament were dated to about the ninth and tenth centuries C.E., known as the Masoretic texts (MT).[1] The Hebrew Old Testament was complete in the middle of the fifth century B.C.E., over 1,400 years earlier than these MT. Therefore, the question... Continue Reading →
THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS: No Conspiracy, No Secret Scrolls
Contrary to the cover-up theorists, after the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, numerous publications were released over the years that made those first finds accessible to scholars around the world. Nevertheless, the thousands of fragments from Cave 4 were proving far more awkward. These were not getting beyond the hands of a small international group of... Continue Reading →