Textual Transmission
How Did We Get the Bible?
Lesson 3
Over many generation and
over many years, several
individuals copied the
scriptures by hand. We
owe our having the Bible to
these scribes.
Scribal Care of Old
Testament Scripture
Historical scribes were essential in
ancient times to kings, judges and the
business world. Ancient scribes
believed that they were copying the
very word of God, so they took great
care in preserving the scriptures.
The Masoretes
A.D. 500-1000
Received their name for the masora, a
complex system of markings they
developed to achieve their purpose
1. They
developed
a system
of
Three
Steps
to Insure
Textual
writing vowels.
Up
until
this
time
Accuracy
Hebrew contained only consonants
although there were a few
consonants that indicated certain
vowels. They wanted to preserve in
writing form the oral traditions that
they had received in earlier
generations.
•2. Masoretes developed a
system of accents for the Hebrew
text, and they separated the
letters into individual words.
Accents assisted in
pronunciation
Showed relationships to various
words and phrases in the text
3. Masoretes developed a system
of notes on the text to provide a
means to check accuracy of the
copied text.
They made all changes in the
margins because they refused to
alter the original text.
Text
Examples
Scribe - Counter
Masoretes counted everything
in the text. They knew :
The Torah, the first five books,
had 400,945 letters.
The middle word was the
Hebrew word translated
“searched” in Leviticus 10:16.
The Torah’s middle letter was in
the Hebrew word “belly” in
Leviticus 11:42.
While this may not seem
important to us, it was their
diligence that allowed the
scripture to be passed on in its
accurate state.
Transmission in Original Languages
Most of the original O.T. text
was written in Hebrew with
the exception of a few text
written in Aramaic. Both
Hebrew and Aramaic are
Semitic languages.
Three Copies of Old
Testament text that have
come down to us are:
1. Masoretic
2. The Samaritan Pentateuch
3. Dead Sea Scrolls
Masoretic – Most reliable
Oldest copies date to
somewhat earlier that
A.D.1000.
Some believe these
copies reflect text to
A.D.100.
Samaritan Pentateuch
Only Genesis-Deuteronomy
Samaritans came for the
intermarriage of Hebrews
and foreigners in the
Northern Kingdom after it
fell to Assyria in 722 B.C.
Oldest text date to
A.D.1100. They are
believed to be based on
texts for 100-200 B.C.
Dead Sea Scrolls
*Accidentally discovered by a
shepherd in a cave in 1947
*Date to 100-200 B.C.
*Contain at least parts of every Old
Testament book except Esther.
*Confirm the reliability of the
Masoretic text.
Transmission in Other Languages
The Septuagint - A translation of
the Old Testament into Greek
Dates to about 200-300 B.C.
The Pentateuch portion is more
carefully translated and
therefore more reliable than the
rest of the translation.
How Do We Interpret the Bible?
•Use Grammatical- Historical
Method – “Plain Sense”
meaning using standard
grammar rules and syntax
•Understanding the Context –
Find meaning by looking at the
words surrounding a word
•Determine the Type of
Literature
How Do We Interpret the Bible?
•Historical Narrative
•Prophecy
•Poetry and Parables
Each type writing or genres must
be interpreted in a different
way.
ALL scripture can be interpreted
by examining other scripture.