The text of

Scripture

capernwray spring school 2008

Rabbi Akiba and the Masoretes

Jerome

Erasmus

Konstantin von Tischendorf

The manuscript had to be prepared by a The manuscript had to be prepared by a Jew, written on the skins of clean Jew, written on the skins of clean animals and fastened together with animals and fastened together with strings taken from clean animals. Every strings taken from clean animals. Every skin was to contain a certain number of skin was to contain a certain number of columns, equal throughout the codex. columns, equal throughout the codex. The length of each column was to be no The length of each column was to be no less than 48 and no more than 60 lines. less than 48 and no more than 60 lines. The breadth was to be 30 letters. The ink The breadth was to be 30 letters. The ink was to be prepared according to a was to be prepared according to a definite special recipe. An authentic definite special recipe. An authentic copy was to be used from which to copy, copy was to be used from which to copy, and the transcriber was not to deviate and the transcriber was not to deviate from it in the least. No word or letter, not from it in the least. No word or letter, not even a yod, was to be written from even a yod, was to be written from memory. The scribe was to examine memory. The scribe was to examine carefully the codex to be copied. carefully the codex to be copied. Between all of the consonants of the new Between all of the consonants of the new copy, a space of at least the thickness of copy, a space of at least the thickness of a hair or thread had to intervene. a hair or thread had to intervene. Between every parashah, or section, Between every parashah, or section, there was to be a breadth of nine there was to be a breadth of nine consonants. Between every book, there consonants. Between every book, there was to be three lines. was to be three lines.

Rabbi Akiba and the MasoretesRabbi Akiba and the Masoretes(c 50 – 135 AD)

Akiba was the one who definitely fixed the canon of the Old Testament books. He protested strongly against the canonicity of certain of the Apocrypha, Ecclesiasticus, for instance… Akiba stoutly defended, however, the canonicity of the Song of Songs, and Esther…To the same motive underlying his antagonism to the Apocrypha, namely, the desire to disarm Christians—especially Jewish Christians—who drew their "proofs" from the Apocrypha, must also be attributed his wish to emancipate the Jews of the Dispersion from the domination of the Septuagint.

JeromeJeromeMake knowledge of the Scripture your love and you will not love the views of the flesh....I beg you, dear brother, live with them, meditate on them, make them the sole object of your knowledge and inquiries.

345-420 AD345-420 AD

ErasmusErasmus

Greek

New Testament

1516

TischendorfTischendorf

“I am confronted by a sacred trust…”

1844 Found manuscript

1853 No success

1859 Located whole thing and persuaded monastery eventually to sell

St Catherine’s MonasterySt Catherine’s Monastery

Codex Sinaiticus

Codex Vaticanus

The Dead Sea ScrollsThe Dead Sea Scrolls

1947 Mohammed ad Dhib

Eleazar Sukenik

1949 first excavation

1952-6 other caves found

1990s publication of most of the key texts

The Bible at QumranThe Bible at Qumran

Genesis 15Exodus 17Leviticus 13Numbers 8Deuteronomy 29Joshua 2Judges 31-2 Samuel 41-2 Kings 3Isaiah 21Jeremiah 6Ezekiel 6Minor prophets 8

Psalms 36Proverbs 2Job 4Song of Solomon 4Ruth 4Lamentations 4Ecclesiastes 3Esther 0Daniel 8Ezra 1Nehemiah 01-2 Chronicles 1

The Isaiah Scroll

5. Who has believed our report and the arm of YHWH to whom has it been revealed And he shall come up like a suckling before him6. and as a root from dry ground there is no form to him and no beauty [+to him+] and in his being seen and there is no appearance7. that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and knowing grief8. and as though hiding faces from him he was despised and we did not esteem him. Surely our griefs he9. is bearing and our sorrows he carried them and we esteemed him beaten and struck by God10. and afflicted. and he is wounded for our transgressions, and crushed for our iniquities, the correction11. of our peace was upon him and by his wounds he has healed us. All of us like sheep have wandered each man to his own way12. we have turned and YHWH has caused to light on him the iniquity of all of us He was oppressed and he was afflicted and he did not13. open his mouth, as a lamb to the slaughter he is brought and as a ewe before her shearers is made dumb he did not open14. his mouth. From prison and from judgment he was taken and his generation who shall discuss it because he was cut off from the land of15. the living. Because from the transgressions of his people a wound was to him

Masoretic

Text

Dead Sea Scrolls

Samaritan

Pentateuch

Septuagint

Marcion

Tatian

The Apocryphal Gospels

The son of Annas the scribe was standing there with Jesus. Taking a branch from a willow tree, he dispersed the waters which Jesus had gathered. (2) When Jesus saw what had happened, he became angry and said to him, "You godless, brainless moron, what did the ponds and waters do to you? Watch this now: you are going to dry up like a tree and you will never produce leaves or roots or fruit."(3) And immediately, this child withered up completely. Then, Jesus departed and returned to Joseph's house. (4) The parents of the one who had been withered up, however, wailed for their young child as they took his remains away. Then, they went to Joseph and accused him, "You are responsible for the child who did this." 

Chapter 4(1) Next, he was going through the village again and a running child bumped his shoulder. Becoming bitter, Jesus said to him, "You will not complete your journey." (2) Immediately, he fell down and died.(3) Then, some of the people who had seen what had happened said, "Where has this child come from so that his every word is a completed deed?"(4) And going to Joseph, the parents of the one who had died found fault with him. They said, "Because you have such a child, you are not allowed to live with us in the village, or at least teach him to bless and not curse. For our children are dead!" Chapter 5(1) And taking his child aside, he warned him, saying, "Why are you doing these things? These people are suffering and they hate us and cause trouble for us."(2) Then, Jesus said, "I know that the words I speak are not mine. Nevertheless, I will be silent for your sake, but these people will bear their punishment." And immediately his accusers became blind.

44. One day, when the Lord Jesus was again with the boys playing on the roof of a house, one of the boys fell down from above, and immediately expired. And the rest of the boys fled in all directions, and the Lord Jesus was left alone on the roof. And the relations of the boy came up and said to the Lord Jesus: It was thou who didst throw our son headlong from the roof. And when He denied it, they cried out, saying: Our son is dead, and here is he who has killed him. And the Lord Jesus said to them: Do not bring an evil report against me; but if you do not believe me, come and let us ask the boy himself, that be may bring the truth to light. Then the Lord Jesus went down, and standing over the dead body, said, with a loud voice: Zeno, Zeno, who threw thee down from the roof? Then the dead boy answered and said: My lord, it was not thou who didst throw me down, but such a one cast me down from it. And when the Lord commanded those who were standing by to attend to His words, all who were present praised God for this miracle.

200,000 variant readingsBut

- most are differences of word order or spelling

- others are obviously wrong readings

- others can be cleared up by background knowledge

- the rest are absolutely trivial

`The variant readings about which any doubt remains among textual critics of the New Testament affect no material question of historic

fact or of Christian faith and practice.’

CaesarCaesar 9-109-10