The Bible is
the most published book in the history of the world. The books
of the Bible are from in three languages, Hebrew, Aramaic and
Greek. Our English Bible is a translation originally derived
from these languages. The story of this process of translation
is a mystery to many who search the Bible. By clearing up the
confusion of the history of the Bible, we are able to remove
obstacles to faith. The Bible spread throughout the earth starts
with the spread of Chrisitianity.
As Christianity spread from Jerusalem, to Asia, Africa, and
Europe there was a need to translate the scriptures into the
native tongues. Each translation is a story in itself. For
example, the creation of the Cyrillic alphabet (Slavic Alphabet)
was a result of the missionary activates of two brothers St.
Methodius and St. Cyril (827 AD). Who had the desire to reach
the Slavic peoples. An alphabet was created, so the Bible could
be translated into their language. The result of their work
still influences the world today.
The
process of translation rests on the manuscript source. The
question of “has the Bible changed?” is not based on a late date
translation such as the English translation. A translation is
only as good as the source manuscript.
The
manuscript source for both the Old and New Testaments needs to
be examined before this question is answered. However, the
importance of these manuscripts as the source of the
translations is vital in understanding just how the Bible
developed. To understand this dynamic link between manuscript
and translations we can examine the history of the King James
Bible (1611). Through the KJV is unique to
England
and English speaking countries, the problems in the history of
its translation are not unique.
History of the King James Bible
The history of
the King James Bible starts with the history of England. The
first written record of England begins with the Roman conquest
dating back to the time of Julius Caesar in 55 BC, recorded in
his “Gallic War commentaries”. He describes his conquest of
England with more then 800 ships. The Celts made peace with
Caesar, and he left to manage Gaul (France). As
Rome expanded north,
England was
incorporated into the Empire in 43 AD, under Claudius. The
Romans invaded England with 40,000 soldiers. With the spread of
Christianity in the
Roman Empire, Christianity also became the faith of
England by the
3rd century with the missionary work.
The church was
well enough established by the 4th century to send three British
bishops—of Londinium (London), Eboracum (York), and Colonia
Linum (Lincoln)—to the Council of Arles (in modern France) in
314. When the Romans withdrew from England in the 5th
century to save the capital,
Rome, from invading Germans, the Angles and Saxons invaded
England.
The Angles and Saxons were German tribes from Saxony; they
became a united people with the Celts now known as the English.
For the next 1000 years until the time of Henry VIII
(1491-1547), England was part of the Roman Catholic Church. The
Roman Catholic Church dominated both the political and religious
spheres of nations.
One
of the main issues was the role of the laity and clergy. The
Roman language, Latin, became the language of the clergy. Most
of the laity could not read or understand Latin. The Bible, the
Latin Vulgate, first translated in the 4th century by
Jerome from the Septuagint and then later from the Hebrew was
inaccessible to English speaking people.
To
remedy the problem of accessibility, John Wycliffe (1320-84) an
oxford scholar, began to translate parts of the Bible into
English. Wycliffe also challenged Roman doctrines, such as
transubstantiation and the role of the church in national
politics. He completed the translation of the New Testament in
1380. Four years after his death the Old Testament translation
was also completed by John Purvey (1354-1428), Wycliffe’s
secretary. The basis Wycliffe’s translation was the Latin
Vulgate, translated from the Hebrew and Greek.
In
1455, Johanness Guttenburg invented a printing press using
movable type. Guttenburg’s first work was the printing of the
Bible, a Latin translation that became known as the
Forty-Two-line Bible, because there were 42 lines in a column.
Guettenburg’s invention solved a major problem for scripture
transmission. With the printing press, human error in text
copying was virtually eliminated. In addition, copies could be
made much quicker and less expensive than hand copies, making
books and Bibles available to the masses.
William Tyndale, a Catholic priest, (1492-1536) took on the task
of establishing an English translation of the Bible based on the
Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek text. The first Hebrew Bible was
published in 1488, along with the Hebrew Lexicon in 1506. Tyndale
planned to use these for an English translation of the
scripture. His plans were opposed the Church of Rome. In the
dispute someone yelled to Tyndale,
“Better without
God’s Law than without the Pope’s”
Tydale’s famous
reply followed,
“I defy the
Pope and all his laws; if God spares my life, ere many years I
will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the
Sciptures than thou dost.”
Efforts to
publish the Bible were prevented the Roman Church so
Tydale left for
Colone, and later
Worms
Germany. In
Worms, he completed two editions and had them smuggled to
England
(1525). The Bishop of London, Cuthbert Tunstall purchased as
many copies as possible and had them burned. Of the 18,000
copies smuggled only two remain. Tyndale was later found guilty
of heresy, removed from his priestly office and handed over to
secular powers for execution in August 1536. Burning at the
stake, Tyndale cried, “Lord open the King of England’s eyes”.
This statement would seem prophetic as Tyndale’s version of the
New Testament provided the basis for all successive versions
between his day and ours. The King James Version is practically
a fifth revision of Tydale’s revision.
The
atmosphere changed in England as Rome and Henry the VIII came
into conflict. Miles Coverdale, Tyndale’s assistant and
proofreader was given permission to publish a revised version of
Tyndale’s work. This work became known as the “Great Bible”
because of its huge size. The “Great Bible” was
authorized for use in 1538 in the Church of England.
When Mary Tudor (1553-1538) became Queen of England, she planned
to restore Catholicism to England and Protestants were
persecuted. Many fled to John Calvin’s Geneva, where another
translation of the English Bible was prepared, the
Geneva Bible.
Its
translation (1557, 1560) was done under the direction of
William Coverdale and John Knox and influenced by John Calvin.
This Bible became popular in
England
after Mary Tudor was executed and Protestant persecution
stopped. The popularity of the Geneva Bible with Protestants
caused the Great Bible’s revision. This revision later
became known as the Bishop’s Bible
(1568).
In
1604, the Puritan Party made a petition to King James I
(1603-1625) called the Millenary Petition, about grievances
between the Puritans and the English Church. John Reynolds, the
Puritan president of
Corpus Christi
College, Oxford raised the question of having an authorized
version of the English Bible that would be acceptable to all
parties. This Bible was to replace both the Bishop’s Bible and
the Geneva Bible as the English translation. The purpose of this
new translation was to have a Bible that could be read in church
services and at home.
Six companies of men totaling 54 were assigned with only 47
actually working on the revision of the Bible. Each committee
had a set of instructions. All other English translations were
to be consulted as well as the Hebrew and Greek Texts but the
Bishops Bible was to be used as the base in translation.
Their finished work is known as the King James Authorized
Bible.
The Hebrew Text used was second edition of the Rabbinic Bible
prepared by Jacob ben Chayim published by Bromberg (1524-1525).
The Hebrew manuscript source for the Hebrew text is known as the
Leningrad
(St. Petersburg) Manuscript (B19a) dated to 1008 AD. This is a
Masoretic manuscript based on the ben Asher text.
The New Testament based on the Greek New Testament known as
the Textus Receptus or Received Text (1557). Published in 1557
the fourth edition became the dominant Greek text in
England.
Stephanous Greek was used in both the Geneva Bible (1557, 1560)
and the King James Bible (1611). The royal printer of Paris,
Robert Estienne (Latinized as Stephanus) referenced 15
manuscripts in his critical apparatus. The manuscripts used
were mainly later manuscripts of the Byzantine text type.
To understand
reliability of the Bible in English, we need to examine the
process known as manuscript transmission.
Manuscript
Transmission
Autograph:
Writings
produced under the authority of an apostle or prophet, whether
or not through a scribe or in several editions.
Manuscript:
A handwritten
literary composition rather than a printed copy.
Manuscript
Transmission:
Is the process
of copying manuscripts over time from the original manuscript,
autograph. After the revelation, the life of the document,
limited by several factors, is transmitted over time.
1. The
Environment: Humidity, amount of use, exposure to the outside,
etc.
2. Hostile
Forces: Those opposed to the message would often try to destroy
the documents, examples; Antiochus Epiphanies (165 BC),
Diocletian (300 AD)
3. Time: The
lifespan of a document was limited by its material. Papyrus was
inexpensive and available but had the shortest life. Leather was
more durable but over time would deteriorate; Stone and clay are
the most resistant to time.
History
of Old Testament Manuscript Transmission.
The Old
Testament or Hebrew Bible was produced from 1450 BC to 425 BC.
The earliest known printing of the Hebrew text was in
Soncino,
Italy
in 1488 AD. Prior to the printing press, the transmission of the
text was done entirely by hand, “Manuscript”. This means that
the oldest parts of the Bible were transmitted by hand for 2800
years. The earliest books of the Old Testament were transmitted
by hand for 1900 years. The transmission of the Hebrew
“Cannon” can organized into five time-periods.
1.
Textual Transmission Before 300 BC
From the
hand of the prophet to the parchment God’s word was written as
revealed. When the words of the “Prophet” passed the “test of a
prophet”, his writings were added to the “Cannon” as inspired
writings. His words would become scripture, revealed writings.
With time, the autograph would wear out. Copies would be made of
the autograph for distribution and teaching. In time, the copies
of the autographs, manuscripts, would also wear out, these
manuscripts were sacred, and were placed in cemeteries or
burned. The original writings of the prophet would be passed
down from generation to generation. A major function of the
scribe was to make copies of manuscripts.
In the 7th
century BC, there was a revival in
Judea under the reign of Josiah (637-608 BC), (2 Kings 22:8)
8Then
Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have
found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.”
This revival
was short lived, and
Judah
was punished its apostasy with Babylonian captivity. The
Babylonians conquered Jerusalem three times in 18 years, 605,
597 and 587 BC. Finally, in 587 BC the city of Jerusalem and the
Temple were destroyed. This would create two centers of
manuscript transmission,
Babylon
and Egypt.
Egypt
Jeremiah was
taken captive to
Egypt
by Jews refusing to submit to Babylonian captivity. Egypt
became a center for Jewish writing and transmission following
the destruction of Jerusalem. Some have theorized the Falashi
Jews,
are descendents of the Jews who fled Babylonian captivity. This
exodus from Jerusalem is described in Jeremiah, chapters 41-44.
After the conquest of Persia, by Alexander the Great 330 BC,
Alexandria Egypt, became a major center for Biblical manuscript
transmission. From Alexandria, the Septuagint would be created
for Greek speaking Jews. The Elephantine Papyrus dated to
500-400 BC document their existence 583 miles south of Cairo.
Babylon
Daniel and
Ezekiel were force to make their home in
Babylon
in605, 597 BC, respectfully. When the Persians defeated the
Babylonians, the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem.
Babylon remained a center for Jewish writing and scriptural
transmission. Aramaic became the dominate language of the
land, and most Jews spoke and wrote Aramaic. It is at this
point, the square Pale-Hebrew script was replaced. During the
4th century BC, the Aramaic or “Square script” replaced the
Phoenician or (Paleo-Hebrew) script as the standard alphabet in
Palestine. Aramaic was the common language in use during the
time of Ezra and Nehemiah. Jesus indicates this in Matthew 5:18
when He refers to the yod as the smallest letter of the Law
verifying the use of Aramaic script in
Palestine
in the first century AD.
According to
two Maccabees Nehemiah founded a library, and Judas Maccabeus
continued the practice of Nehemiah.
The same
things are reported in the records and in the memories of
Nehemiah, and also that he founded a library and collected the
books about the kings and prophets, and the writings of David,
and letters of kings about votive offerings. In the same way,
Judas also collected all the books that had been lost on account
of the war which had come upon us, and they are in our
possession. 2 Maccabees 2:13-14.
This period
of transmission involved individual scrolls. They were made of
leather or papyrus. The standard size was 10 inches by 30 feet.
Long enough to accommodate the text of Isaiah, Old Testament
books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles were all considered single
books by the Jews.
Consonantal
spelling was another aspect of this transmission period.
However, in the nine to 8th century BC helping consonants were
introduced they were known as “Matres lectionis”. The vowel
sounding or “pointing” would develop at a later period.
The
traditional view of this period has been the idea of “Continuous
writing” or writing without spaces between words. However,
scrolls found at Qumran clearly show words were separated.
These
updates in the transmission process helped transmit the words to
succeeding generations.
2. 300 BC
to 135 AD
The victory
of the Macabees over the Selucidis who tried to destroy the
manuscripts preserved the documents for future transmission.
First Maccabees records the attempt by Antiocus to destroy the
scriptures.
The books of
the law which they found they tore to pieces and burned with
fire. Where the book of the covenant was found in the
possession of anyone, or if any one adhered to the law, the
decree of the king condemned him to death. I Maccabees 1:56-57
A library in
Jerusalem established by Judas Maccabeus as mentioned above was
continued after the tradition of Nehemiah. During this period of
time the party of the Pharisees would form, from them would come
the movement known as Rabbinical Judaism.
The presence of Jewish populations in
Babylon
(Descendents of Captivity),
Palestine
(Jews who returned) and
Alexandria
(Jews who settled in Egypt) caused three distinct points of
canon transmission during this time.
The Roman
destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD caused the
focus of worship to be centered on learning and scripture
reading rather then Temple worship. The Council of Jamnia
affirmed the existing Jewish canon. In 135 AD the bar Kochba
rebellion led to the scattering of Jews from Jerusalem by the
Romans. Babylon and Alexandria remained centers for scripture
transmission. This would begin the era of Rabbinical Judaism.
The Dead Sea
scrolls revealed the extent of manuscript transmission. The
scrolls discovered showed the formation of distinct versions of
the Hebrew manuscripts. “Canon” manuscripts were copies of
copies. So slight variations in spelling and wording were
transmitted to their copies, and many of the fragments and
scrolls closely parallel the Masoretic text while others
parallel the Septuagint (The Greek translation, LXX). This
showed a dual development from the earlier period.
The
Alexandrian Recension1.
These Hebrew
manuscripts were the basis of the Septuagint in
Alexandria
Egypt. The Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.
The
Palestine/Babylonian Recension
These Hebrew
manuscripts were the basis of the Masoretic text.
The basis of most Old Testament translations today. This could
be traced to Ezra and Nehemiah period of activity. By 135 AD.
The two variations in text type were replaced with a single
standard. This would later form into the Masoretic text.
3. 135 AD
to 1000 AD
With the
standardization of the Hebrew text within the scribal circles.
The next period could be divided into two sections. The
transmission by Rabbis from 135 A.D. to 500 A.D. and the textual
activities of the Masoretes from 500 to 1000 A.D.
135 to
500 A.D.
This can be
called the age of the Talmud. These heirs of the Pharisaical
Judaism played a central role in the New Testament. After the
destruction of the Temple and the dispersion of Jews from
Palestine, Jewish spiritual life focused on scripture and
synagogue. The Hebrew text was probably broken down into verses
at this time as well as paragraphs.
Chapter
divisions would come later and would be of Christian origin in
the time of Salomon ben Ishmael (1330 AD). Liturgical divisions
were made in the Torah. In
Babylon,
the Torah would be read once a year in synagogues. So the Torah
was divided into 54 “Parashoth” In Palestine the Torah was read
every 3 years and was divided into 452 “Sedarim”.
500 to
1000 A.D.
This
transmission time is the Masoretic “Tradition” period with
activity being carried out in Palestine and Babylon. These
scribes meticulously copied and codified the scriptures. With
the triumph of Christianity in Palestine large numbers of
textual scholars emigrated to
Babylon
in the 2nd century AD.
The conquest
of Islam in Palestine in 638 AD led to a revival Jewish textual
work on the western shore of Galilee in the town of Tiberias.
Jewish scribal scholars migrated back from the Babylonian
regions. It would be the work of these Tiberian Masorets that
would be reflected in the future copies of the Old Testament.
There were
two schools of the Masorets The Western (Tiberian tradition) and
the Eastern (Babylonian tradition). The contribution of the
Tiberian Masoretes needs to be described in detail. They created
an overall system to ensure the accurate understanding of the
Old Testament text. They had 4 major contributions:
“Pointing” symbols
to graphically represent the vowel tradition. They conserved the
oral tradition. Written symbols to record
the accentual character of the Hebrew text.
Specialized notes to accompany the text of the Old Testament.
a. Masorah
Parva: (Small Masorah) notes on the side about word use
statistics b. Masorah Magna:(Large Masorah) notes recorded on
the top and bottom margin. More extensive information then the
parvah.
c. Masorah
finalis:(Final Masorah) notes found at the end of biblical
books. Contains special information about number of words in the
book, middle word and middle consonant.
4. Masoretic
works with the goal to correct transmission of the Old Testament
text.
Ben Asher
& Ben Naphtali
These two
individuals represented the last of the two Tiberian Masorete
families. Their work differed only slightly. The differences
were differences in detail and not substance. Differences were
manly in spelling, word division and vocalization. The surviving
Masoretic codex's bear their traditions.
4. 1000
AD to 1450 AD
Following
1000 AD the text was fixed with the work of the Masoretis. But
the texts could be broken down to two time periods.
Before
1100 AD
Allepo
Codex
925 AD Masorah written by Ben Asher.
3. 135 AD
to 1000 AD
With the
standardization of the Hebrew text within the scribal circles.
The next period could be divided into two sections. The
transmission by Rabbis from 135 A.D. to 500 A.D. and the textual
activities of the Masoretes from 500 to 1000 A.D.
135 to
500 A.D.
This can be
called the age of the Talmud. These heirs of the Pharisaical
Judaism played a central role in the New Testament. After the
destruction of the Temple and the dispersion of Jews from
Palestine, Jewish spiritual life focused on scripture and
synagogue. The Hebrew text was probably broken down into verses
at this time as well as paragraphs.
Chapter
divisions would come later and would be of Christian origin in
the time of Salomon ben Ishmael (1330 AD). Liturgical divisions
were made in the Torah. In Babylon, the Torah would be read once
a year in synagogues. So the Torah was divided into 54
“Parashoth” In Palestine the Torah was read every 3 years and
was divided into 452 “Sedarim”.
Leningrad
Codex
(L) 1008 AD contains all the Old Testament. Copied in Old Cairo
by Samuel ben Jacob in 1008 AD, it represents one of the oldest
manuscripts of the complete Hebrew Bible.
British
Museum Codex
(B) 925 AD contains most of the Torah.
Cairo
Codex of the Prophets
(C ) 896 AD written by Moses ben Asher contains the text of all
the prophets.
Sassoom
1053 (S1) 10 Century Contains the whole Old Testament except for
a few missing pages.
Sassoon
507
(S) 10th Century Most of the Torah, written after Ben Naphtali
tradition.
Petersburg
Codex of the Prophets
(P) 916 AD Contains the text of the later prophets along with
Masorah parva and Magna notes.
After
1100 AD
There are
more then 3000 extant Hebrew manuscripts that reflect the
Tiberian tradition and were written in the 12 century and later.
The close of this period is marked by the invention of the
printing press. The Masoretic tradition was transmitted with
very little change to the medieval Jewish manuscripts.
5. 1450
AD to Present
The Printed
Hebrew Bible was the last phase of the Jewish transmission of
text. The first complete printed Hebrew Bible was printed in
Soncino 1488. By the 16th century printed bibles replaced
manuscripts in most of Europe.
A major
development was the First Rabbinic Bible edited by Felix
Pratensis and published by Daniel Bromberg in (1516-17). Even
greater was the 2nd Rabbinic Bible that was edited by Jacob ben
Hayyim and printed by Daniel Bromberg (1524-1525 AD). The 2nd
edition came complete with notes, Aramaic Targums and Jewish
commentaries by outstanding rabbis. It became known as the
“Received Edition”. The 2nd edition became the basis of the
Kittel Bible.
The King
James Bible used the 2nd
Rabbinic
Bible as the source for the Old Testament.
The
Dead Sea Scrolls
Because of
the Jewish practice of copying the manuscript and burying or
burning the source manuscript that became unusable with age.
Very few manuscripts survived earlier then the 10th century AD.
The
discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls changed everything. Portions
or entire manuscripts of every book of the Hebrew canon were
found except for the book of Ester. Many being 1000 years older
then existing manuscripts.
The
transmission of the Hebrew canon could finally be tested.
Quoting from Gleason Archer book “Survey of the Old Testament”.
“Even though the two copies of Isaiah discovered in Qumran Cave 1 near
the Dead Sea in 1947 were a thousand years earlier then the
oldest dated manuscript previously known (980 AD), they proved
to be word for word identical with our standard Hebrew Bible in
more then 95% of the text. The 5 percent of variation consisted
chiefly of obvious slips of the pen and variations in spelling.
They do not affect the message of revelation in the slightest.”
History
of New Testament Manuscript Transmission.
The New
Testament manuscripts compared to the Old Testament are closer
to the date of writing and in greater number. In fact the number
of NT manuscripts is more abundant then any other ancient
document. The oldest existing manuscripts of classical Greek
authors are more then 1000 years after their author’s death.
|
Author |
Book |
Date
Written |
Earliest Copies |
Time
Gap |
No.
of Copies |
|
Homer |
Iliad |
800 BC |
C. 400
BC |
400
years |
643 |
|
Herodotus |
History |
480-425
BC |
C. 900
AD |
1350
years |
8 |
|
Thucydides |
History |
460-400
BC |
900 AD |
1300
years |
8 |
|
Plato |
|
400 BC |
900 AD |
1300
years |
8 |
|
Demosthenes |
|
300 BC |
900 AD |
1300
years |
7 |
|
Caesar |
Gallic
Wars |
100-44
BC |
900 AD |
1000
years |
10 |
|
Livy |
History
of Rome |
59-17
AD |
4th
Century (Partial), Mostly 10th Century |
400
years
1000
years |
1
partial
19
copies |
|
Tacitus |
Annals |
100 AD |
1100 AD |
1000
years |
20 |
|
Pliny Secundus |
Natural
History |
61-113
AD |
850 AD |
750
years |
7 |
|
New
Testament |
|
50-100
AD |
114
Fragments 200 (Books) 250 (Most NT) 325 (Complete
NT) |
50
years 100 years 150 years 225 years |
5366 |
The number
of ancient Greeks classics is also limited. About 50 of
Aeschylus,100 of Sophocles, Only 1 each of the Greek Anthology
and the Annals of Tacitus.
Of the New
Testament there are almost 5000 Greek manuscripts of all or part
of the Greek text. There are 2000 Greek lectionaries and 8000
Latin and 1000 manuscripts in other ancient versions.
The
manuscripts include extensive parts of the NT copied hardly more
then a century after the original. And 50 or more
MSS (Manuscripts), including virtually 2 complete NT codices
copied within 3 centuries after the NT books were originally
written.
In addition,
the writings of ancient church fathers in Greek, Latin and
Syriac contain thousands of quotations from the NT. Indeed, the
available materials for the text of the NT are so extensive that
their adequate study is a complicated task, but with the result
is to “Strengthen the proof of the authenticity of the
Scriptures, and conviction that we have in our hands, in
substantial integrity, the veritable “Word of God”
Sources of
Evidence for the NT Text
Like the OT
there are no existing copies of the autographs of the NT books.
The early books were written on Papyrus rolls the accepted form
of publication in the 1st century. The epistles were probably
written on Papyrus sheets being more like private communication.
The codex form of transmission later became the standard for the
transmission of all NT books. No Papyrus rolls have been found
of New Testament books.
New
Testament Evidences
1. Copies
of New Testament Manuscripts
The
John Rylands Fragment
(p.52)John 18:31-33 (117-138 A.D.) The earliest known copy of
any portion of the New Testament is from a papyrus codex (2.5 by
3.5 inches). It dates from the first half of the second century
A.D. 117-138. (P.52)The papyrus is written on both sides and
contains portions of five verses from the gospel of John
(18:31-33,37-38). Because this fragment was found in
Egypt
a distance from the place of composition (Asia Minor) it
demonstrates the chain of transmission. The fragment belongs to
the John Rylands Library at
Manchester,
England
Chester
Beatty Papyri
(250 A.D.) (p.45,p.46,p.47) This important papyri consists of
three codices and contains most of the New Testament. (P.45,
P.46, P.47). The first codex(P.45) has 30 leaves (pages) of
papyrus codex. 2 from Matthew, 2 from John, 6 from Mark, 7 from
Luke and 13 from Acts. Originally there were 220 pages measuring
8x10 inches each. (P.46)The second codex has 86 leaves 11x6.5
inches. 104 pages of Paul’s epistles. P.47 is made of 10 leaves
from Revelation measuring 9.5 by 5.5 inches.
Bodmer
Papyri
(200 A.D.) (p.66,p.72,p.75) Dating from 200 A.D. or earlier the
Bodmer collection of Papyri (P.66,P.72,P.75) contains 104
leaves. P.66 Contains the Gospel of John 1:1-6:11, 6:35-14:26,
14-21. P.72 has the earliest know copy of Jude, I Peter, and 2
Peter also contains other Canonical and apocryphal books. P.72
measures 6 x 5.75 inches. P.75 is 102 pages measuring 10.25 by
5.33 inches. Contains most of Luke and John dated between 175
and 225 AD. Earliest know copy of Luke. Very similar to the
Codex Vaticanus.
Codex
Sinaiticus (340 A.D.) (A) (01)
Considered to
the most important witness to the Greek text of the New
Testament dated in the 4th century. Sinaiticus was found at St.
Catherine’s monastery at Mt. Sinai by Von Tischendorf
(1815-1874). It was acquired for the Czar of Russia. Sinaiticus
contains over 1/2 of the Old Testament (LXX) and all of the new
except for Mark 16:9-20 and John 7:53-8:11.. Also contains the
Old Testament Apocrypha. Sinaiticus is written on 364.5 pages
measuring 13.5 by 14 inches. The material is good vellum made
from antelope skins. Purchased by the British government for
$500,000 in 1933.
Codex
Vaticanus (325-350 A.D)
(B) Vaticanus was written in the middle of the 4th century and
was not know to textual scholars till 1475 when it was
catalogued in the Vatican Library. For the next 400 years
scholars were prohibited from studying it. Its includes most of
the LXX version of the Old Testament and most of the New. It
contains 759 leaves measuring 10 by 10.5 inches. Codex Vaticanus
is owned by the Roman Catholic Church and is housed in the
Vatican Library, Vatican City.
2.
Lectionaries:
Lectionaries were the scripture readings for the
church organized for each Saturday and Sunday for the year. 2000
Lectionary manuscripts exist dating from the 10th century and
later.
3.
Versions:
The
NT was spread to different countries many who did not speak in
the Greek language. The scriptures were translated into those
languages as early as the 2nd century AD. Including Latin,
Syriac and Coptic. We are able to compare the translations to
the Greek manuscripts to look for variations.
4.
Patristic Quotations
Using
quotations from the early church fathers nearly the entire NT
could be assembled from their writings and sermons.
Textual
Criticism.
Because the
NT like the OT was transmitted by hand there are bound to be
errors in the transmission process. The process of “Textual
criticism” is to assemble from the existing documents the
closest possible writings to the original autograph.
Textual
criticism of both the NT and OT involve a small portion of the
writings. With 95% being unquestioned. In most cases the 5% have
very little impact on what the meaning of the text actually
says. By comparing existing manuscripts were get a more absolute
view of the autograph. Errors in the transmission process are
repeated in the copying of the manuscript.
Transmission
errors in the OT and NT are the same in some aspects but differ
in others.
The
problems with transmission, OT & NT
Any time
human hands are involved in the transmission process there are
bound to errors. These are known as transmission errors.
The
following are the most common.
·
Confusion of Similar letters
·
Transposition of Letters: Metathesis, a scribal
error
·
Incorrect Word Division
·
Haplography “Writing only once what should have
been written twice”.
·
Dittography: “Writing twice what should only have
been written once”
·
Confusion of Similar Sounding Words.
·
Omission: Not writing a letter or number
·
Inclusion: Including a marginal note that was not
meant to be in the body of the writing.
The problems
of transmission of the Hebrew Bible were noted by the Masorite
scribes in the margins the manuscripts.
Conclusion
To answer
the question first posed at the start of this paper. Did God’s
word change? No God word did not change. However, the paper the
message was written on was wrinkled in the process of time and
transmission. Which would bring the follow up question “Did the
wrinkle destroy the message?” Here again the answer is NO. A
crease in page does not destroy the text.
The integrity of the message in the Old
Testament is validated by robust verification in both Old and
New Testaments. In the Old Testament, the Dead Sea Scrolls, The
Septuagint and the Masoretic text validate the message. In the
New Testament, the numerous manuscripts validate the New
Testament, many within 100 years of the autographs, the witness
of patristic writings and the translations into many languages
within the first 400 years of Christianity.
