1. The oldest form of writing, cuneiform, first appeared in the Middle East in 3200 BCE, and continued til the second century, CE. This is why writing was in place in ancient Israel, at the time of the prophets of the Old Testament, roughly the first and early second millennia BCE.
a. The importance of the above is that it disputes some fiction of an oral history that distorted the prophets messages. Writing was clearly recognized and appreciated.
b. Exodus 17:14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book
2. At some time later, written texts from various religious centers were collected in Jerusalem, and edited into a single collection. The fact that many editors were involved may explain why many Old Testament books became anonymous. As long as this editing was carried out by other prophets, the sanctity of the literature would not have been affected. The timing of the Old Testament can be placed at the fourth century BCE.
3. The oldest copies of the Old Testament that we have today were written in Hebrew, with some Aramaic (a Semitic language from the kingdom of Aram, or Damascus.)
a. Prior to the time of Jesus, Greek-speaking Jews at Alexandria translated it into Greek. This version is known as the Septuagint, Latin for 70- for the number of translators, and completed by the second cenury BCE.
b. The oldest complete copy is the Codex Sinaiticus, from mid-fourth century CE at the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Mount Sinai, most of the manuscript today resides within the British Library.
4. Today, the standard Hebrew version of the Old Testament is the Masoretic text (MT). The MT is also widely used as the basis for translations of the Old Testament in Protestant Bibles, and in recent years (since 1943) also for some CatholicBibles, although the Eastern Orthodox continue to use the Septuagint, as they hold it to be divinely inspired. Masoretic Text - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
5. Although it only dates to around 1010 CE, the strictness of the copying techniques of the Masoretes, groups of Jewish scribes and scholars working in Israel, 7th- 11th centuries CE have preserved the authoritative texts from Christs time.
a. They wrote nothing from memory- each word copied from an authoritative text had to be read aloud first- he had to wipe his pen before writing the word for God- his whole body before writing the word for Lord- had strict rules for spacing- each complete scroll had to be proofread by three other Masorete scholars- and every word and letter counted.
b. An older Hebrew text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, were found in 1947, dating back to around 250 BCE to 135 CE. While their religious doctrines agree, the Masoretic text is more accurate.
6. In the first two centuries CE, Jesus apostles translated the above into a number of languages. The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations. By the 13th century this revision had come to be called the versio vulgata, that is, the "commonly used translation", and ultimately it became the definitive and officially promulgated Latin version of the Bible in the Roman Catholic Church. Vulgate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
a. The English Douai is the English translation of the Vulgate (published between 1582 and 1610) and is the version on which almost all English Catholic versions are still based.
7. King James VI of Scotland became King of England, as James I, was Protestant, and ordered a new English translation. The translators selected were the highest of scholars, and devoted to the faith. They had no doubt that the text they were handling was the very Word of God.
From The Genesis Enigma, by Andrew Parker
a. The importance of the above is that it disputes some fiction of an oral history that distorted the prophets messages. Writing was clearly recognized and appreciated.
b. Exodus 17:14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book
2. At some time later, written texts from various religious centers were collected in Jerusalem, and edited into a single collection. The fact that many editors were involved may explain why many Old Testament books became anonymous. As long as this editing was carried out by other prophets, the sanctity of the literature would not have been affected. The timing of the Old Testament can be placed at the fourth century BCE.
3. The oldest copies of the Old Testament that we have today were written in Hebrew, with some Aramaic (a Semitic language from the kingdom of Aram, or Damascus.)
a. Prior to the time of Jesus, Greek-speaking Jews at Alexandria translated it into Greek. This version is known as the Septuagint, Latin for 70- for the number of translators, and completed by the second cenury BCE.
b. The oldest complete copy is the Codex Sinaiticus, from mid-fourth century CE at the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Mount Sinai, most of the manuscript today resides within the British Library.
4. Today, the standard Hebrew version of the Old Testament is the Masoretic text (MT). The MT is also widely used as the basis for translations of the Old Testament in Protestant Bibles, and in recent years (since 1943) also for some CatholicBibles, although the Eastern Orthodox continue to use the Septuagint, as they hold it to be divinely inspired. Masoretic Text - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
5. Although it only dates to around 1010 CE, the strictness of the copying techniques of the Masoretes, groups of Jewish scribes and scholars working in Israel, 7th- 11th centuries CE have preserved the authoritative texts from Christs time.
a. They wrote nothing from memory- each word copied from an authoritative text had to be read aloud first- he had to wipe his pen before writing the word for God- his whole body before writing the word for Lord- had strict rules for spacing- each complete scroll had to be proofread by three other Masorete scholars- and every word and letter counted.
b. An older Hebrew text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, were found in 1947, dating back to around 250 BCE to 135 CE. While their religious doctrines agree, the Masoretic text is more accurate.
6. In the first two centuries CE, Jesus apostles translated the above into a number of languages. The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations. By the 13th century this revision had come to be called the versio vulgata, that is, the "commonly used translation", and ultimately it became the definitive and officially promulgated Latin version of the Bible in the Roman Catholic Church. Vulgate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
a. The English Douai is the English translation of the Vulgate (published between 1582 and 1610) and is the version on which almost all English Catholic versions are still based.
7. King James VI of Scotland became King of England, as James I, was Protestant, and ordered a new English translation. The translators selected were the highest of scholars, and devoted to the faith. They had no doubt that the text they were handling was the very Word of God.
From The Genesis Enigma, by Andrew Parker
