2Just how careful were the guys who copied the Bible up until the printing press was invented? Does the Bible we have today compare well with the originals (the autographs)?
The copying of the Old Testament was very exact. According to Geisler and Nix’s A General Introduction to the Bible, there were at least 17 rules that needed to be followed by the scribes when they copied the Old Testament to create a Synagogue Scroll. Among the rules were these: “(4) Every skin must contain a certain number of columns, equal throughout the entire codex. (7) The ink should be black, neither red, green, nor any other color, and prepared according to a definite recipe. (9) No word or letter, not even a yod, must be written from memory, the scribe not having looked at the codex before him. (10) Between every consonant the space of a hair or thread must intervene (11) Between every book three lines….”, etc.
So, you get the idea that the scribes copying the Old Testament had to be extremely careful and reverent at their jobs. When the scribe came upon the very name of God and needed to copy it, he was expected first to take a bath, dress in newly washed clothes, use a new pen and freshly prepared ink. This meant when the scribe copied Ps. 4:3 or Ps. 6:2, he had to go through this ritual twice since God’s name appears twice in those verses.
On top of that, the scribe was expected to count the letters in the newly copied page and count the number of letters in the manuscript being copied. If the numbers matched, he was to hold a thread across the text from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. Another thread was held from the top right corner of the text to the lower left corner. If the letter in the center where the two threads crossed was the same as the letter in the same position on the manuscript being copied, then the copy was approved. If not, it was destroyed.
This extremely conservative approach to copying the manuscripts gives us the reason why, when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, they match almost precisely our modern manuscripts.
So, because today’s Old Testament matches a copy from more than two thousand years ago, we can be pretty certain the Old Testament we hold in our hands and study is an extremely reliable and authentic representation of the Old Testament autographs. Geisler and Nix say it is more than 99% an accurate copy. The less than 1% in question contains no doctrinal issues.
This post is the second in a series on the trustworthyness of the Bible. There is a page where the posts are accumulated to create one document for your use in discussing the Bible. The Page is called, Can I Trust My Bible? This page can be found in the menus at the side bar or at the bottom of the page.
As usual, an expanded version of this post can be found in the menus under “Can I Trust My Bible?
Believers Armed and Dangerous 