Questions regarding the science of textual criticism where exegetes compare copies of manuscripts and attempt to reconstruct the original wording of the author.
17
votes
3answers
536 views
Did Jesus sweat blood?
Luke 22:44 (NIV)
And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Was this a literal thing--did he actually sweat drops of blood. Is ...
12
votes
4answers
589 views
Is John 7:53-8:11 inspired?
I've read several recent commentaries on John 8 and all agree that the story of the woman caught in adultery almost certainly wasn't there in the original manuscript. Yet they all go on to explain the ...
11
votes
2answers
214 views
Bart D. Ehrman - respected critic?
I found Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why troublesome to my understanding of the translation process of the bible. It has made me review my understanding of the bible. ...
10
votes
3answers
153 views
Based on recent manuscript discoveries, is the LXX more reliable than the MT?
Based on recent manuscript discoveries such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, is the text of the LXX more reliable than the MT?
9
votes
3answers
163 views
Who led the people out of Israel in Jude 5?
Lest anyone think this is a "stump the chumps" question, I am specifically interested in support for a particular reading of this text. It is disputed which manuscript should be followed in Jude 5. ...
9
votes
2answers
247 views
How authentic is Codex Sinaiticus?
From what I understand, these are the best codices available.
Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Vaticanus
Codex Alexandrinus
Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus.
Codex Sinaiticus is considered the only complete New ...
9
votes
1answer
179 views
What role should textual (lower) criticism play in biblical hermeneutics (if any)?
A recent comment on another question demonstrated a common perspective, namely that textual criticism is usually a bad thing when interpreting scripture (some would even go so far as to say that it is ...
8
votes
2answers
82 views
Was the Leningrad Codex a direct descendant of the Aleppo Codex?
Here is what I think I know about these two codices
(correct me if I'm wrong):
both the Aleppo and Leningrad Codices were complete codices of the Hebrew Old Testament
the Leningrad Codex was (is?) ...
7
votes
1answer
92 views
How should Sirach 3:17 be translated?
Here are four alternate translations for Sirach (Ecclesiasticus / Wisdom of Joshua Ben Sira) 3:17 --
My son, perform your tasks in meekness; then you will be loved by
those whom God accepts ...
7
votes
1answer
183 views
Is the ending of the Gospel of Mark (16:9-20) original?
Some scholars believe that the ending of Mark is unoriginal due to it appearing to have a different style and the fact that it's missing from some key manuscripts. At the same time, several early ...
7
votes
1answer
225 views
Coherence-Based Genealogical Method vs. Local Text-Types Theory
The NA28 text marks a departure from the traditional methodology of textual criticism. As described by Jeff Kloha in the Concordia Theology Journal,
Previous generations learned to classify ...
7
votes
3answers
312 views
What is the meaning of “calculate” in Revelation 13:18?
This is perhaps the most famous prophesy in popular culture:
This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his ...
7
votes
1answer
186 views
What is the argument against the authenticity of 1 John 5:7-8 in the KJV?
I was reading through Lee Strobel's The Case for the Real Jesus and came across a passage in the book that indicates the inauthenticity of 1 John 5:7-8 in the King James Version:
1 John 5:7-8 ...
6
votes
1answer
40 views
What is a “reinked” ms?
So, I'm checking a variant in the CNTTS critical apparatus and look up some info on a couple MSS that support a reading. According to CNTTS the manuscript is "a reinked ms. of the entire NT." What is ...
6
votes
1answer
125 views
What led to the division of Ezra-Nehemiah?
Modern consensus is that the books of Ezra and Nehemiah actually comprise a single work which was subsequently divided into two. How is it that scholars realized this was the same book (Does it have ...
6
votes
1answer
79 views
Can we determine the language(s) the author of Hebrews read from the list of Judges?
In Hebrews 11, at the end of the Hall of Faith, we get a short list:
And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the ...
6
votes
1answer
68 views
How should Psalm 22:16 read?
Psalm 22:16 seems textually quite difficult. The NET for example reads:
Yes, wild dogs surround me –
a gang of evil men crowd around me;
like a lion they pin my hands and feet.
Yet, they note that ...
6
votes
1answer
95 views
How reliable are the Dead Sea Scrolls as a base to compare against the Masoretic text and the LXX?
I often find people comparing other manuscripts (e.g., Masoretic text, LXX) against the Dead Sea Scrolls in order to determine their accuracy. For example, this thread asked how reliable the LXX was ...
5
votes
1answer
104 views
Do some of the manuscripts have a blank spot in Ephesians 1:1?
The NIV footnotes indicate that some early manuscripts do not have "in Ephesus" in then. The NET has extensive notes on this, but they only state the the earliest and most important MSS "omit" the ...
5
votes
2answers
565 views
Is 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 an interpolation?
One of the answers to the question about what 1st Corinthians 14:34-35 means suggests that the passage is a later interpolation. From the quote by J.W. Wartick, included in the answer, there are ...
5
votes
1answer
44 views
Was nûn deleted from Psalm 145 in the Masoretic Text?
Psalm 145 is an acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet, except that in most of the MT manuscripts verse 13b is missing along with therefore the letter nûn. The ESV renders it like this:
Your kingdom is an ...
5
votes
1answer
94 views
Who are the people God sent to deliver Israel in 1 Samuel 12:11?
The NET gives the following information about the list of names found in 1 Samuel 12:11:
In the ancient versions there is some confusion with regard to these names, both with regard to the ...
4
votes
4answers
156 views
Contextually, which English translation/ Greek text seems more probable in Rev. 5:10?
In the King James Version of Rev. 5:10, we find the following phrase,
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
If we examine the immediate context, the ...
4
votes
1answer
34 views
In 1 Peter 1:4, why did the translators of the KJV translate εἰς ἡμᾶς as “for you”?
The Greek text of the Textus Receptus:
εἰς κληρονομίαν ἄφθαρτον καὶ ἀμίαντον καὶ ἀμάραντον τετηρημένην ἐν οὐρανοῖς εἰς ἡμᾶς
εἰς ἡμᾶς are basic Greek words, so how could such learned Greek ...
4
votes
1answer
123 views
Was Barabbas' given name Jesus?
The ESV is typical in it's rendering of Barabbas' name:
Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious ...
4
votes
2answers
405 views
What are higher and lower criticism?
What is historical criticism (also known as higher criticism)? What is textual criticism (also known as lower criticism)? How can they help us understand the scriptures? How can they interefere with ...
3
votes
2answers
92 views
Is “Children of Israel” the only way to read Deuteronomy 32:8?
I asked a Jew and this is what she said:
As for Deut 32:8, there is not a single Hebrew text that does not say
'bnei Yisrael'. Every Jewish translation of this verse says children
[or sons] ...
2
votes
2answers
180 views
Does the “lost leaf” theory for Mark's abrupt ending fail if written on a scroll?
I really like this explanation of Mark's rather abrupt ending:
There are three possible explanations for Mark ending at 16:8: (1) The author intentionally ended the Gospel here in an open-ended ...
1
vote
3answers
220 views
What does Cain say to Abel in Genesis 4:8?
The Masoretic version of Genesis 4:8 reads as follows:
וַיֹּאמֶר קַיִן, אֶל-הֶבֶל אָחִיו; וַיְהִי בִּהְיוֹתָם בַּשָּׂדֶה, וַיָּקָם קַיִן אֶל-הֶבֶל אָחִיו וַיַּהַרְגֵהוּ.
And Cain said to his ...
1
vote
1answer
77 views
2 Cor 5:20: “be reconciled to God” translation
I heard somewhere that in 2 Corinthians 5:20
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech
[you] by us: we pray [you] in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God
because of ...
1
vote
2answers
54 views
Do we have such expressions as “the holiest” in the New Testament Greek?
Do we have such expressions as "the holiest" in the New Testament Greek? Is there a superlative of "holy" in Old Greek at all?
1
vote
1answer
110 views
How do Aramaic primacists respond to Greek primacy arguments? [closed]
Background: This question is related to another question here on BH.SE. It is an effort to bring balance, strength and integrity to this discussion on BHSE. It is my hope that by having to face the ...
0
votes
0answers
11 views
Was Abiathar the son of Ahimelech or was Ahimelech the son of Abiathar? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Was Abiathar the son of Ahimelech or was Ahimelech the son of Abiathar?
According to the following three verses, Abiathar was the son of Ahimelech:
1 Samuel 22:20.
1 ...
0
votes
0answers
35 views
Any recent outside-of-the-Bible discoveries that made understanding the Bible clearer? [closed]
Has there been anything recently (last 2 centuries) discovered outside of the biblical science that contributed to understanding the New Testament? For example, some letters written in ancient Greece ...
-1
votes
2answers
183 views
Did women contribute to the temple in exodus 35:22?
Finishing the response to the meta call for contradiction, here is the last contradiction/inconsistency I found in Genesis/Exodus/Leviticus.
In Exodus 35:22 we find the following passage.
And the ...
