Textual Criticism

Synoptic View

View which depicts several consecutive actions at once. “With one eye” in its totality

Autograph

The original manuscript of literary text

3 Activities/Steps involved in performing TC

1. Aware of the basics of the history of the transmission of the OT

2. Collect specific variant readings

3. Compare evidence

Textual criticism vs Divine Inspiration

TC: Transmission is a domain

DI: God, through the holy spirit, ensures that the text of scripture reflects exactly what he wanted to say. Lacks transmissions.

Date of earliest Sumerian writing

Toward the end of the 4th millennium BC (3100 BC)

Pictographic writing

Signs were used to picture specific objects and call them to mind. Limited to what it could present.

Morphology/Morphological information

Use of letters or combinations of letters that convey grammatical meaning

Polyphone

many sounds

• Combats ambiguity

Ex) Plough, dough, though, etc.

Homophonee

Sounds the same, but mean different

Ex) Flee, Flea/Knew, new

Date of earliest Akkadian writing

3rd millennium BC

Cuneiform

system that consist of wedge-shaped signs created by pressing a triangular shaped stylus into clay tablets.

Importance of Akkadian writing

-Earliest attested Semitic language

-Proved helpful for elucidation of features in the Hebrew language

-Sets the writing activity of various personages in proper historical and linguistic context.

-Historical and cultural information

Hiergoglyphics

way of writing (symbols)

Date of earliest alphabetic writing

The first half of 2nd Millennium

• Way back with Abraham and Moses

Acrophonic

Shape of letter looked like an object that began with that sound

Script v Language

Script: Right to left direction

-French and English both use Latin Script

Date/Location of earliest example of Paleo-Hebrew Script

19th century in Israel and nearby Moab

Lingua franca

Aramaic language

• The common language used for trade, treaties, etc.

Earliest occurrences of "write" in the Bible

Exodus 17:14

• When the Lord tells Moses to write down his promise that he will blot out the memory of Amalek

Potsherd

Wooden tablets covered in wax, could be reused (For writing)

• Ancient “scrap paper”

Ostraca

Broken pieces of pottery used as writing material

Papyrus

created by drying thin strips from papyrus plants pressed, beaten, and smoothed. Less durable, more expensive

Period when OT Scriptures were produced

Time of Moses-Malachi

1400-400 BC

Paleo-Hebrew script

Old Hebrew script which predates the Hebrew square script (essentially how we write it in class now)

Scroll vs Codex

Scroll: Made of either leather or papyrus 5-44m long (Individual)

Codex: book form

matres lectionis

“Mothers of reading”

• Indicate final long vowels and later long vowels

  • Ex) Yod, he, and waw

Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-13C5 E)

Rebellion against Rome in response to Emperor Hadrians rebuilding Jerusalem as a Pagan city.

Planned to replace the Jewish temple with a temple dedicated to Jupiter.

Text types

Ex) Egypt, Palestine, Babylon

• Families of text- different characteristics

Talmud

collection of rabbinic teachings and instructions central to rabbinic Judaism.

Composed of Mishnah and Gemarah

Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS)

Old Testament manuscripts discovered in 1947 in a cave near the Dead Sea

Qumran

Where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found

Date of Dead Sea Scrolls manuscripts

1947, 20th century

Essenes

Religious groups, lived along the western shore of the Dead Sea

Strict Jews, Studied the texts.

Protomasoretic text

The largest group of biblical scrolls

Reflect the text later known as Masorectic Text

Pre-Samaritan

Hebrew Text, lies behind LXX

Septuigant

Greek translation of the Old Testament

The oldest translation, proceeds from the time of Jesus

Orthography

Study of handwriting and use of letters

How we know the dates of the DSS

Morphology

Structure of words

Significance of DSS

supports the fidelity of the Masoretic tradition of the reliable original text

Samaritan Pentateuch

The versions of the Pentateuch followed by the Samaritans

• Jews and Samaritans did not like eachother

Date of SP

Late 19th century A.D

• Based off of text type and DSS

Masoretic Text

The Hebrew text of OT preserved by the Masoretes. In written and vocal form. (1800-1000 A.D)

Cairo Genizah

Storage area where worn-out Torah Scrolls were kept until ceremonial burial in Cairo

Four elements of the Masoretic writing

1. Accentuation

2. Vocalization

3. Paratextual elements

4. Masorah

ketiv-qere

Ketiv (Written) Qere (Read)

consonantal text indicates one meaning and the vocalization indicates another.

Colophon

Brief statement containing information about publication

Leningrad Codex

Dates from 1008 CE, Base manuscript from BHS

Evaluation of MT

Basis for almost all English Translations

• Carefully preserved

BHQ

5th and most recent edition in Biblia Hebraica.

Based on Leningrad codex

20 Volumes, 1st volume (2004)

Letter of Aristeas

Tells how the Greek OT came to be in great detail

Origen's Hexapla

6-column work in which the existing Greek versions could be compared with the Hebrew text current in Origen's time.

Uncials

large capital Greek letters

minuscules

common cursive scripture, lower case

Codex Vaticanus

Completes text of the OT

Based on text for several editions of the LXX

Preserved copy of the LXX dated to the 4th Century AD

Gottingen Septuagint

-critical edition of the LXX

- provides readings of the revisions and other edited forms in Greek tradition

-Attempts to reconstruct the earliest form of LXX translation

Aramaic Targums

A translation in any language, but used specifically for biblical translations in Aramaic translation and commentary

Anthropomorphism

human imagery is used of God

Ex) "God's outstretched arm"

Syriac (language)

late dialect of Aramaic used in ancient Edessa and the surrounding area

Peshitta

"Simple" or "obvious"

-quoted by the 4th century

Vulgate

Latin translation of OT

4th century

Old Latin

Refer to these original translations to distinguish them from the vulgate

Jerome

Believed that if there was a truly accurate version of the OT is should be based on the Hebrew text. Made Vulgate

Council of Trent

Adopted Vulgate by roman catholic teachings as the official Bible here

daughter translation

-information about detailed discussions of other ancient versions of OT.

-Made from LXX

-Indirect usefulness for establishing text of Hebrew Bible

Our goal when using ancient translations

Uncover the Hebrew source text behind the translation

Critical edition

The ultimate objective of the textual critic's work is the production of a "critical edition" containing a text most closely approximating the original.

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS)

The standard critical text of the Old Testament

Masorah parva

"small Masorah"; Masoretic notations written in the side margins of the texts (includes the Kethiv-Qere)

Masorah magna

"large Masorah"; Masoretic notations written on the top and bottom margins of the text

Sedar/sedarim

liturgical division of text. (Samek)

Parashah/Parashot

Torah in a year, a way of division

Hapax Legomena

words occurring only once in the biblical text

Textual (or critical) Apparatus

the "notes" at the bottom of a Greek or Hebrew text showing alternate readings and the MSS supporting each variant

(Footnotes done by the editor)

Status of BHQ publication

8/20, first was in 2004. Be done by 2040

Significant changes in the format of BHQ

Lacunae/ Lacuna

Flaw caused by a physical defect

Confusion of similar letters

Ex) Dalet, resh

Wrong word division

space in between words

Ex) Godisnowwhere

Wrong assignment of vowels

incorrect or ambiguous of vowel letter

abbreviations

source of transmission error

Homoioteleuton

error of the eye "Similar ending"

Homoioarkton

error of the eye

confusion of beginning of word

Haplography

errors associated with looking back and forth

copying once of a letter that was written twice

Dittography

Copying twice of a letter that was written once

Transposition/metathesis

switching two letters

Errors related to dictation/faulty hearing

Homophones

Ex) "Lo"

Meaning "No/not" or "to him"

Errors of the scribe's judgement

unintentional error

Scribe copies down something out of memory but places it in wrong spot

Emendations of the Scribes

an intentional change to the text usually when a scribe sees something as disrespectful. Occurs about 18 or so places in OT

Ex) "God stood before Abraham"--> "Abraham stood before God"

Omissions of the Scribes

a change to the text where scribes omitted a word

occurs 4 times

Explanatory glosses

Scribe inserts info to smooth over or clarify added

Euphemisms

figure of speech

- 16 instances where something is written but judged to be offensive so in the margin they would put an Euphemism to make it softer.

Ex) Isaiah 13:16

Goal of textual criticism

The final form of the text

Four Steps of TC

1. Gather the available manuscript evidence

2. Compare the evidence

3. Evaluate the various readings

4. Select the best, most o.g. reading

What is the simplest way to collect the evidence for TC

Rely on the evidence presented in the apparatus of BHS or another critical edition of the Hebrew Text

Considerations evaluating variant readings/manuscripts

1. Not count manuscripts, but weight them.

2. In general, older manuscripts are better.

3. Lectio difficillor "The more difficult reading"

4. Lectio Brevior "The shorter reading"

5. Which reading best explains the origin of the other readings.

The relationship between TC and exegesis

TC lays groundwork for proper exegesis

Exegesis is taking meaning out of the text.