Textual Criticism of the Old Testament
Modern editions of the Hebrew Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, are based on one manuscript. Usually that is the Codex Leningradensis
Reasons for Textual Criticism
Textual criticism of the Old Testament is necessary for two reasons:
- The books of the Old Testament acquired their definitive form in the period between 500 and 200 BC. But the oldest manuscripts with the complete text of the Hebrew Bible date from after AD 1000. During the intervening centuries the text was meticulously passed down, but here and there errors were made when copying the text. Sometimes the text was purposely changed a little in places, mostly for theological reasons. Textual criticism attempts to go back to the original text.
- The transmitted text is not always the best text. Sometimes it is possible to improve the text with help from manuscripts from Qumran
or one of the oldest translations, such as the Septuagint .
Corrected Masoretic Text
In practice, textual criticism starts with the Masoretic text
- First, all variations (textual deviations) are mapped out.
- Then, the variants are considered and judged on whether they might be more original.
In certain cases this leads to an improvement of the Masoretic text; especially the Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran and the Septuagint can be used to suggest textual improvements.
No Critical Edition
Many corrections to the Masoretic text are widely accepted and have been included in Bible translations. Nevertheless, there is still no critical edition of the Old Testament in which those improvements and corrections have been included. Although the Masoretic text does not provide the best text in every situation, it is still the standard text.
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