Jeff A. Benner | A History of Hebrew Part 22: Textual Criticism @ancienthebreworg | Uploaded April 2010 | Updated October 2024, 24 minutes ago.
A History of Hebrew DVD available through Amazon.Com - amazon.com/History-Hebrew-Its-Language-Philosophy/dp/1621370593
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When the various Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Bible are compared, a process called Textual Criticism, we often find variations in how these manuscripts read.
Genesis 4:8 provides a simple example of how this process works. In the Hebrew Aleppo codex this passage reads "And Cain said to his brother Abel, and it came to pass that they were in the field and Cain rose up toward his brother Abel and killed him." Missing from this passage is what Cain said to Abel and appears to be an accidental omission on the part of a scribe. However, when we examine this passage in the Greek Septuagint translation we find the missing words-"and Cain said to his brother Abel, Let us go out into the field." It appears that the Septuagint is working from a Hebrew manuscript that includes Cain's speech, while the Aleppo codex is working from a Hebrew manuscript that is missing the speech.
"When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, When He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the
Young's Literal Translation reads "sons of Israel," the Revised Standard Version reads "sons of God," and the New Living Translation reads "angelic beings."
YLT is taking its translation from the Hebrew in the Aleppo codex which read בני ישראל (sons of Israel). The RSV is taking its translation from the Hebrew in a Dead Sea Scroll that reads בני אלוהים (sons of God). The NLT is taking its translation from the Greek Septuagint which reads aggelwn qeou (angel or messenger of God).
The Aleppo Codex and the Dead Sea Scroll are two Hebrew versions coming from two different Hebrew sources, which we will call Hebrew #1 and Hebrew #2. Hebrew #1 reads בני ישראל (meaning sons of Israel) while Hebrew #2 reads בני אלוהים (meaning sons of God). The Septuagint is a translation from an earlier Hebrew source, which we will call Hebrew #3, that reads בני אל (Also meaning sons of God, but a more primitive spelling that is commonly used among Semitic peoples for angels or messengers of God).
The process of textual criticism compares these various readings to make a determination of which reading is the original. The consensus among scholars is that the original reading is בני אל (sons of El). Notice that the letters in these two Hebrew words can be found in within all three Hebrew versions.
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Narration: Jeff A. Benner
Graphics: Jeff A. Benner
Images: Ardon Bar Hama, Paul Kahle, The Schøyen Collection
Music: Kevin MacLeod
A History of Hebrew DVD available through Amazon.Com - amazon.com/History-Hebrew-Its-Language-Philosophy/dp/1621370593
---------------------------
When the various Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Bible are compared, a process called Textual Criticism, we often find variations in how these manuscripts read.
Genesis 4:8 provides a simple example of how this process works. In the Hebrew Aleppo codex this passage reads "And Cain said to his brother Abel, and it came to pass that they were in the field and Cain rose up toward his brother Abel and killed him." Missing from this passage is what Cain said to Abel and appears to be an accidental omission on the part of a scribe. However, when we examine this passage in the Greek Septuagint translation we find the missing words-"and Cain said to his brother Abel, Let us go out into the field." It appears that the Septuagint is working from a Hebrew manuscript that includes Cain's speech, while the Aleppo codex is working from a Hebrew manuscript that is missing the speech.
"When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, When He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the
Young's Literal Translation reads "sons of Israel," the Revised Standard Version reads "sons of God," and the New Living Translation reads "angelic beings."
YLT is taking its translation from the Hebrew in the Aleppo codex which read בני ישראל (sons of Israel). The RSV is taking its translation from the Hebrew in a Dead Sea Scroll that reads בני אלוהים (sons of God). The NLT is taking its translation from the Greek Septuagint which reads aggelwn qeou (angel or messenger of God).
The Aleppo Codex and the Dead Sea Scroll are two Hebrew versions coming from two different Hebrew sources, which we will call Hebrew #1 and Hebrew #2. Hebrew #1 reads בני ישראל (meaning sons of Israel) while Hebrew #2 reads בני אלוהים (meaning sons of God). The Septuagint is a translation from an earlier Hebrew source, which we will call Hebrew #3, that reads בני אל (Also meaning sons of God, but a more primitive spelling that is commonly used among Semitic peoples for angels or messengers of God).
The process of textual criticism compares these various readings to make a determination of which reading is the original. The consensus among scholars is that the original reading is בני אל (sons of El). Notice that the letters in these two Hebrew words can be found in within all three Hebrew versions.
___________________
Narration: Jeff A. Benner
Graphics: Jeff A. Benner
Images: Ardon Bar Hama, Paul Kahle, The Schøyen Collection
Music: Kevin MacLeod
