RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE TEXT

Appreciation of the reliability of the Bible is greatly enhanced when it is realized that, by comparison, there are only very few extant manuscripts of the works of classical secular writers and none of these are original, autograph manuscripts. Though they are only copies made centuries after the death of the authors, present-day scholars accept such late copies as sufficient evidence of the authenticity of the text.

Extant Hebrew manuscripts of the Scriptures are not as numerous as the manuscripts of the Christian Greek Scriptures. However, they were prepared with great care. Respecting the text of the Hebrew Scriptures scholar William Henry Green observed: “It may be safely said that no other work of antiquity has been so accurately transmitted.” The late Bible text scholar Sir Frederic Kenyon made this reassuring statement in the introduction to his seven volumes on the “Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri” (published in 1933 in London, p. 15): “The first and most important conclusion derived from the examination of them [the Papyri] is the satisfactory one that they confirm the essential soundness of the existing texts. No striking or fundamental variation is shown either in the Old or the New Testament. There are no important omissions or additions of passages, and no variations which affect vital facts or doctrines. The variations of text affect minor matters, such as the order of words or the precise words used . . . But their essential importance is their confirmation, by evidence of an earlier date than was hitherto available, of the integrity of our existing texts. In this respect they are an acquisition of epoch-making value.”

Concerning the Christian Greek Scriptures Sir Frederic Kenyon stated in his book The Bible and Archaeology (published in 1940): “The interval then between the dates of original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed. Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established.”—Pp. 288, 289.

Centuries ago, Jesus Christ, “the faithful and true witness” (Rev. 3:14), repeatedly and emphatically confirmed the genuineness of the Hebrew Scriptures, as did his apostles. (Luke 24:27, 44; Rom. 15:4) Extant ancient versions or translations further bespeak the exactness of the preserved Hebrew Scriptures. Manuscripts and versions of the Christian Greek Scriptures bear unassailable testimony to the marvelous preservation and accurate transmission of that portion of God’s Word. We are therefore now favored with an authentic, thoroughly reliable Bible text. A thoughtful examination of preserved manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures bears eloquent testimony to their faithful preservation and permanence, giving added meaning to the inspired statement: “The green grass has dried up, the blossom has withered; but as for the word of our God, it will last to time indefinite.”—Isa. 40:8; 1 Pet. 1:24, 25.

MAOCH

(Maʹoch) [oppressed, bruised].

Father of Achish, king of the Philistine city of Gath, with whom David and his six hundred men found refuge from Saul. (1 Sam. 27:1-3) He may be the same person as the Maacah of 1 Kings 2:39, though such identification is not positive. The name Maacah is quite similar to Maoch and it is possible that Achish, who was ruling when David was outlawed, was still the Philistine king of Gath at the commencement of Solomon’s rule.

MAON

(Maʹon) [dwelling].

1. A descendant of Caleb through Shammai. Maon may have been the father of Beth-zur’s inhabitants or the principal man or founder of that city.—1 Chron. 2:42, 45.

2. A city in the mountainous region of Judah. (Josh. 15:20, 48, 55) Israel’s King Saul pursued David and his men into the wilderness area surrounding Maon. But news of a Philistine raid forced Saul to abandon the chase. (1 Sam. 23:24-28) Later, David’s men were treated inhospitably by Nabal, a rich landowner apparently residing at Maon. (1 Sam. 25:2-11) This city is identified with Tell Maʽin atop a high hill about eight and a half miles (14 kilometers) S of Hebron.

MARA

(Maʹra) [bitter].

The name Mara was suggested by Elimelech’s widow for herself to express the bitterness she experienced due to being bereaved of her husband and her sons Mahlon and Chilion. Naomi had left Bethlehem with a husband and two sons (Ruth 1:1, 2), but returned from Moab as a saddened, childless widow. At that time her old friends, the women of Bethlehem, asked: “Is this Naomi?” Still grief-stricken, she replied: “Do not call me Naomi [meaning “my pleasantness”]. Call me Mara [meaning “bitter”], for the Almighty has made it very bitter for me. I was full when I went, and it is empty-handed that Jehovah has made me return.”—Ruth 1:19-21.

MARAH

(Maʹrah) [bitterness].

One of Israel’s early encampments in the Sinai Peninsula. It was named “Marah” (bitterness) because of the unpalatable water found there. (Ex. 15:23; Num. 33:8) Although having only recently been delivered from the Egyptians at the Red Sea, the Israelites gave way to faithless murmuring when they were unable to drink the water at Marah. Thereafter, at Jehovah’s direction, Moses cast a tree into the water and it became sweet. The Bible does not specify the kind of tree and so there is no basis for identifying it. Of course, Jehovah could have directed Moses to a particular variety having natural properties for sweetening the water. But there is no need to seek a “scientific” or “natural” explanation, as the healing of the water was doubtless miraculous.—Ex. 15:23-25; compare 2 Kings 2:19-22; 4:38-41.

Jehovah used the circumstances at Marah to test the Israelites as to their faith in his ability to care for them. Since bad water can cause disease (2 Ki. 2:19), the sweetening of the water illustrated Jehovah’s ability to preserve the Israelites from the maladies experienced by the Egyptians. The “regulation” Jehovah then taught the Israelites was: Obedience to him as their God would prevent their being afflicted by the maladies he put upon the Egyptians.—Ex. 15:25, 26.

Marah is usually identified with ʽAin Hawarah. Lying as it does about forty-five miles (72 kilometers) S-SE of modern Suez, this site is just a few miles inland from the Red Sea.

MARBLE

A crystalline limestone (calcium carbonate) of close grain that varies in color, texture and crystal structure, and which is capable of taking a high polish. Its color ranges from snow-white to numerous shades of gray, brown, yellow, red, green and black. Streaks or veins are due to impurities of metal oxides and carbonaceous matter.

It is uncertain whether Solomon made use of marble in his building program. Josephus says “white stone” was used, but the Hebrew word usually translated “marble” at 1 Chronicles 29:2 probably denotes “alabaster” and is thus rendered in some translations. (JB, NW) This is in agreement with A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Brown, Driver and Briggs, 1952, page 1010, and Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros by Koehler & Baumgartner, 1953, page 966.

Marble apparently was not found in Palestine. Lebanon, however, produced a variety of marbles; but the choicest specimens were found in the Aegean island of Paros and in Arabia. The Shulammite maiden, in describing her beloved shepherd companion to the ladies-in-waiting at the court of King Solomon,