THE HEBREW-LANGUAGE TEXTS

17. Who were the scribes, or Sopherim, and for what did Jesus condemn them?

¹⁷ The Sopherim. The men who copied the Hebrew Scriptures starting in the days of Ezra and continuing to the time of Jesus were called scribes, or Sopherim. In the course of time, they began to take liberties in making textual changes. In fact, Jesus himself roundly condemned these would-be custodians of the Law for assuming powers that did not belong to them.​—Matt. 23:2, 13.

18. (a) Who were the Masoretes, and what valuable comments have they made on the Hebrew text? (b) What are some examples of their corrections, as noted in the New World Translation?

¹⁸ The Masora Reveals Alterations. The scribal successors of the Sopherim in the centuries after Christ came to be known as the Masoretes. These took note of the alterations made by the earlier Sopherim, recording them in the margin or at the end of the Hebrew text. These marginal notes came to be known as the Masora. The Masora listed the 15 extraordinary points of the Sopherim, namely, 15 words or phrases in the Hebrew text that had been marked by dots or strokes. Some of these extraordinary points do not affect the English translation or the interpretation, but others do and are of importance.h The Sopherim allowed their superstitious fear of pronouncing the name Jehovah to ensnare them into altering it to read ʼAdho·naiʹ (Lord) at 134 places and to read ʼElo·himʹ (God) in some instances. The Masora lists these changes.i The Sopherim or early scribes are also charged with making at least 18 emendations (corrections), according to a note in the Masora, though there evidently were even more.j These emendations were very likely made with good intentions because the original passage appeared to show either irreverence for God or disrespect for his earthly representatives.

19. What is the Hebrew consonantal text, and when did it become fixed in form?

¹⁹ The Consonantal Text. The Hebrew alphabet is made up of 22 consonants, with no vowels. Originally, the reader had to supply the vowel sounds from his knowledge of the language. Hebrew writing was like an abbreviated script. Even in modern English there are many standard abbreviations that people use in which only consonants appear. For example, there is ltd. as an abbreviation for limited. Similarly, the Hebrew language comprised a series of words made up only of consonants. Thus, by “consonantal text” is meant the Hebrew text without any vowel markings. The consonantal text of the Hebrew manuscripts became fixed in form between the first and second centuries C.E., although manuscripts with variant texts continued to circulate for some time. Alterations were no longer made, unlike the previous period of the Sopherim.

20. What did the Masoretes do regarding the Hebrew text?

²⁰ The Masoretic Text. In the second half of the first millennium C.E., the Masoretes (Hebrew, ba·ʽalehʹ ham·ma·soh·rahʹ, meaning “the Masters of Tradition”) established a system of vowel points and accent marks. These served as a written aid in the reading and pronouncing of vowel sounds, whereas previously the pronunciation had been handed down by oral tradition. The Masoretes made no changes whatsoever in the texts that they transmitted but recorded marginal notes in the Masora as they saw fit. They exercised great care to take no textual liberties. Additionally, in their Masora, they drew attention to textual peculiarities and gave corrected readings they considered necessary.

21. What is the Masoretic text?

²¹ Three schools of Masoretes were engaged in the development of the vocalizing and accent marking of the consonantal text, namely, the Babylonian, Palestinian, and Tiberian. The Hebrew text now presented in printed editions of the Hebrew Bible is known as the Masoretic text and uses the system devised by the Tiberian school. This system was developed by the Masoretes of Tiberias, a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Footnotes in the New World Translation refer many times to the Masoretic text (under the symbol M) and to its marginal notes, the Masora (under the symbol M^margin).k

22. What manuscript of the Babylonian line of texts has become available, and how does it compare with the Tiberian text?

²² The Palestinian school placed the vowel signs above the consonants. Only a small number of such manuscripts came down to us, showing that this system of vocalization was imperfect. The Babylonian system of vowel pointing was likewise supralinear. A manuscript exhibiting the Babylonian pointing is the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets, of 916 C.E., preserved in the Leningrad Public Library, U.S.S.R. This codex contains Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the “minor” prophets, with marginal notes (Masora). Scholars have eagerly examined this manuscript and compared it with the Tiberian text. Although it uses the supralinear system of vocalization, it in fact follows the Tiberian text as regards the consonantal text and its vowels and Masora. The British Museum has a copy of the Babylonian text of the Pentateuch, which has been found to be substantially in agreement with the Tiberian text.

23. What series of Hebrew manuscript finds has been made near the Dead Sea?

²³ Dead Sea Scrolls. In 1947 an exciting new chapter in Hebrew manuscript history began. In a cave at Wadi Qumran (Nahal Qumeran), in the area of the Dead Sea, the first Isaiah scroll, together with other Biblical and non-Biblical scrolls, was discovered. Shortly thereafter, a complete photostatic copy of this well-preserved Isaiah scroll (1QIs^a) was published for scholars to study. It is believed to date toward the end of the second century B.C.E. Here, indeed, was an incredible find​—a Hebrew manuscript about a thousand years older than the oldest existing manuscript of the recognized Masoretic text of Isaiah!l Other caves in Qumran surrendered fragments of over 170 scrolls representing parts of all books of the Hebrew Scriptures except Esther. Studies of such scrolls are still in progress.

24. How do these manuscripts compare with the Masoretic text, and what use does the New World Translation make of them?

²⁴ One scholar reports that his investigation of the lengthy Psalm 119 in one important Dead Sea Scroll of the Psalms (11QPs^a) shows it to be in almost complete verbal agreement with the Masoretic text of Psalm 119. Regarding the Psalms Scroll, Professor J. A. Sanders noted: “Most of [the variants] are orthographic and important only to those scholars who are interested in clues to the pronunciation of Hebrew in antiquity, and such matters.”a Other examples of these remarkable ancient manuscripts indicate no great variations in most cases. The Isaiah scroll itself, though it shows some differences in spelling and in grammatical construction, does not vary as to doctrinal points. This published Isaiah scroll was examined as to its variations in the preparation of the New World Translation, and references are made to it.b

25. What Hebrew texts have now been discussed, and of what does their study assure us?

²⁵ The major lines of transmission of the Hebrew Scriptures have now been discussed. Principally, these are the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Aramaic Targums, the Greek Septuagint, the Tiberian Hebrew text, the Palestinian Hebrew text, the Babylonian Hebrew text, and the Hebrew text of the Dead Sea Scrolls. As a result of study and comparison of these texts, we are assured that the Hebrew Scriptures have come down to us today substantially in the form in which inspired servants of God first recorded them.

THE REFINED HEBREW TEXT

26. (a) When was a critical study of the Hebrew text advanced, and what are some master texts that have been printed? (b) How has the Ginsburg text been used?

²⁶ The standard printed edition of the Hebrew Bible right into the 19th century was the Second Rabbinic Bible of Jacob ben Chayyim published in 1524-25. It was not until the 18th century that scholars began to advance the critical study of the Hebrew text. In 1776-80, at Oxford, Benjamin Kennicott published variant readings from over 600 Hebrew manuscripts. Then, in 1784-98, at Parma, the Italian scholar J. B. de Rossi published variant readings of over 800 more manuscripts. Hebrew scholar S. Baer, of Germany, also produced a master text. In more recent times, C. D. Ginsburg devoted many years to producing a critical master text of the Hebrew Bible. This first appeared in 1894, with a final revision in 1926.c Joseph Rotherham used the 1894 edition of this text in producing his English translation, The Emphasised Bible, in 1902, and Professor Max L. Margolis and coworkers used the texts of Ginsburg and of Baer in producing their translation of the Hebrew Scriptures in 1917.

27, 28. (a) What is the Biblia Hebraica, and how has it been developed? (b) How has the New World Translation used this text?

²⁷ In 1906 Hebrew scholar Rudolf Kittel released in Germany the first edition (and later, a second edition) of his refined Hebrew text entitled Biblia Hebraica, or “The Hebrew Bible.” In this book Kittel provided a textual apparatus through extended footnotes, which collated or compared the many Hebrew manuscripts of the Masoretic text available at that time. He used the generally accepted text by Jacob ben Chayyim as the basic text. When the far older, superior Ben Asher Masoretic texts, which had been standardized about the 10th century C.E., became available, Kittel set out to produce an entirely different third edition of the Biblia Hebraica. This work was completed by his associates after his death.

²⁸ Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica, the 7th, 8th, and 9th editions (1951-55), provided the basic text used for the Hebrew section of the New World Translation in English. A new edition of the Hebrew text, namely Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, dated 1977, was used for updating the information presented in the footnotes of the New World Translation published in 1984.

29. What feature of the Biblia Hebraica was of particular value in restoring the divine name?

²⁹ Kittel’s presentation of the marginal Masora, which captures many textual alterations of pre-Christian scribes, has contributed to accurate renderings in the New World Translation, including restorations of the divine name, Jehovah. The ever-increasing field of Biblical scholarship continues to be made available through the New World Translation.

30. (a) Using the chart on page 308 showing sources for the Hebrew Scripture portion of the text of the New World Translation, trace the history of the Hebrew text through to the Biblia Hebraica as the main source of the New World Translation. (b) What are some of the other sources to which the New World Bible Translation Committee made reference?

³⁰ Accompanying this study is a chart that sets out the sources for the text of the Hebrew Scriptures in the New World Translation. This chart briefly shows the development of the Hebrew text leading to Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica, which was the main source used. The secondary sources that were consulted are shown by the white dotted lines. This is not intended to indicate that in the case of such versions as the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, the original works were consulted. As with the inspired Hebrew writings themselves, the originals of these versions are not now extant. These sources were consulted by means of reliable editions of the texts or from dependable ancient translations and critical commentaries. By consulting these various sources, the New World Bible Translation Committee was able to present an authoritative and reliable translation of the original inspired Hebrew Scriptures. These sources are all indicated in the footnotes of the New World Translation.

31. (a) Of what, therefore, is the Hebrew Scripture portion of the New World Translation the result? (b) What thanks and hope may we thus express?

³¹ The Hebrew Scripture portion of the New World Translation is thus the product of age-long Biblical scholarship and research. It is founded on a text of great integrity, the richly endowed result of faithful textual transmission. With a flow and style that are arresting, it offers for serious Bible study a translation that is at once honest and accurate. Thanks be to Jehovah, the communicating God, that his Word is alive and exerts power today! (Heb. 4:12) May honesthearted persons continue to build faith through the study of God’s precious Word and be aroused to do Jehovah’s will during these momentous days.​—2 Pet. 1:12, 13.

[Chart on page 313]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

SOME LEADING PAPYRUS MANUSCRIPTS

Of the Hebrew Scriptures

Name of Manuscript Nash Papyrus

Date 2nd or 1st cent. B.C.E.

Language Hebrew

Located at Cambridge, England

Name of Manuscript Rylands 458

Symbol 957

Date 2nd cent. B.C.E.

Language Greek

Located at Manchester, England

Approximate Contents Fragments of Deuteronomy chaps. 23-28

Name of Manuscript Fouad 266

Date 1st cent. B.C.E.

Language Greek

Located at Cairo, Egypt

Approximate Contents Portions of Genesis and Deuteronomy

Name of Manuscript Dead Sea Leviticus Scroll

Symbol 4Q LXX Lev^b

Date 1st cent. B.C.E.

Language Greek

Located at Jerusalem, Israel

Approximate Contents Fragments of Leviticus

Name of Manuscript Chester Beatty 6

Symbol 963

Date 2nd cent. C.E.

Language Greek

Approximate Contents Portions of Numbers and Deuteronomy

Name of Manuscript Chester Beatty 9, 10

Symbol 967/968

Date 3rd cent. C.E.

Language Greek

Approximate Contents Portions of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Esther

Of the Christian Greek Scriptures

Name of Manuscript Oxyrhynchus 2

Symbol P¹

Date 3rd cent. C.E.

Language Greek

Located at Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A.

Approximate Contents Matt. 1:1-9, 12, 14-20

Name of Manuscript Oxyrhynchus 1228

Symbol P²²

Date 3rd cent. C.E.

Language Greek

Located at Glasgow, Scotland

Approximate Contents Fragments of John chaps. 15, 16

Name of Manuscript Michigan 1570

Symbol P³⁷

Date 3rd/4th cent. C.E.

Language Greek

Located at Ann Arbor, Mich., U.S.A.

Approximate Contents Matt. 26:19-52

Name of Manuscript Chester Beatty 1

Symbol P⁴⁵

Date 3rd cent. C.E.

Language Greek

Located at Dublin, Ireland; Vienna, Austria

Name of Manuscript Chester Beatty 2

Symbol P⁴⁶

Date c. 200 C.E.

Language Greek

Located at Dublin, Ireland; Ann Arbor, Mich., U.S.A.

Approximate Contents Nine of Paul’s letters

Name of Manuscript Chester Beatty 3

Symbol P⁴⁷

Date 3rd cent. C.E.

Language Greek

Located at Dublin, Ireland

Approximate Contents Rev. 9:10–17:2

Name of Manuscript Rylands 457

Symbol P⁵²

Date c. 125 C.E.

Language Greek

Located at Manchester, England

Approximate Contents John 18:31-33, 37, 38

Name of Manuscript Bodmer 2

Symbol P⁶⁶

Date c. 200 C.E.

Language Greek

Located at Geneva, Switzerland

Approximate Contents Most of John

Name of Manuscript Bodmer 7, 8

Symbol P⁷²

Date 3rd/4th cent. C.E.

Language Greek

Approximate Contents Jude, 1 Peter, and 2 Peter

Name of Manuscript Bodmer 14, 15

Symbol P⁷⁵

Date 3rd cent. C.E.

Language Greek

Located at Geneva, Switzerland

Approximate Contents Most of Luke and John

[Chart on page 314]

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SOME LEADING VELLUM AND LEATHER MANUSCRIPTS

Of the Hebrew Scriptures (in Hebrew)

Name of Manuscript Aleppo Codex

Symbol Al

Date 930 C.E.

Language Hebrew

Located at Formerly at Aleppo, Syria. Now in Israel.

Name of Manuscript British Museum Codex Or4445

Date 10th cent. C.E.

Language Hebrew

Located at London, England

Approximate Contents Most of Pentateuch

Name of Manuscript Cairo Karaite Codex

Symbol Ca

Date 895 C.E.

Language Hebrew

Located at Cairo, Egypt

Approximate Contents Earlier and later Prophets

Name of Manuscript Leningrad Codex

Symbol B 19^A

Date 1008 C.E.

Language Hebrew

Located at Leningrad,

U.S.S.R.

Approximate Contents Hebrew Scriptures

Name of Manuscript Petersburg Codex of the Prophets

Symbol B 3

Date 916 C.E.

Language Hebrew

Located at Leningrad,

U.S.S.R.

Approximate Contents Later Prophets

Name of Manuscript Dead Sea First Isaiah Scroll

Symbol 1QIs^a

Date End of 2nd cent. B.C.E.

Language Hebrew

Located at Jerusalem, Israel

Approximate Contents Isaiah

Name of Manuscript Dead Sea Psalms Scroll

Symbol 11QPs^a

Date 1st cent. C.E.

Language Hebrew

Located at Jerusalem, Israel

Of the Septuagint and Christian Greek Scriptures

Name of Manuscript Sinaiticus

Symbol 01( א)

Date 4th cent. C.E.

Language Greek

Located at London, England

Name of Manuscript Alexandrinus

Symbol A (02)

Date 5th cent. C.E.

Language Greek

Located at London, England

Name of Manuscript Vatican 1209

Symbol B (03)

Date 4th cent. C.E.

Language Greek

Located at Vatican Library in Rome, Italy

Name of Manuscript Ephraemi Syri rescriptus

Symbol C (04)

Date 5th cent. C.E.

Language Greek

Located at Paris, France

Name of Manuscript Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis

Symbol D^ea (05)

Date 5th cent. C.E.

Language Greek-Latin

Located at Cambridge, England

Name of Manuscript Codex Claromontanus

Symbol D^P (06)

Date 6th cent. C.E.

Language Greek-Latin

Located at Paris, France

Approximate Contents Pauline Epistles (including Hebrews)